Battle and Nembhard lead No. 3 Gonzaga to 89-73 win over No. 14 Indiana
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Khalif Battle led a balanced attack with 16 points, Ryan Nembhard had a double-double and No. 3 Gonzaga used a first-half blitz to beat No. 14 Indiana 89-73 in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Thursday.
The Bulldogs led 33-31 with under eight minutes to go in the first half when five players scored in a 16-0 run in less than 4 1/2 minutes and the Hoosiers never got closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
Nembhard had 11 points and a career-high 13 assists for the Bulldogs (6-1). Michael Ajayi and Nolan Hickman added 15 points and Ben Gregg 13. Ajayi had nine rebounds as Gonzaga outrebounded Indiana 42-27.
Omar Ballo had 25 points for Indiana (4-2), which lost its second straight. Mackenzie Mgbako scored 13.
NO. 13 PURDUE 71, NC STATE 61
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 15 of his 22 points points in the second half and Camden Heide added 15 for No. 13 Purdue, which beat N.C. State in the opening game of the Rady Children’s Invitational.
It was a rematch of last season’s Final Four game, which Purdue won 63-50 before losing to UConn in the championship game.
Braden Smith had 11 points and and Fletcher Loyer 10 for Purdue (6-1).
Jayden Taylor scored 15 and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 13 for N.C. State (5-1).
Purdue’s biggest lead was 71-56 after Heider made a corner 3-pointer with 1:48 left.
NO. 18 FLORIDA 75, WAKE FOREST 58
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. scored 21 points and Alijah Martin added 16 as No. 18 Florida beat Wake Forest in the ESPN Events Invitational.
Florida (7-0) opened the second half with a 10-0 run to add to its 32-28 halftime lead. Cayton scored six points in the first half and 15 in the second half.
The Gators trailed by as many as nine points in the first half before going on a 12-2 run and taking a 23-22 lead with 4:46 remaining in the half. Florida’s charge was led by Will Richard, who had 10 points in the half and finished with 14.
Wake Forest fell to 6-2.
ILLINOIS 90, NO. 19 ARKANSAS 77
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Freshman Kasparas Jakucionis scored a season-high 23 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Illinois beat No. 19 Arkansas in the Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase.
Jakucionis hit two free throws to give Illinois a double-digit lead with 3:49 remaining in the game. Arkansas had a turnover and a missed jumper on its next two possessions and Jakucionis hit an open 3-pointer to make it 85-71 at 2:42.
Kylan Boswell added 18 points for Illinois (6-1). Head coach Brad Underwood broke a tie with J. Craig Ruby (1922-36) for fifth place in program history with 149 wins.
Adou Thiero went 12 of 21 from the line and scored 26 points for Arkansas (5-2). Zvonimir Ivisic had 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
NO. 23 MISSISSIPPI 96, BYU 85, OT
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jaylen Murray scored nine of his career-high 28 points in overtime and No. 23 Mississippi beat BYU in the Rady Children’s Invitational to extend its nonconference winning streak to 19 games, the longest in the country.
Murray hit a jumper 1:17 into OT to give the Rebels the lead for good. He added two free throws, a three-point play and two more free throws to help put the game out of reach.
Dre Davis and Matthew Murrell added 18 points apiece for the Rebels (6-0) in a fast-paced, sometimes-chippy game, while Sean Pedulla had 13.
Kanon Catchings scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures for the Cougars (5-1). Egor Demin, Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore added 16 apiece, and Mihailo Boskovic had 10.
Ole Miss will face No. 13 Purdue in the championship game on Friday.
OKLAHOMA 82, NO. 24 ARIZONA 77
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Freshman Jeremiah Fears scored a season-high 26 points, Jalon Moore added 24 and Oklahoma held off No. 24 Arizona in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Duke Miles made a high-arching floater in the lane with 2:55 remaining for a 78-69 lead, but Oklahoma failed to make another field goal the rest of the game.
Trailing 78-75 with under a minute left, Arizona had three chances at a basket, but Caleb Love and Jaden Bradley missed 3-pointers and KJ Lewis had a shot blocked. Fears finally grabbed a defensive rebound before making two free throws for a four-point lead.
Miles finished with 11 points and Luke Northweather scored 10 for Oklahoma (6-0).
Love scored 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting for Arizona (3-3). Bradley added 16 points.
NO. 25 MISSISSIPPI STATE 80, UNLV 58
Tempe, Ariz. (AP) — KeShawn Murphy had 14 points and 13 rebounds, Josh Hubbard scored 11 and No. 25 Mississippi State overpowered UNLV in the Arizona Tip-Off.
The Bulldogs (6-0) used a pair of runs to build a 13-point halftime lead and blew it wide open early in the second half to move into the championship game Friday night against Butler.
Mississippi State had a 46-29 rebounding advantage and scored 30 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds.
Jailen Bedford had 13 points and Jalen Hill added 11 to lead the Runnin’ Rebels (4-2).
The Bulldogs dominated after the opening six minutes, using runs of 7-0 and 12-2 to build a 39-21 lead. UNLV used a 6-0 spurt to cut it to 45-32 at halftime.
The Runnin’ Rebels shot better overall in the first half at 14 of 25, but the Bulldogs went 7 for 14 from 3-point range and had 16 second-chance points off nine offensive rebounds.
Mississippi State went on an 11-0 run to go up 62-36 and didn’t allow UNLV to trim the lead under 20 the rest of the way.