NO. 1 KENTUCKY 89, BOSTON 65
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Aaron Harrison scored 19 points, Devin Booker added 15, and top-ranked Kentucky shot 59 percent from the field to pull away from Boston University for an 89-65 victory Friday night.
Three days after holding No. 5 Kansas to 20 percent shooting, the Wildcats (4-0) followed up with their best offensive game to put away the determined Terriers (1-2). But things were tight for more than a half as BU guard Cedric Hankerson (24 points) kept his team close with five of its 9 three-pointers.
Kentucky ultimately took control by using its significant advantages in depth, size and shooters to dominate the paint (44-16) and bench scoring (39-12). The Wildcats also forced 22 turnovers leading to 28 points.
Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points before fouling out late and Dakari Johnson added 11 for Kentucky, which played without junior forward Alex Poythress because of illness.
Cheddi Mosley added 13 points for Boston, which shot 38 percent but was only outrebounded 30-25.
Poythress' illness forced a tweak to Kentucky's first platoon. Sophomore guard Dominique Hawkins made his first start in his place and scored seven points, with reserve forward Derek Willis joining the unit on a later substitution.
But for the second time in three games, Kentucky had to work to put away a small but quick BU squad that pushed the tempo somewhat similar to what Buffalo did in keeping the Wildcats off- balance on Sunday.
The Terriers' first-half formula was hustle that kept them nearly even with Kentucky on the glass (16-15) and perimeter shooting led by Hankerson. He made four of BU's 6 three-pointers in the first half, good enough to stay within 40-35 at the break.
Kentucky earned that lead behind 57 percent shooting and shot even better in the second (17 of 29) in finishing 34 of 59 from the field. Booker made four of the Wildcats' 8 three-pointers that the Terriers couldn't answer down the stretch.
NO. 4 DUKE 74, TEMPLE 54
NEW YORK — Freshman center Jahlil Okafor had 16 points and eight rebounds, and No. 4 Duke overcame an off night from the field in coasting to a victory over Temple in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Quinn Cook had 18 points and freshman Justise Winslow added 15 for the Blue Devils, who shot 31 percent from the field in the first half. Freshman point guard Tyus Jones added seven assists on a night Duke shot 39 percent from the field.
The Blue Devils made up for their poor shooting, forcing 17 turnovers while holding Temple to 37 percent shooting from the field, including 1 of 12 from long range.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 85,
MARSHALL 67
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chris Jones scored 18 points and backcourt mate Terry Rozier added 17 as No. 7 Louisville overcame poor shooting to beat Marshall.
Forward Wayne Blackshear had 16 points, 12 in the first half, for the Cardinals (3-0).
Star forward Montrezl Harrell sat most of the second half with four fouls. He went to bench 2½ minutes after the break with Louisville up 43-31 and returned with 5:47 left and the Cardinals ahead by 13.
NO. 8 FLORIDA 61, LOUISIANA-MONROE 56 (OT)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Michael Frazier II scored 21 points, including 16 after halftime, and No. 8 Florida rallied to beat Louisiana-Monroe in overtime.
Florida (2-1) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and squandered an eight-point lead in the final 2:31 of regulation before prevailing.
Frazier was the key, playing the best defense of his career and constantly creating on the other end. He was 4-of-11 shooting from the field, including 2 of 6 from three-point range, but made 11 of 13 free throws and had eight rebounds.
Tylor Ongwae led Louisiana-Monroe (2-1) with 19 points. Nick Coppola added 11 points, including a three-pointer with 16.6 seconds remaining that forced overtime.
NO. 9 VIRGINIA 59, GEORGE WASHINGTON 42
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Justin Anderson scored 18 points, Malcolm Brogdon had 15, and No. 9 Virginia put the defensive clamps on George Washington in the second half on the way to a victory.
The Cavaliers (4-0) limited George Washington to three field goals in the first 17 minutes of the second half as they turned a 26-22 halftime deficit into a 53-37 lead.
The Colonials (2-1) arrived at John Paul Jones Arena getting an average of 53 points from their big four of Patricio Garino, Kethan Savage, Joe McDonald and Kevin Larsen. Savage led George Washington with 13 points, but the foursome finished with a combined 27 points on just 11-for-30 shooting.
The defense-minded Cavaliers have not allowed more than 55 points in a game this season.
NO. 10 TEXAS 71, CALIFORNIA 55
NEW YORK — Jonathan Holmes had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and No. 10 Texas shook off the absence of leading scorer Isaiah Taylor to beat California in the championship game of the 2K Classic. Demarcus Holland had 11 points for the Longhorns (4-0), who led by 17 with 5 minutes left. David Kravish scored 19 points for California (3-1). Tyrone Wallace had 14 of his 16 in the second half.
NO. 17 CONNECTICUT 75, DAYTON 64
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Ryan Boatright had 20 points, Rodney Purvis added 19 and Connecticut rallied from five points down in the second half to defeat Dayton in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
The Huskies (3-0) led by as many as 10 in the first half, but had to fight off runs by the Flyers throughout the second half.
Connecticut 7-footer Amida Brimah added four blocks.
The Flyers (2-1) used their quickness to briefly put the Huskies behind, but turnovers and empty offensive possessions down the stretch proved costly. Jordan Sibert led Dayton with 18 points.
NO. 19 MICHIGAN STATE 87, LOYOLA OF CHICAGO 52
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Matt Costello had 13 points and 11 rebounds as No. 19 Michigan State overpowered Loyola of Chicago to win its home opener for the 38th consecutive season.
Branden Dawson and Marvin Clark Jr. each scored 15 for the Spartans (2-1). Travis Trice added 13 and Denzel Valentine 12, and Michigan State never trailed.
Milton Doyle had 13 points for the Ramblers (2-1), who lost their 20th consecutive road game. Loyola, which came in making 55.1 percent, hit just 24 percent and was down 38-14 at halftime.
Costello scored his team's first six points and backup Gavin Schilling added six more before the break, nearly matching the Ramblers' first-half total.
NO. 23 SYRACUSE 66, IOWA 63
NEW YORK -- Chris McCullough had 20 points, nine rebounds and a key steal with 8.4 seconds left, and No. 23 Syracuse held off Iowa in the 2K Classic consolation game.
Rakeem Christmas bounced back from his foul-plagued performance Thursday with 18 points for the Orange (3-1), who led by 15 in the second half but needed some key plays from McCullough, a freshman from the Bronx who had 13 after halftime.
Jarrod Uthoff scored 20 points and Aaron White added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa (2-2).
Christmas, Syracuse's leading scorer, was limited to eight points before fouling out in the Orange's 73-59 loss to California on Thursday.
NO. 25 UTAH 88, CALIFORNIA-RIVERSIDE 42
SALT LAKE CITY — Freshman Kyle Kuzma scored 19 points and Delon Wright had 13 to help No. 25 Utah beat UC Riverside. Kuzma scored just one point in Utah’s first two games. He got his first extended playing time and went 3-for-4 from three-point range. Jordan Loveridge scored 12 points and Brekkott Chapman had 11 as Utah (2-1) sparkled from beyond the arc, shooting 9 for 17 on 3s.
SEC MEN
Unselfish 'Dogs top Troy
ATHENS, Ga. -- Nemanja Djurisic and Marcus Thornton each scored 17 points to help Georgia beat Troy 82-60.
Charles Mann added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (2-1).
Wesley Person finished with 20 points and Chris Bilbo had 10 points and nine rebounds for Troy (1-2).
Georgia, which was outrebounded in just eight games last season, had been beaten on the boards in its first two games, but the Bulldogs finished with a 43-33 advantage against the Trojans.
The Bulldogs, who tied Kentucky for second place in the Southeastern Conference last season, were coming off a 10-point home victory over Stony Brook last Tuesday.
Georgia dropped its opener last week at Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs' fourth consecutive defeat in the series.
Troy was coming off a 10-point home loss to Mississippi.
Mann stole the ball from Bilbo and passed to Djurisic for a fast break layup that put Georgia ahead by 20 with 6:23 remaining.
Thornton made consecutive baskets with a layup and a dunk to give the Bulldogs an 18-point lead with 13:18 remaining.
Georgia took its first double-digit lead when Djurisic's three-pointer made it 22-11. The Trojans trailed by at least 11 points the rest of the game after Thornton dunked at the 10:58 mark of the first half.
Troy, of the Sun Belt Conference, dropped to 0-5 against Georgia.
The Trojans and Bulldogs played for the first time since 1980.
In other SEC men's games Friday, Mike Thorne hit two foul shots with 1:10 left to put Charlotte ahead for good as the 49ers rallied past rallied past South Carolina 65-63 to reach the Charleston Classic championship game. Braxton Ogbueze had 12 of his 14 points in the second half for the 49ers, who'll face Miami for the tournament title Sunday night. ... Trey Freeman led Old Dominion with 25 points, and the Monarchs beat LSU 70-61 in the first round of the Paradise Jam tournament in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The Monarchs (3-0) are trying to become the first two-time winner in the 14-year history of the Paradise Jam men's event. ... Peyton Allen had 14 points, Jalen Jones added 12 and Texas A&M rallied in the second half to slip past College of Charleston 59-50 in the consolation round of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan. The Aggies (2-1) trailed by five with more than eight minutes remaining before outscoring the Cougars 27-13 to end the game.
SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 4 TENNESSEE 81, WINTHROP 48
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Ariel Massengale scored 20 points off the bench and made a career-high 6 three-pointers as No. 4 Tennessee breezed to a victory over Winthrop.
Massengale entered the game with 16:34 left in the first half and went 5 of 5 from three-point range over the next three minutes. Three of those three-pointers came in a span of 70 seconds during a 17-0 run that gave the Lady Vols a 27-7 advantage.
The 5-7 senior finished 6 of 10 from beyond the arc. Her previous career high in three-pointers was five.
Bashaara Graves had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Tennessee (3-0). Nia Moore added 14 points and Jaime Nared had 10.
Schaquilla Nunn had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Winthrop (1-2). Erica Williams had 13 points and Zoe Vernon had 10.
Sports on 11/22/2014