UNC Bears clinch first Big Sky crown with road victory

Ogden, Utah>> The Northern Colorado Bears are on top of the world.

The Bears clinched their first the Big Sky Conference regular-season title with a 68-63 victory over Weber State on Monday night at the Dee Events Center.

Senior guard Jaron Rillie scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds while shooting 7 of 14 from the field, junior Marcell McCreary added 14 points and sank 4 of 8 from 3-point range, and UNC (15-3 Big Sky, 23-8 overall) won its fourth straight game to close out the regular season.

Next up is the Big Sky tournament in Boise. UNC’s first game is set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

No. 2 Duke 93, Wake Forest 60>> Freshman Cooper Flagg had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in possibly his final home game, helping Duke rout Wake Forest to clinch at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title.

Fellow rookie Kon Knueppel added 17 points for the Blue Devils (27-3, 18-1), who led by 13 at halftime and then blew the game open midway through the second half.

The 6-foot-9 Flagg, a potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick, checked out with 3:34 left. He greeted coach Jon Scheyer with a high-five and a hug as Duke’s “Cameron Crazies” chanted “One more year! One more year!”

Efton Reid III and Ty-Laur Johnson each scored 14 points to lead the Demon Deacons (20-10, 12-7).

No. 3 Houston 65, Kansas 59>> L.J. Cryer scored 22 points and Houston won its ninth straight game.

Emanuel Sharp added 12 points off the bench, including two free throws that pushed Houston’s lead to 63-59 with 20 seconds left. The Cougars (26-4, 18-1 Big 12) went 4 of 4 from the foul line down the stretch to secure the home win.

Cryer had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting in the first half as Houston took a 30-27 lead into the break.

Milos Uzan finished with 10 points, and Mylik Wilson had 10 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Cougars, who shot 35% from the field and were 7 of 20 on 3-pointers.

Hunter Dickinson had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks (19-11, 10-9), who shot 45%. KJ Adams Jr. added 15 points and David Coit had 14 off the bench.