No. 4 Auburn wins Maui Invitational with 90-76 victory over Memphis
Auburn forward Johni Broome, left, holds the MVP trophy while greeting teammate Dylan Cardwell, right, holding the Maui Invitational championship trophy, as they celebrate a 90-76 win over Memphis in the championship game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Johni Broome scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead No. 4 Auburn to the Maui Invitational championship with a 90-76 win over Memphis on Wednesday.
Auburn (7-0) opened the game with a 9-0 run spurred by Broome’s 3-pointer from the right wing just 22 seconds in.
Broome had 15 points and 11 rebounds by halftime and finished 8 of 15 from the field with six assists and four blocks.
Dylan Cardwell shot 8 of 8 from the field and finished with 18 points. Chad Baker-Mazara added 14 points and Denver Jones chipped in 11 points for Auburn.
PJ Haggerty led Memphis (6-1) with 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting while Dain Dainja added 15 points.
Auburn, which led 47-31 at halftime, pulled ahead by 22 points with four minutes to play.
WEST VIRGINIA 86, NO. 3 GONZAGA 78
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Javon Small scored five of his 31 points in overtime and Tucker DeVries added key free throws late in regulation and finished with 16 points as West Virginia beat No. 3 Gonzaga in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Small’s layup with under 2 minutes left in OT gave West Virginia a 79-75 lead. After a Gonzaga miss, Sencire Harris hit two free throws to make it a six-point lead. With 27.1 seconds left, Harris made a steal and scored on a dunk for an eight-point lead, putting the game out of reach.
Amani Hansberry scored a career-high 19 points and Toby Okani added 10 for West Virginia (3-2).
Braden Huff scored 19 points and Khalif Battle 16 for Gonzaga (5-1).
NO. 5 IOWA STATE 99, COLORADO 71
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the first half and No. 5 Iowa State pulled away from Colorado to claim fifth place at the Maui Invitational.
Curtis Jones had 19 points, Keshon Gilbert scored 15 and Dishon Jackson, Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey added 10 apiece for the Cyclones (5-1). Jones and Jefferson grabbed six rebounds each, Gilbert had six assists and Lipsey contributed four assists and four steals.
Julian Hammond III scored 20 points and Andrej Jakimovski added 18 to lead the Buffaloes (5-2), who were held to 41.8% shooting from the field.
Iowa State held a 45-34 advantage at halftime. It led by as many as 33 late in the game.
NO. 7 TENNESSEE 78, UT MARTIN 35
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chaz Lanier scored 18 and No. 7 Tennessee extended its season-opening winning streak to seven games with a victory over UT Martin.
Felix Okpara had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Volunteers (7-0). Zakai Zeigler added 11 points and nine assists, and Igor Milicic had 13 rebounds and nine points.
The Skyhawks (2-5) were led by Josu Grullon’s 15 points.
Lanier scored 11 points in the first half as Tennessee built a 35-20 lead at the half. Grullon had 10 for UT Martin.
NO. 9 ALABAMA 95, RUTGERS 90
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Mark Sears scored 24 points and No. 9 Alabama defeated Rutgers in the Players Era Festival at MGM Grand Garden.
Rutgers pulled within two with 1:28 left, but five free throws down the stretch sealed the win for the Crimson Tide (6-1).
Grant Nelson had 17 points and nine rebounds for Alabama, while Mouhamed Dioubate, Jarin Stevenson and Derrion Reid scored 10 points apiece.
Dylan Harper led Rutgers (5-2) with a career-high 37 points. Ace Bailey finished with 22 points and Jeremiah Williams chipped in with 10 points for the Scarlet Knights.
NO. 10 MARQUETTE 94, STONEHILL 59
MILWAUKEE (AP) — David Joplin scored 27 points and Kam Jones and Damarius Owens each added 14 to lead No. 10 Marquette to a win over Stonehill on Wednesday night.
Joplin made his first five shots, including three 3-pointers, and was 10 for 12 from the field. Joplin poured in a career-high 29 in the Golden Eagles’ (7-0) previous game, an 80-69 win Saturday over Georgia in the Bahamas.
Owens, a freshman, had scored five points in his first three games. He went 3 of 3 from 3.
Amir Nesbitt led Stonehill (4-5) with 14 points, Hermann Koffi scored 13 and Chas Stinson added 10. Josh Morgan, who averages 15.4 points per game and is the Skyhawks’ leading score, didn’t play because of a foot injury.
MICHIGAN STATE 94, NO. 12 NORTH CAROLINA 91, OT
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Tre Holloman and Xavier Booker combined for eight points in overtime and Michigan State held off No. 12 North Carolina for third place in the Maui Invitational.
Holloman made his first start of the season and led six scorers in double figures with a career-best 19 points for the Spartans (6-2). He scored 16 in the first half on 6-for-6 shooting, including four 3-pointers.
Jaden Akins and Coen Carr scored 14 points apiece, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Frankie Fidler had 13 each and Booker had 12.
Drake Powell scored 18 points, Elliot Cadeau 17 and RJ Davis 16 for the Tar Heels (4-3).
North Carolina’s Seth Trimble sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.
LOUISVILLE 89, NO. 14 INDIANA 61
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Chucky Hepburn had 16 points, 10 assists and seven steals, Noah Waterman also had 16 points and Louisville beat No. 14 Indiana in the opening game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Louisville (4-1) beat a ranked team for the first time since topping Virginia Tech 73-71 on Jan. 6, 2021.
Kasean Pryor scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half and Reyne Smith added 12 points for Louisville.
Malik Reneau scored 21 points and Oumar Ballo added 11 for Indiana (4-1). Reneau reached 20-plus points for the eighth time in his career.
The Cardinals led 37-29 at the break after making 7 of 17 from 3-point range and shooting 57% overall. Indiana missed six straight shots on two occasions in the first half, sandwiched around a string of seven missed field goals, as the Cardinals shot 9 of 29 (31%).
Louisville exploded for 52 second-half points by shooting 66.7% from the field. Pryor missed only one of his six shots in the second half.
NO. 16 CINCINNATI 77, ALABAMA STATE 59
CINCINNATI (AP) — Simas Lukosius scored 16 points to lead No. 16 Cincinnati to a win over Alabama State.
Jizzle James had 13 points and five assists for the Bearcats who have started 6-0 for the second time in coach Wes Miller’s four seasons.
Dillon Mitchell, who had 14 points and 11 rebounds in the Bearcats’ win at Georgia Tech on Saturday, scored 10 points with eight boards before leaving the game with an injury with 11 minutes remaining.
Amarr Knox scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half for Alabama State (3-4) while Jalen Keago added 12 points for the Hornets.
Lukosius hit a pair of 3-pointers to help the Bearcats build an early 10-2 lead.
Cincinnati led 46-33 at halftime and the Bearcats’ defense helped them pull away in the second half as Alabama State went 7 for 30 from 3-point range.
NO. 17 BAYLOR 91, NEW ORLEANS 60
WACO, Texas (AP) — Jayden Nunn scored 23 points, including seven 3-pointers, and No. 17 Baylor led throughout in a victory over New Orleans.
After Nunn was recognized just before tipoff for reaching 1,000 career points earlier this month, he made two 3s in the first 68 seconds of the game for a 6-0 lead.
Freshman guard Robert Wright added 18 points for Baylor (5-2). Jeremy Roach had 17 points with eight assists, and Norchad Omier had his third consecutive double-double, getting 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Nunn had 20 points at halftime, when Baylor led 50-23. He has 457 points in 42 games for Baylor after scoring 591 in 65 games at VCU in two seasons.
Dae Dae Hunter had 18 points on six 3s for New Orleans (2-5).
NO. 20 TEXAS A&M 77, CREIGHTON 73
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Wade Taylor IV scored 18 points to lead No. 20 Texas A&M past No. 21 Creighton in the Players Era Festival.
Henry Coleman added 17 points, and Andersson Garcia and Solomon Washington each scored 10 for the Aggies (5-2).
Pop Isaacs led all scorers with 25 points with five 3-pointers as the Bluejays (4-3) dropped their third straight game. Jackson McAndrew added 16 points, and Steven Ashworth scored 14 points.
MICHIGAN 78, NO. 22 XAVIER 53
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Danny Wolf had 20 points and 14 rebounds, Vlad Goldin scored 18 points and Michigan beat No. 22 Xavier in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Tre Donaldson added 13 for the Wolverines (6-1) who led 41-30 at halftime.
Ryan Conwell led Xavier (6-1) with 19 points and Zach Freemantle added 14, but the Musketeers shot just 20 of 58 (34.5%) from the field while Michigan shot 30 of 61 (49.2%), including 50% on 3-pointers.
With former Michigan basketball coach John Beilein in attendance, the Wolverines used a 19-3 run to take a 38-21 lead.
Xavier committed 14 turnovers in the first half and the Wolverines had six steals.
Wolf had 16 of his points in the first half and had four 3-pointers in the game.
NO. 24 ARIZONA 104, DAVIDSON 71
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Anthony Dell’Orso hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, Caleb Love added three 3s and 20 points and No. 24 Arizona pulled away for a victory over Davidson at the Battle 4 Atlantis to snap a two-game skid.
Trey Townsend added 17 points, Tobe Awaka had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Motiejus Krivas scored 10 points for Arizona (3-2), which shot 57% and made 11 of 22 from 3-point range.
Connor Kochera scored 20 points and Bobby Durkin hit five 3s and added 15 points for Davidson (4-1), which shot 38% and made just 11 of 34 3-point tries.
Arizona’s 17-point second-half lead was cut to six about 7 1/2 minutes into the second half but the team outscored Davidson 36-9 the rest of the way.
Arizona led at halftime 49-37.