No. 2 Alabama beats McNeese State 72-64

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Grant Nelson scored 22 points and had seven rebounds to lead No. 2 Alabama over McNeese State 72-64 on Monday night.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. went 5 for 9 from 3-point range, scoring 15 points for the Crimson Tide (3-0), and Mark Sears added 15 points, three rebounds and five assists.

McNeese State (1-2) struggled with foul trouble, committing 22 fouls. Javohn Garcia, who has averaged 18 points per game this season, was limited to 11 minutes due to foul trouble, scoring only four points.

Sincere Parker led the Cowboys with 19 points off the bench, and Alyn Breed scored 17 points.

NO. 7 IOWA STATE 82, KANSAS CITY 56

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Curtis Jones came off the bench to score 20 points and Milan Momcilovic added 16 to lead No. 7 Iowa State in a rout over Kansas City.

Jones, who played a key role as Iowa State’s sixth man last season, has scored 20 or more points three times in his 32 games with the Cyclones. He had 26 in a Sweet 16 loss to Illinois.

Charlotte transfer Dishon Jackson added 13 points and six rebounds in his second game for Iowa State (2-0). Keshon Gilbert just missed a double-double with nine points and 10 assists.

Jamar Brown led the Roos (2-1) with 20 points and Jayson Petty added 12.

NO. 13 PURDUE 92, YALE 84

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Braden Smith finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Trey Kaufman-Renn added 17 points to lead No. 13 Purdue past Yale.

The Boilermakers (3-0) extended their home winning streak to 21, tying the third-longest in Mackey Arena history. They’ve also won 24 consecutive November games and still have not lost a regular-season non-conference game since December 2020.

John Poulakidas scored 23 points and made five 3-pointers to lead Yale (1-2). Samson Aletan had a career high 14 points and seven rebounds for the defending Ivy League champs.

Purdue played without 7-foot-4 freshman Daniel Jacobsen, who fractured his right tibia in his second career start Friday. He is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday and could miss the rest of this season.

NO. 15, MARQUETTE 70, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 62

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Stevie Mitchell scored 17 points and No. 15 Marquette capitalized on an early 21-0 run to defeat a pesky Central Michigan team.

Kam Jones and Chase Ross each added 12 points for the Golden Eagles, and Ben Gold had 10. Jones also had eight assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Kyler VanderJagt had 19 points to lead Central Michigan (1-2).

The game was tied at 15 just over nine minutes in before Marquette (3-0) scored 21 straight points in a span of 3 minutes, 21 seconds. Jones had 10 points and two assists during that spurt.

Central Michigan got the margin down to five in the second half but couldn’t come all the way back.

NO. 20 FLORIDA 86, GRAMBLING STATE 62

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Reuben Chinyelu tied his career-high with 14 points, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard added 12 apiece, and No. 20 Florida beat Grambling State in coach Todd Golden’s first game since he acknowledged an ongoing school inquiry into sexual harassment and stalking allegations.

Golden said previously he is considering “defamation claims.”

Golden, 39, got a rousing ovation during pregame introductions. He shook hands with assistants and got several hugs from players as well as Grambling State coach Donte’ Jackson. Golden’s wife, Megan, and their two children sat behind the bench.

One difference: advertisements and public service announcements involving the coach were removed from video boards inside the O’Connell Center.

The Independent Florida Alligator reported Friday that the university is investigating Golden through a Title IX complaint.

Kintavious Dozier led the Tigers (1-2) with 19 points.

The Gators are 3-0 for the first time in Golden’s three seasons.

NO. 21 OHIO STATE 81, YOUNGSTOWN 47

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Aaron Bradshaw and John Mobley Jr. each scored 16 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 21 Ohio State went on an early run and then crushed Youngstown State.

Ohio State (2-0) played outstanding defense, holding a Youngstown State (1-1) team with mostly new players to 24% shooting.

The Buckeyes shot 55%, with Bruce Thornton scoring 12, Meechie Johnson Jr. adding 11, including three 3-pointers, and Sean Stewart 10.

Bradshaw was 5 for 8 and had eight rebounds. Mobley was 3 for 4 from beyond the arc as the Buckeyes hit 46% of their long shots.

Cris Carroll paced the Penguins with 10 points and seven rebounds, and Ty Harper and 7-foot-3 Gabe Dynes each added nine points.

NO. 23 TEXAS A&M 97, LAMAR 71

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Zhuric Phelps scored 16 points and Wade Taylor IV and Andersson Garcia each had 15 as No. 23 Texas A&M defeated Lamar.

Henry Coleman III added 13 points for the Aggies (2-1), who dropped 10 spots in the AP Top 25 poll this week. But they have won consecutive games over Lamar and East Texas A&M after opening the season with a 64-61 loss at UCF.

Alexis Marmolejos led Lamar (1-1) with 23 points.

Phelps is an SMU transfer who has led the Aggies in scoring in their last two games after missing the opener with a hand injury.

Texas A&M shot 55.2% from the floor, including 12 for 26 (46%) from 3-point range, and sixth-year coach Buzz Williams earned his 350th career victory. He is 350-218 over 18 seasons.

NO. 24 RUTGERS 75, ST. PETERS 65

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — Dylan Harper scored 24 points and hit a go-ahead layup with 3:49 to play to lead No. 24 Rutgers to a much-harder-than expected 75-65 victory over New Jersey foe Saint Peter’s on Monday night.

The Scarlet Knights (2-0) had to overcame a five-point halftime deficit and twice had to rally in the final minutes after the Peacocks (0-3) wiped out a nine-point deficit and took one-point leads, the last at 65-64 on a layup by Tyreck Morris with 4:07 to go.

Harper hit a layup less than 20 seconds later and it keyed a game-ending 11-0 run for Rutgers, which did not allow a point after Morris’ basket.

Fellow freshman Lathan Sommerville added 14 points for Rutgers, which again played without highly regarded freshman Ace Bailey for the second straight game. He has yet to made his collegiate debut after sustaining an undisclosed injury a week ago.

Marcus Randolph scored a career-high 22 points, but only six in the second half. Saint Peter’s missed its final eight shots after shooting 53% in the first half to make a sellout crowd at Jersey Mike’s Arena a little nervous.