Michigan State's Kenny Goins, bottom, and Kyle Ahrens, top, dive for the ball against Maryland during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Michigan State's Kenny Goins, bottom, and Kyle Ahrens, top, dive for the ball against Maryland during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis) Credit: Al Goldis

Washington — Justin Bassey scored 18 points with four 3-pointers, Robert Baker added his second career double-double and Harvard defeated Howard, 84-71, on Monday.

Harvard led by 14 at halftime and opened the second half with back-to-back dunks by Baker plus another from Chris Lewis to lead 51-33 and Howard didn’t get closer than nine thereafter.

Baker scored 11 points and had a career-high 13 rebounds with the Crimson (7-7) making 12 of 28 from the arc as six players hit 3-pointers. Bryce Aiken, with five assists, and Lewis added 16 points each and Christian Juzang 11.

No. 6 Michigan State 69No. 13 Maryland 55

East Lansing, Mich. — Cassius Winston and Kenny Goins scored 14 points each to help No. 6 Michigan State beat No. 13 Maryland with balanced offense and stifling defense.

The Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) have won 12 straight this season to take sole possession of first in the conference.

No. 11 North Carolina 103No. 10 Virginia Tech 82

Chapel Hill, n.c. — Freshman Coby White scored 27 points and No. 11 North Carolina knocked down a season-high 16 3-pointers to beat No. 10 Virginia Tech.

Fellow rookie Nassir Little added a season-high 23 points for the Tar Heels (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who struggled out of the gate to fall behind by nine while making just 1 of their first 12 3s.

But it wasn’t long before just about everything started falling from behind the arc, an avalanche that sparked a game-turning 20-0 run that pushed UNC to a 45-31 lead by halftime.

UNC made 15 of its last 22 3-pointers, finished the game shooting 54 percent and led by as many as 27 points.

Ahmed Hill scored 20 points for the Hokies (15-3, 4-2), who made 6 of 7 3-pointers in a fast start only to end the half by going nearly 6 minutes without a basket.

BIG PICTURE

Virginia Tech: This was the Hokies’ second road game against a ranked opponent in the past week. Things went poorly in the first at No. 3 Virginia, with the Hokies struggling at both ends in a woeful first half en route to a 22-point loss. They had a better start by moving the ball crisply (seven assists on their first eight baskets) and knocking down a barrage of outside looks. But they cooled a bit then had little answer for the Tar Heels’ game-turning flurry, which came after starting point guard Justin Robinson headed to the bench with his third foul at the 9:52 mark.

UNC: The Tar Heels were coming off a win at Miami that pushed them to 3-0 on the road in ACC play for only the fourth time in 16 seasons under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams. This time they shook off that flat start once they started knocking down all the looks they were missing in the opening minutes. It helped, too, that the Tar Heels’ touted freshmen only got hotter as the game wore on. White finished with seven rebounds and six assists, while Little had his third straight double-figure scoring output with six rebounds.

UP NEXT

Virginia Tech: The Hokies host Syracuse on Saturday night.

UNC: The Tar Heels visit Georgia Tech on Saturday night.

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