NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Fletcher Loyer scored 20 points to lead No. 1 Purdue to an 80-71 victory over Memphis on Thursday night at the Baha Mar Championship.
CJ Cox added 18 points for Purdue (5-0). He and Loyer each made four 3-pointers. Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists before fouling out after 27 minutes, and reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith had 11 assists.
Dug McDaniel paced Memphis (1-3) with 18 points, six assists and six rebounds. Zach Davis chipped in 11 points.
The game featured nine lead changes and six ties. Trailing by two, momentum seemed to swing in Purdue’s direction with 7:54 to play when Memphis forward Aaron Bradshaw fouled out after getting a technical following an altercation with Purdue’s Oscar Cluff. The game was physical and chippy throughout, with three technical fouls given out by officials.
Loyer sank the pair of technical free throws, which was the start of a 17-5 game-sealing run for the Boilermakers. The late surge featured a sequence from Loyer where he connected on a fast-break layup and then sank a 3-pointer seconds later, giving Purdue a nine-point advantage with under 3 1/2 minutes to play.
NO. 2 HOUSTON 91, RIDER 45
HOUSTON (AP) — Kingston Flemings scored 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, Emanuel Sharp added 15 points, and Houston beat Rider.
Mercy Miller scored 14 points off the bench, Joseph Tugler finished with 12 points and nine rebounds and Chris Cenac Jr. had 12 points for Houston (5-0).
Caleb Smith scored 13 points and Zion Cruz added nine points for Rider (1-3), which shot 31% and was 4 of 17 on 3-pointers.
Flemings had 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the first half as Houston built a 47-25 halftime lead. Houston shot 8 of 11 from the field to start the game and shot 59% in the first half in building its halftime lead.
Houston jumped to a 17-2 lead on a layup by Flemings with 15:19 remaining in the first half, and the lead never dipped below 11 points the rest of the way
The Cougars shot 56% and were 10 of 26 on 3-pointers for the game. Houston forced 23 turnovers and converted them into 33 points.
NO. 14 ST. JOHN'S 97, BUCKNELL 49
NEW YORK (AP) — Bryce Hopkins scored 20 points in 17 minutes for his highest-scoring game in nearly two years, and St. John’s routed Bucknell.
Hopkins who tore his ACL in January of 2024 and played only three games for Providence last season due to continued knee trouble, made 7 of 9 shots and has scored in double figures in each game this season.
Hopkins scored 13 points in the first half and hit two 3s in the final 11 1/2 minutes of the period, when coach Rick Pitino’s Red Storm (3-1) began asserting themselves after missing 11 of their first 14 shots.
The forward finished with at least 20 points for the first time since scoring 26 for Providence against Sacred Heart on Dec. 16, 2023.
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Reserve Ian Jackson added a season-high 20 points. Ruben Prey scored 14 as the Red Storm shot 50.8% and scored 32 fast-break points.
Dillon Mitchell had 10 points and 10 rebounds, while leading scorer and rebounder Zuby Ejiofor was held to five points and four rebounds.
Amon Dorries scored 12 points for Bucknell (2-4), which dropped its fourth straight.
NO. 15 TEXAS TECH 84, WAKE FOREST 83
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — JT Toppin scored 21 points to help Texas Tech hold off Wake Forest at the Baha Mar Championship.
Toppin, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year, had nine rebounds and four assists for the Red Raiders (4-1). Christian Anderson added 16 points and eight assists for Texas Tech, while Tyeree Bryan scored 13 and Jaylen Petty had 11.
Juke Harris powered Wake Forest (3-2) with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Myles Colvin chipped in 19 points.
The Red Raiders opened the game by making their first three 3-point attempts. Wake Forest buckled down on defense, though, holding Texas Tech to 2 of 18 from deep for the rest of the first half. After a 10-0 run, capped off by a two-handed slam from Marqus Marion, the Demon Deacons trailed by a single point at intermission.
Mekhi Mason then sank a 3-pointer to open the second half, giving Wake its first lead of the game and starting a 13-5 run.
Texas Tech charged back and tied the game with 2:08 to play on a 3-pointer from Petty. Anderson then sank a mid-range jumper, and the Red Raiders connected on 6 of 8 free throws in the final 90 seconds to seal it.
NO. 20 TENNESSEE 89, TENNESSEE STATE 60
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures as Tennessee beat Tennessee State.
Nate Ament and Amaree Abram each scored 15, DeWayne Brown II had 13 and Felix Okpara scored 11 for the Volunteers (5-0).
Aaron Nkrumah scored 19 to lead the Tigers (2-3). Travis Harper II had 17 and Antoine Lorick added 12.
Gillespie had 10 points and four assists to lead the Vols to a 43-21 halftime lead. Nkrumah, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference player of the week (23.5 points, 7 rebounds) had 10 for the Tigers.
Tennessee State outrebounded the Vols in the first half 19-18, but Tennessee held a 38-30 rebounding advantage in the game.
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