BANGOR — Maddy McVicar and Dor Saar each made consecutive 3-pointers to cap a game-opening 22-5 run as the University of Maine won its fourth straight, topping UMass-Lowell 77-53 Wednesday night in an America East women’s basketball game.

Maeve Carroll scored seven points, and Kelly Fogarty hit the first of Maine’s 15 3-pointers for a 10-5 lead before McVicar and Saar took over.

The River Hawks (12-13, 8-4) scored six straight points to pull within 22-11 early in the second quarter, but McVicar drained another 3-pointer to start a surge that pushed the Black Bears’ lead to 42-17 with a minute left in the half.

McVicar finished with 25 points for Maine (12-14, 8-4), Carroll 15, Fogarty 14 and Anne Simon 10.

Kharis Idom scored 18 for the River Hawks, and Chasidey Willis 12.

SOUTHERN MAINE 68, PLYMOUTH STATE 46: The Huskies (10-13, 5-9 Little East) used a 15-2 run to open the third quarter to grab control and defeat the Panthers (4-18, 0-13) at Gorham.

Victoria Harris had 13 points and pulled down 10 boards to lead Southern Maine, and Jackie Luckhardt and reserve Kristen Curley added 10 points each.

Alex Ricard led Plymouth State with 15 points, shooting 7 of 8 from the floor.

CENTRAL MAINE C.C. 54, SOUTHERN MAINE C.C. 44: Natalie Thurber scored seven points and Abby Nadeau six as the Mustangs (22-2, 14-1 YSCC) outscored Southern Maine (20-5, 11-4) 20-10 in the third quarter to win at Auburn.

Central Maine, trailing 29-27 with 7:29 left in the third, closed out the quarter with a 13-2 run. Nadeau started the run with a tying layup followed by Kristen Huntress’ go-ahead 3-pointer.

Thurber finished with 12 points for Central Maine, Huntress 11 and Nadeau 10. Grace Fontaine scored 12 for the SeaWolves, Ashleigh Mathisen 10 and Amanda Brett 10.

SOUTHERN MAINE 68, PLYMOUTH STATE 62: Jaire Roberts had 16 points to lead four Huskies (10-12, 5-9 Little East) in double figures as they defeated the visiting Panthers (13-9, 7-6) at Gorham.

Jaylen LeRoy had 22 points for Plymouth State, and Dante Rivera added 14.

(2) BAYLOR 81, TCU 62: Lauren Cox had 16 points and 10 rebounds, NaLyssa Smith also had a double-double and the host Lady Bears (22-1, 11-0 Big 12) pulled away after halftime to beat the Frogs (17-5, 8-3) for their 52nd consecutive Big 12 victory.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

ST. JOSEPH’S 90, EMMANUEL 81: The Monks (9-13, 3-5 GNAC) took the lead for good on Jack Casale’s layup midway through the second half as they held on to upend the Saints (18-4, 6-2) at Standish.

Casale finished with 33 points and 10 boards to pace St. Joseph’s. Nick Curtis had 26 points, including six 3-pointers, and Drew Shea tossed in 12 points and Zac Manoogian added 10.

Emmett Riddick led Emmanuel with 25 points.

MASS-LOWELL 71, MAINE 63: Leading 62-60 with 2:02 to play, the River Hawks (10-16, 4-7 America East) hit nine free throws down the stretch to down the Black Bears (7-18, 3-8) at Lowell, Massachusetts.

Connor Withers had 17 points to lead four players in double figures for Mass-Lowell.

Sergio El Darwich had 13 points for Maine, and Andrew Fleming added 12.

ANNA MARIA 79, BOWDOIN 74: The AmCats (9-13) used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to take control and rally past the Polar Bears (8-15) at Paxton, Massachusetts.

Bobby Perette led Anna Maria with 21 points, and Sakai Alexandre added 20 points and Mike Rapoza chipped in with 17.

David Reynolds had 34 to lead Bowdoin, including 23 in the first half, as the Polar Bears built a 47-37 halftime lead.

SOUTHERN MAINE C.C. 67, CENTRAL MAINE C.C. 53: Anthony Lobor’s 17 points led Southern Maine CC (18-7, 11-4) during a YSCC win against the Mustangs (16-9, 11-5) at Auburn.

Ian Regan added 15 points for the SeaWolves, and Pedro Francesca 13. Khalid Ibn scored 11 for Central Maine, and Mark McDonald 10.

(3) KANSAS 58, (14) WEST VIRGINIA 49: Devon Dotson scored 15 points and the visiting Jayhawks (21-3, 10-1 Big 12) finished the game with a 9-0 run to beat the Mountaineers (18-6, 6-5).

Isaiah Moss had seven of his 13 points after halftime for Kansas.
West Virginia fell flat after leading by as many as nine points in each half and lost at home for the first time this season.

GEORGIA TECH 64, (5) LOUISVILLE 58: Moses Wright made a huge block at one end, then powered inside for a basket that helped the host Yellow Jackets (12-13, 6-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) snap a 10-game winning streak by the Cardinals (21-4, 12-2).

(11) AUBURN 95, ALABAMA 91: Austin Wiley had 18 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and five blocked shots and the host Tigers (22-2, 9-2 Southeastern Conference) beat the Crimson Tide (13-11, 5-6) in overtime.

The Tigers scored the first eight points of overtime and held on for redemption from an earlier 19-point loss to the Crimson Tide.

(19) BUTLER 66, XAVIER 61: Sean McDermott scored 14 points to lead the Bulldogs (19-6, 7-5 Big East) over the Musketeers (16-9, 5-7) at Indianapolis.

(23) CREIGHTON 87, (10) SETON HALL 82: Damien Jefferson, Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski and Denzel Mahoney all scored 18 points and the visiting Bluejays (19-6, 8-4 Big East) beat the Pirates (18-6, 10-2) in their second road win over a Top 10 team this month.

Christian Bishop added 11 points as the Bluejays, who won for the sixth time in seven games, including a win at No. 8 Villanova at the start of the month.

FOOTBALL

MICHIGAN STATE: Michigan State hired Mel Tucker as its coach, rallying to land a veteran leader with ties to the school who decided to leave Colorado after a single season.

The Spartans lured Tucker away from Colorado with a six-year contract worth about $30 million after appearing to be interested in coaches including Luke Fickell, Robert Saleh and Pat Shurmur. Tucker replaces Mark Dantonio, who retired two weeks ago after 13 mostly successful seasons.