Former Norfolk Academy standout Mark Williams had 17 points and nine rebounds for No. 5 Duke as the Blue Devils won one of the early season’s marquee showdowns, upsetting No. 1 Gonzaga 84-81 Friday night before 20,389 fans in Las Vegas.
Paolo Banchero scored 21 points and Wendell Moore Jr. had 20 as Duke (7-0) handed Gonzaga (6-1) its first loss since April’s national title game, when Baylor beat the Bulldogs.
Gonzaga battled back from a nine-point deficit thanks to Julian Strawther’s offensive prowess early in the second half, as he scored eight of the Bulldogs’ first 14 points to help them get within two. But Gonzaga suffered through a 0-for-5 span down the stretch and turned the ball over three times to allow Duke to seize the momentum and close the game on a 13-9 run.
Strawther led Gonzaga with a career-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. Drew Timme added 17 points, freshman sensation Chet Holmgren had 16 points and Rasir Bolton chipped in 15 for the Bulldogs.
The long-anticipated coaching showdown involving Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Gonzaga’s Mark Few became a battle of Duke’s relentless defensive pressure and Gonzaga’s precise passing through lanes that the Bulldogs created on the fly.
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No. 19 Auburn 89, Syracuse 68: The Tigers finished in fifth place at the Battle 4 Atlantis by beating the Orange.
Jabari Smith scored 22 points and K.D. Johnson added 15 points and five steals for the Tigers (5-1). Auburn’s only loss of the tournament came in double overtime to UConn.
“We feel like we should have won three games. We came here to win two and we did that,” Smith said.
Auburn led by 10 at the half and increased the lead to 19 on a dunk by Johnson with 15:05 left. Syracuse used a 7-0 run to get within 64-54 with 8:10 remaining, but Smith ended the spurt with a 3-pointer from the wing and the Orange (3-3) got no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Buddy Boeheim, Cole Swider and Jesse Edwards each scored 17 points for Syracuse.
Wake Forest 80, Oregon State 77, OT: The Demon Deacons (6-0) lost all of a 48-29 halftime lead at the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Florida, but they outscored the Beavers 11-8 in overtime.
Alondes Williams scored 24 points and Jake LaRavia 17 for Wake. Rodrigue Andela had 16 points for Oregon State (1-5).
Georgia Tech 61, Georgia Southern 59: Michael Devoe scored 15 of his 26 points in the second half for Georgia Tech, which rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit in Atlanta.
The Yellow Jackets (5-1) got 11 points from Kyle Sturdivant and 10 from Rodney Howard in winning their fifth straight. It was their first meeting in 25 years against the Eagles (4-2) in a series they lead 4-2 dating back to 1953. Devoe, second in the nation making 65% of his 3-pointers, was 5 of 9 behind the arc.
Elijah McCadden and Cam Bryant scored 14 points for Georgia Southern and Kamari Brown had 13.
Miami 69, North Texas 63: Isaiah Wong scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half to rally Miami in a consolation game of the ESPN Events Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The Hurricanes (4-2) trailed by as many was 14 in the first half and were down 40-28 at the break. Kameron McGusty’s layup put Miami on top to stay, 63-61, at the 2:35 mark.
Thomas Bell scored 18 points and Tylor Perry 14 off the bench for North Texas (2-3), which only shot 32% in the second half.
Clemson 91, Charleston Southern 59: Nick Honor’s 17 points and seven assists guided the host Tigers (5-2) past the Buccaneers (2-4).
Al-Amir Dawes scored 16 points for Clemson. Tahlik Chavez scored 14 for CSU, hitting four 3-pointers.
Boston College 73, Columbia 60: DeMarr Langford scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Boston College (4-3) snapped a three-game skid with a home victory.
Jaeden Zachary added 14 points, Makai Ashton-Langford 11 and Brevin Galloway nine for the Eagles.
Liam Murphy and Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa led Columbia (2-4) with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Murphy drained five 3-pointers.
Region/State
No. 22 UConn 70, VCU 63, OT: R.J. Cole scored 26 points and Isaiah Whaley hit two late 3-pointers in his return to the lineup, helping Connecticut win in overtime for third place at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
Whaley had 16 points for the Huskies (6-1), including a tying 3 with 1:05 left in regulation and the go-ahead 3 with 3:54 to go in OT. He also came up with a punctuating three-point play with 4.5 seconds left, celebrating his breakaway basket by with celebratory punches and two head-butts on the padded basket support.
The 6-foot-9 graduate forward missed Thursday’s loss to Michigan State after fainting briefly after playing 43 minutes during a double-overtime win against No. 19 Auburn in Wednesday’s first round.
UConn won despite shooting just 33% while committing 22 turnovers, with Whaley’s 3 standing as the only basket in overtime for either team until the final 12 seconds.
Jayden Nunn scored 21 points for the Rams (3-4), who led by four late in regulation. VCU had its own offensive troubles, shooting 36% and going 2 for 9 in the extra period. The Rams were 14 of 24 from the free-throw line.
This was a defensive-oriented game with physical play, one in which neither the Huskies nor the Rams got many easy looks. And it turned nearly everything after halftime into a grind to the finish, with neither team leading by more than four points in the second half.
New Orleans 79, VMI 71: Derek St. Hilaire scored 22 points to help the host Privateers (3-4) overcome the Keydets (3-4) at the UNO Classic.
VMI center Jake Stephens had 17 points and eight rebounds. Kamdyn Curfman scored 15 and Sean Conway and Brennan Watkins had 14 apiece for the Keydets, who trailed throughout the second half.
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Dayton 74, No. 4 Kansas 73: Mustapha Amzil hit a running jumper in the lane at the buzzer as Dayton stunned Kansas in a semifinal of the ESPN Events Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Kansas’ David McCormack, a former Norfolk Academy star, blocked Malachi Smith’s layup with 3 seconds left. Amzil picked up the loose ball, and his shot went off the rim and backboard before going in.
After Smith cut the deficit to 73-72 on a layup, McCormack was called for an offensive foul with 9 seconds to play.
Ochai Agbaji scored four of his 21 points during a late 6-0 run, helping Kansas take a 73-70 advantage with just more than a minute remaining.
Dayton (3-3), which will play Belmont for the tournament title Sunday, had five players score in double figures. DaRon Holmes II had 16 points, and Toumani Camara and Elijah Weaver both added 14.
Christian Braun had 17 points for Kansas (4-1), which will face Iona for third place Sunday.
No. 6 Baylor 75, Michigan State 58: James Akinjo held the MVP trophy as he danced on the court in a crowd of his new Baylor teammates. Around him bounced talented freshmen and multiple guys thriving in larger roles.
The Bears have a different look from last year’s run to the national championship, but the results seem familiar — down to Scott Drew’s club celebrating another title-clinching victory.
Akinjo scored 15 points as Baylor won the Battle 4 Atlantis championship, using a balanced lineup to earn yet another lopsided win to start the season.
“There’s no great NBA team with one player,” said Drew, his voice hoarse after three games in three days. “To win a championship, you’ve got to have a team, you’ve got to have a bench.”
Akinjo went through Georgetown and Arizona before finding his way to Waco. There is a five-star freshman and McDonald’s All-American in Kendall Brown, and another talented rookie forward in Jeremy Sochan.
Among the returnees, L.J. Cryer has gone from averaging 3.4 points last year to 15.8 entering Friday, and forward Matthew Mayer is seeing a larger starting role after being a top sub.
It has been the right mix for Drew after losing four starters, including Davion Mitchell as the No. 9 overall NBA draft pick.
The Bears (7-0) looked dominant as they took control early in the second half, throwing some full-court defensive looks at the Spartans (5-2) and capitalizing on their mistakes.
Gabe Brown scored 13 points for the Spartans, who shot just 37% and missed all seven of their 3-pointers after halftime.
No. 3 Purdue 97, Omaha 40: Zach Edey scored 20 points in 16 minutes for host Purdue, which used a huge size advantage to outrebound the Mavericks 53-22 and outscore them in the paint 48-16. The Boilermakers improved to 6-0 for the first first since 2015-16 and just the fourth time in coach Matt Painter’s tenure.
Omaha (1-5) was led by Darrius Hughes with 13 points. It lost its fifth straight — all on the road. Purdue was the highest ranked team the Mavericks have played in their 11-year Division I era, and the disparity was clear from the opening moments. Trailing 3-0, the Boilermakers scored 29 straight points.
Iowa State 78, No. 9 Memphis 59: Gabe Kalscheur scored 30 points and led Iowa State in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game in Brooklyn, New York.
Kalscheur was named MVP of the tournament. Tristan and Aljaz Kunc each scored 11 points for the Cyclones (6-0), who led by five points at halftime and increased their advantage to as many as 25 in the second half.
Emoni Bates led Memphis (5-1) with 12 points and former Virginia Tech player Landers Nolley II scored 11. Coach Penny Hardaway’s Tigers entered as an 11 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, but the Cyclones were not fazed by their more celebrated opponent.
Much like they did in their win over No. 25 Xavier Wednesday, the Cyclones generated their offense in the paint.
Co-No. 10 Alabama 80, Drake 71: Jahvon Quinerly scored 18 points, Jaden Shackelford and Juwan Gary each had 14, and the Crimson Tide won a consolation game at the ESPN Events Invitational.
Gary added 10 rebounds for Alabama (5-1), which was upset 72-68 by coach Rick Pitino’s Iona team in its tournament opener. Alabama coach Nate Oats held a lengthy team meeting after Thursday’s loss.
D.J. Wilkins led Drake (3-2) with 17 points. ShanQuan Hemphill and Tucker DeVries both contributed 15 for the Bulldogs.
Co-No. 10 Kentucky 86, North Florida 52: Five Wildcats finished in double figures, led by TyTy Washington’s 14 points, in a home victory.
Oscar Tshiebwe had 12 points and 16 rebounds for Kentucky (5-1), while Damion Collins made his first college start and scored 12 points and Sahvir Wheeler had 12 points and 14 assists. Dontaie Allen added 14 points off the bench, all but two coming in the second half.
Jayden Parker led the Ospreys (1-6) with 10 points.
No. 14 Illinois 94, UT Rio Grande Valley 85: Kofi Cockburn scored a career-high 38 points to lead the Illini to a hard-fought home victory.
Illinois (4-2) started slowly, trailing the Vaqueros by as many as 12 points in the first half. Timely buckets from Cockburn and Alfonso Plummer, a transfer guard from Utah, helped the Illini go on a 15-5 run to take a one-point lead at the half.
Plummer scored 30 points on 8-of-14 shooting, connecting on 6 of 11 3-point attempts. He also scored Illinois’ first six points in the second half.
Justin Johnson was the leading scorer for UTRGV (4-3) with 28 points.
No. 15 Tennessee 80, Tennessee Tech 69: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield scored eight of his 12 points during a key second-half spurt in Knoxville.
Olivia Nkamhoua led Tennessee with 18 points. Kennedy Chandler had 15 points and five steals. John Fulkerson scored 14 points, and Santiago Vescovi finished with 13.
The Vols (4-1) looked sluggish for much of the game, and the Golden Eagles (2-4) led 35-34 at halftime. It took a second-half 12-2 run to help Tennessee — a 21.5-point favorite — avoid the upset.
Jr. Clay led Tennessee Tech with 19 points.
No. 24 Southern California 58, San Diego State 43: Isaiah Mobley scored 18 points and had 12 rebounds for USC, whose stifling defense earned the Trojans the Wooden Legacy championship in Anaheim, California.
Drew Peterson scored 16 points and Chevez Goodwin added 10 as the Trojans improved to 6-0. They held the Aztecs to 32.1% shooting and just 15 points in the first half.
Trey Pulliam scored 11 points, while Lamont Butler and Aguek Arop each had nine for San Diego State (4-2), which was held to its lowest-scoring opening half since 14 points against Air Force on Jan. 12, 2019.
USC pulled down 49 rebounds to SDSU’s 33.
Women
Region/State
Missouri State 76, No. 24 Virginia Tech 68: Jasmine Franklin scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and went 9 of 10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter in a San Juan Shootout opener in Puerto Rico.
Missouri State (4-1) led 23-9 after one quarter, hitting three 3-pointers, going 7 of 14 overall and 6 for 6 from the free-throw line. The Hokies (5-1) never recovered as Missouri State was 15 of 16 on free throws in the fourth quarter.
Abigayle Jackson scored a career-high 18 points, Sydney Wilson 16 and sixth-year senior and Missouri Valley Conference MVP Brice Calip 10 in picking up her 101st career win.
Tech scored nine straight points in the second quarter to get within five but Missouri State surged ahead 36-26 at the half. The lead was double figures throughout the third quarter and never closer than eight in the fourth.
Elizabeth Kitley scored 21 points and Kayana Traylor 12 for Virginia Tech, which plays Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.
Rhode Island 80, Virginia 70: Rhode Island coach Tammi Reiss, who played in three Final Fours as a guard for U.Va., and her Rams (7-0) beat the Cavaliers (1-5) at John Paul Jones Arena.
Dez Elmore led the Rams with 22 points. Chanell Williams scored 19 points, 14 at the free-throw line. URI took more free throws (44, making 35), than field-goal attempts (41, making 20).
Camryn Taylor led the Cavaliers with 22 points and six rebounds. Amandine Toi had 17 points and three assists.
URI went ahead to stay in the third quarter and started the fourth with a 10-2 run.
Top 10
No. 1 South Carolina 79, Elon 38: Aliyah Boston scored 12 points and blocked three shots for host South Carolina, which had a 16-point lead trimmed to 33-27 early in the third quarter. But the Gamecocks responded with a 16-0 run to put away the Phoenix (4-1) and improve to 7-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Zia Cooke finished with 11 points and Destanni Henderson had 10. Ariana Nance led Elon with 13 points, matching her career high.
No. 6 Baylor 62, Arizona State 52: NaLyssa Smith scored 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on the second day of the Cancun Challenge in Mexico. The Bears (5-1) held the Sun Devils (2-4) to 27% shooting through three quarters and then weathered a late ASU surge.
Jordan Lewis added 15 points and Queen Egbo 11 for Baylor.
Mael Gilles scored 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Sun Devils.
No. 18 South Florida 57, No. 7 Stanford 54: Sydni Harvey hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 2.8 seconds left, giving the Bulls (5-2) a victory over the Cardinal (4-2) in the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship tournament in the Bahamas.
Led by Harvey’s 15 points, USF posted its second victory over a top-10 opponent this week and only the third overall for the program — the Bulls also beat No. 9 Oregon in the Bahamas event. South Florida’s Bethy Mununga matched a career high with 23 rebounds and had six points.
Cameron Brink had 23 points and 11 rebounds for Stanford.
No. 9 Arizona 75, DePaul 68: Cate Reese scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures for Arizona (6-0), which broke free against the Blue Demons in the fourth quarter at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.
Shaina Pellington scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, Lauren Ware added 12 points and Ariyah Copeland had 10 for the Wildcats, who battled with DePaul through six lead changes and eight ties.
Freshman Aneesah Morrow had 24 points and 16 rebounds for DePaul (4-2).