LAHAINA, Hawaii — C.J Fair scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 8 Syracuse beat No. 18 Baylor 74-67 on Wednesday night for the Maui Invitational title.
LAHAINA, Hawaii — C.J Fair scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half and No. 8 Syracuse beat No. 18 Baylor 74-67 on Wednesday night for the Maui Invitational title.
The Orange (7-0) delivered three wins in three days, taking control against Baylor midway through the first half and limiting the Bears’ hopes of a comeback. Syracuse improved to 9-0 all-time at Maui — it also won the tournament in 1990 and 1998.
“And guess what — I’m never coming back,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim jokingly after the game in a television interview.
Fair won the tournament’s MVP, taking home a wooden trophy shaped like a basketball. After the game, he posed for photos with several fans with the hardware before walking off the floor.
Syracuse stopped would-be runs by Baylor several times. The loss snapped Baylor’s 11-game winning streak — longest in the nation — dating back to last season’s NIT championship run.
No. 3 KENTUCKY 81,
EASTERN MICHIGAN 63
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Aaron Harrison scored 22 points, Willie Cauley-Stein added 15, and third-ranked Kentucky earned its 500th Rupp Arena win by beating Eastern Michigan 81-63 on Wednesday.
Two days after escaping Cleveland State with a late rally, the Wildcats (6-1) was more methodical in improving to 500-62 lifetime in the 37-year-old home named for legendary coach Adolph Rupp. Leading just 35-32 at halftime, Kentucky steadily built it to double digits with 12:52 left and led by as many as 18 with three minutes remaining.
Kentucky controlled the glass, outrebounding the Eagles 52-33 including 19 offensive and scoring 23 second-chance points.
No. 4 ARIZONA 66, DREXEL 62
NEW YORK — Nick Johnson scored 20 points and freshman Aaron Gordon had 10 points and 13 rebounds and Arizona rallied from a terrible first half to beat Drexel in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Wildcats used a 25-4 run spanning halftime to wipe out an 18-point first-half deficit and take their first lead of the game, 33-31 on a basket by Brandon Ashley with 16:11 to play.
That was the first of 11 lead changes in a span of 8 1-2 minutes as the Dragons stayed around a lot longer than most thought they would.
The Wildcats (6-0) will face No. 6 Duke on Friday night for the championship at Madison Square Garden.
Chris Fouch led Drexel with 29 points on 11-of-27 shooting and Frantz Massenat added 17.
No. 6 DUKE 74, ALABAMA 64
NEW YORK — Jabari Parker matched his season-high with 27 points, setting the Duke record for consecutive 20-point games to start a career and the Blue Devils beat Alabama in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Parker, one of the heralded freshmen in college basketball this season, was 9 of 12 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free throw line in matching his point total in the Blue Devils’ only loss, 83-54 to No. 2 Kansas and breaking the 20-point mark for the seventh time.
The Blue Devils (6-1), who committed a season-high 19 turnovers will face No. 4 Arizona, which beat Drexel 66-62, in the championship game on Friday at Madison Square Garden.
No. 10 WISCONSIN 70,
WEST VIRGINIA 63
CANCUN, Mexico — Sam Dekker scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help Wisconsin beat West Virginia to remain unbeaten and win the Cancun Challenge championship.
With 15 assists, Wisconsin (7-0) played team ball — four players scored in double digits — while West Virginia (5-2) was led by Evon Harris, with a game-high 27 points and a career-high seven 3-pointers, and Juwan Staten, with 18 points.
No. 11 GONZAGA 91, ARKANSAS 81
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Kevin Pangos scored 32 points and No. 11 Gonzaga easily beat Arkansas in the Maui Invitational.
Pangos made seven of eight 3-point attempts, including four during a 3-minute stretch in the second half that led the Bulldogs to an 18-point lead.
He did more than just shoot 3s — He had four assists and three rebounds, plus several layups in traffic in moments the game was still close.
Gonzaga (6-1) never trailed and responded each time the Razorbacks tried to string together baskets.
By wire sources