Jan 24, 2016 5 min read

SMU coach Larry Brown watched with a mixture of disbelief and amazement as Temple students rushed the court when the final buzzer sounded.

“I almost got in it,” Brown said. “I never thought that would ever happen.”

That’s what happens when a team comes to town with a perfect record and leave with its first loss.

Eighth-ranked SMU became the last Division I team to lose this season when Devin Coleman scored a career-high 23 points and led Temple to an 89-80 win Sunday.

The Mustangs (18-1, 7-1 American Athletic Conference) were off to the best start in team history.

“We’ve got to start again,” Brown said.

SMU is ineligible for postseason play this year because of NCAA infractions.

“Our motivation is to try to get better and make it a special year for the seniors,” the SMU coach said. “And this loss is not going to take that away.”

Coleman made all eight of his field goal attempts and all seven of his 3-point shots coming off the bench to thwart SMU’s bid at perfection. Quenton DeCosey added 19 for the Owls (11-7, 5-2) in their highest-scoring game of the season.

The crowd at the Liacouras Center was smaller than usual after the game was pushed back a day because of the winter storm that blanketed the East Coast.

But that didn’t stop the fans from making their voices heard as Temple stretched its lead to 19 in the second half and for students to rush the court when the game ended.

“I think this does a lot for our (NCAA tournament) résumé,” DeCosey said. “It shows people we can beat anybody.”

Sterling Brown scored 19 points to lead SMU. Jordan Tolbert added 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting and Ben Moore had 13 for the Mustangs, who shot just 3-for-14 from 3-point range.

No. 2 North Carolina 75, Virginia Tech 70: Brice Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, leading No. 2 North Carolina over host Virginia Tech 75-70 for its 12th straight victory.

North Carolina (7-0 ACC, 18-2) led by as many as 20 in the first half, but the Hokies took a 61-59 lead on a basket by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 8:05 remaining. It was their only lead of the game.

Seth Allen made two free throws for the Hokies (4-3, 12-8) to pull to 72-70, but Marcus Paige hit two free throws with 17.8 seconds remaining to push the lead back to four.

No. 16 Providence 82, No. 4 Villanova 76: Ben Bentil scored 10 of his 31 points in overtime, including two clutch free throws with 14.7 seconds left that led No. 16 Providence past No. 4 Villanova 82-76.

Bentil also had 13 rebounds, helping the Friars stop Villanova’s 22-game Big East winning streak.

Kris Dunn added 13 points and 14 assists for Providence (5-2, 17-3).

Ryan Arcidiacono scored 19 points for the Wildcats (7-1, 17-3). He made a 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining in regulation that forced overtime.

No. 9 Iowa 83, No. 22 Purdue 71: Jarrod Uthoff scored 13 of his 22 points in the first half and ninth-ranked Iowa toppled No. 22 Purdue 83-71 for its ninth straight win.

Adam Woodbury added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (7-0 Big Ten, 16-3), who’ve beaten four ranked teams since late December ahead of Thursday’s meeting at No. 7 Maryland.

Vince Edwards had 19 points and P.J. Thompson had 16 for Purdue (5-3, 17-4), which has split its last six games after a 14-1 start.

No. 13 Virginia 73, Syracuse 65: Malcom Brogdon scored 12 of his 21 points in the final 5:45 and No. 13 Virginia held off a 3-point barrage by Syracuse and beat the Orange 73-65, ending their three-game winning streak.

Anthony Gill and London Perrantes added 16 points each for the Cavaliers (4-3 ACC, 15-4), who squandered all of a 10-point second-half lead, then rallied behind some clutch shooting and defense.

Michael Gbinije scored 24 points and Malachi Richerdson 23 for the Orange (3-5, 13-8). Gbinije had 19 after halftime, including five 3-pointers, and Richardson hit six 3-pointers in all to help keep the Orange in the game. Syracuse made 13 of 30 3-point shots.

Oregon State 85, No. 21 USC 70: Gary Payton II had 22 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, leading Oregon State over No. 21 Southern California 85-70.

Tres Tinkle added 18 points and Drew Eubanks had 12 points and three blocks as the Beavers (3-4 Pac-12, 12-6) broke a three-game losing streak.

Elijah Stewart had 16 points and nine rebounds and Katin Reinhardt scored 14 points for the Trojans (4-3, 15-5), who lost both games on their Oregon road trip.

East Carolina 84, Memphis 83:

B.J. Tyson matched his career best, scoring 26 points and Prince Williams made all four free throws in the final 1:26 as East Carolina held off a Memphis rally 84-83, its first road win of the season and first-ever at Memphis.

Tyson, a 6t-3 sophomore, drained six 3-pointers and added six rebounds and four assists for East Carolina (1-6 American Athletic Conference, 9-11).

Memphis (3-3, 12-7) made up a 14-point gap after halftime, outscoring East Carolina 38-23 over about 13 minutes to grab a 74-73 lead after six unanswered points from Dedric Lawson, who scored 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting.