LAS VEGAS (AP) — Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan each scored 26 points, teaming for all 11 of No. 3 Houston’s points in overtime, in the Cougars’ 78-74 victory over Syracuse on Monday in the opening round of the Players Era.
Uzan, playing in his hometown, scored six points in OT and Sharp had five to keep the Cougars (6-0) undefeated. Chris Cenac Jr. scored all eight of his points after halftime and had 12 rebounds.
Tyler Betsey led Syracuse (4-1) with 16 points. Kiyan Anthony, playing in front of is dad — former Orange and NBA star Carmelo — scored 10 points.
The Orange gave Houston a fight even though Syracuse is without its leading scorer this week. Donnie Freeman, who averages 17.8 points, is out with a lower-body injury.
Syracuse might have pulled off the upset had the Orange shot better from the free throw line. They made just 12 of 29 foul shots, but still somehow made a Houston team coming off an appearance in the national title game have to earn the victory.
NO. 2 ARIZONA 103, DENVER 73
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Brayden Burries and Ivan Kharchenkov each scored a career-high 20 points and Arizona got 72 points from freshmen in a win over Denver.
Burries was 7 of 13 from the field, making 3 of 7 from 3-point range, and added seven rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Kharchenkov was 9 for 12 from the field as the Wildcats (6-0) won their 41st consecutive home game against an unranked opponent.
Fellow freshman Dwayne Aristode had a career high with 17 points, making 4 of 8 from 3-point range, while Tobe Awaka and Koa Peat each had 12 points. Awaka added 15 rebounds for his second double-double of the season as Arizona won the rebounding battle 50-29.
The Wildcats reached 100 points for the 18th time under fifth-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
Carson Johnson scored 18 points and Zane Nelson added 17 for Denver. The Pioneers (2-4) shot 40% and turned it over 15 times leading to 23 points for Arizona.
NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 87, EASTERN MICHIGAN 46
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Isaac McKneely scored 17 points for Louisville, which put the defensive clamps on Eastern Michigan, holding the Eagles to 28% shooting in a victory.
The Cardinals (6-0) jumped out to a 19-4 lead midway through the first half. The lead grew to 31-9 with 4:29 remaining before halftime. However, the Cardinals missed their final five shots and shot a season-low 34.4% (11 of 32) in the first half.
The second half was a different story as the Cardinals shot 63.3% to finish at 48.4% for the game.
Three days after shooting 62.7% in a 97-91 win over Oakland, the Eagles (3-3) converted just six of their 31 first-half shots. That included a 2 for 20 stretch over a 12:16 span in the opening 20 minutes.
The shooting performance was the Eagles’ worst since hitting at that rate in a 91-65 loss to Bowling Green on Jan. 3, 2023.
Mohammad Habhab scored 12 for Eastern Michigan and Carlos Hart finished with 11.
Mikel Brown Jr. and Aly Khalifa added 11 points each for Louisville.
NO. 7 MICHIGAN 94, SAN DIEGO STATE 54
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg scored 15 points and Michigan routed San Diego State in the opening round of the Players Era tournament.
Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr. each had 13 points. Nimari Burnett and Rodd Gale Jr. scored 11 apiece and Will Tschetter added 10. Michigan (4-0) outrebounded the Aztecs (2-1) 45-39 and scored 15 fast-break points.
For the Aztecs, freshman Elzie Harrington scored 15 points and B.J. Davis added 11. San Diego State turned the ball over 17 times.
Michigan started the second half with an 8-0 run to turn a 12-point halftime advantage to 20 points in the first 2:41. Johnson had five of the eight points. The Aztecs never got closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
NO. 12 GONZAGA 95, NO. 8 ALABAMA 85
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tyon Grant-Foster and Graham Ike each scored 21 points to lead Gonzaga to a victory over Alabama in the Players Era tournament, the Bulldogs’ second win over a ranked team.
Gonzaga (6-0) defeated then-No. 23 Creighton 90-63 on Nov. 11. Alabama (3-2) has played four ranked teams, going 2-2.
Ike, who was limping in the second half, also had 11 rebounds. Braden Huff scored 18 points, one of five Bulldogs in double figures.
Alabama sophomore Labaron Philon Jr. scored a career-high 29 points, eclipsing the 25 he had against then-No. 5 St. John’s on Nov. 8. But Philon’s layup with 9:51 left was the last time he scored. Three other Crimson Tide players also reached double figures.
NO. 13 ILLINOIS 87, TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY 73
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Andrej Stojakovic scored 24 points for his fourth 20-point performance in five games, leading Illinois to a victory over Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Recommended for you
Mihailo Petrovic had 12 points, and David Mirkovic and twins Zvonimir and Tomislav Ivisic each added 10 for the Illini (6-1). They are 6-0 at home.
Illinois has started the season scoring 80 or more points in all seven games. The Illini haven’t done that since the 1988-89 season, when the Flyin’ Illini, who lost in the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, opened with 12 consecutive games of 80 or more points.
Kye Dickson scored 21 points and Filip Brankovic had 15 for the Rio Grande Valley (2-4), which trailed 42-31 at halftime and cut the Illinois lead to six points twice early in the second half, but didn’t get any closer.
NO. 15 IOWA STATE 83, NO. 14 ST. JOHN'S 82
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 23 points and Iowa State defeated St. John’s in the Players Era tournament.
St. John’s had a chance to take the lead after Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson threw the ball away with 30 seconds left, but Oziyah Sellers missed a driving layup at the other end.
Jefferson made up for his miscue by sinking free throws with 9.4 seconds left.
Big East preseason player of the year Zuby Ejiofor’s 3-point attempt at the end clanked off the rim, and Dillon Mitchell’s put-back at the buzzer provided the final margin.
Back in his hometown, Las Vegas product Jefferson finished with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Tamin Lipsey scored 16 points for Iowa State (5-0) before leaving with a lower-body injury.
Sellers led St. John’s (3-2) with 20 points, while Ejiofor and Bryce Hopkins both finished with 16 points. Mitchell chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.
NO. 17 TENNESSEE 85, RUTGERS 60
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 32 point and Nate Ament added 20 to help Tennessee defeat Rutgers in the first day of play at the Players Era tournament.
Gillespie made six 3-pointers in the game. Felix Okpara and J.P. Estrella each scored 10 points, while Okpara and Cade Phillips had seven rebounds apiece.
For Rutgers, freshman Harun Zarno led the way with 14 points while J.R. Buchanan added 13 and Dylan Grant scored 10.
Rutgers stayed within 10 points through the first 12 minutes of the first half, but Tennessee went on a 17-8 run in the next 2:40 to build a 41-22 lead. In that span, Ament scored nine points. Tennessee extended the lead to 56-30 at the half.
The Volunteers built their lead to 30 points with 12:06 left in the game at 70-40 on a 3-pointer from Gillespie. Shortly afterwards, coach Rick Barnes made wholesale changes to the lineup.
Tennessee shot 50.8% from the field, including 50% (11-for-22) from 3-point range. The Volunteers out-rebounded the Scarlet Knights 43-28 and forced 13 turnovers.
NO. 21 AUBURN 84, OREGON 73
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tahaad Pettiford scored 24 points before fouling out and Auburn beat Oregon in the Players Era Championship.
The Tigers (5-1) shot 57.1% in the second half and used a late 10-0 run to pull away from pesky Oregon (4-1) and extend their winning streak against Big Ten teams to nine.
Senior transfer Keyshawn Hall added 18 points for Auburn, which fell short of its season scoring average of 93.4.
Takai Simpkins led Oregon with 22 points. Kwame Evans, Jr. added 11 points and Nate Bittle had 10.
Auburn had 12 steals and scored 14 points off Oregon’s 18 turnovers.
The Tigers, who came in ranked 27th with 9.4 turnovers per game, committed just six turnovers. Auburn also did a good job dominating the inside, outscoring Oregon in the paint, 38-24.
SETON HALL 85, NO. 23 NC STATE 74
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — A.J. Staton-McCray scored 22 points to lead Seton Hall to a win over North Carolina State in a Maui Invitational quarterfinal.
The Pirates (6-0) led the Wolfpack (4-1) for all but the first three minutes, going up by as many as 18 points.
Staton-McCray shot 7 of 11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.
Mike Williams scored 11 of his 14 points in the first half, Elijah Fisher and Adam Clark added 13 points apiece, Tajuan Simpkins 11 and Najai Hines 10 for Seton Hall, which shot 29 of 56 (51.8%) from the field and 20 of 24 (83.3%) on free throws.
Ven-Allen Lubin scored 16 points with nine rebounds to lead N.C. State and Matt Able added 15 points.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.