HONOLULU – On the court for their second game of the season, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Rainbow Warriors dispatched their second in-state foe in as many games, defeating the Vulcans of UH-Hilo 89-66.
The Warriors’ advantage on the boards proved to be key to the blowout, as they outrebounded the visiting Vulcans by a ratio of nearly 2:1. Hawaii pulled in 53 rebounds compared to just 28 for Hilo.
Four Rainbow Warrior players reached double figures in scoring, led by Justin Webster with 15 points.
Freshman Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones was a bright spot for the Vulcans, posting a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The win lifted the ‘Bows’ all-time record to 11-0 against the Vulcans.
Up next, Hawaii prepares for Big West Conference play; they welcome Cal Poly to the Simplifi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center Dec. 27.
No. 1 GONZAGA 99,
No.3 IOWA 88
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Jalen Suggs scored 18 of his career-high 27 points in the first half and No. 1 Gonzaga held off a late rally to beat No. 3 Iowa 99-88 on Saturday.
This was the Bulldogs first game since pausing activities in early December because of the coronavirus. Gonzaga showed little rust from not playing a game since Dec. 2.
Suggs, the West Coast Conference freshman player of the week before Gonzaga’s season was paused, entered the game against Iowa averaging 13.3 points per game. He blew by that midway through the first half and finished 8 for 17 from the floor and was 7 for 10 from the 3-point line. His previous career high was 24 against Kansas on Nov. 26.
Drew Timme added 15 points and Joel Ayai added 11 points and grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds for Gonzaga (4-0).
Luka Garza led Iowa (6-1) with 30 points and 10 rebounds on 13-of-18 shooting. Joe Wieskamp added 20 points and nine rebounds for the Hawkeyes.
No. 2 BAYLOR 100, KANSAS STATE 69
MANHATTAN, Kan. — MaCio Teague had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Davion Mitchell scored 20 points and Baylor beat Kansas State.
Jared Butler had 14 points and 13 assists for his first career double-double with the Bears (5-0, 1-0 Big 12), and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua scored 13 points.
Antonio Gordon led the Wildcats (3-5, 1-1) with 23 points on 9-of-9 shooting, and Selton Miguel scored 14 points.
This was the first game for Baylor in a week after the school paused team activity due to COVID-19 protocols.
No. 7 VILLANOVA 88, SAINT JOSEPH’S 68
VILLANOVA, Pa. — Jeremiah Robinson-Earl scored 25 points with a broken nose, Caleb Daniels had 19 points and Villanova beat Saint Joseph’s in a hastily-scheduled game.
Robinson-Earl played with a protective mask after breaking his nose in Wednesday’s win against Butler. He helped the Wildcats (7-1) turn this one into a rout in the second half with 8-of-14 shooting overall, and he made seven of Villanova’s 11 free throws, added seven rebounds and never seemed bothered by his injury.
The winless Hawks (0-4) made it a game for a while and trailed by eight at halftime, the latest to force somewhat of a competitive score against Villanova until the Wildcats pulled away.
Villanova got a 3-pointer from Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore’s fastbreak dunk off a turnover made it 58-43. Daniels, fitting right in after transferring from Tulsa, buried a 3 for a 25-point lead, and there was no slowing down the Wildcats.
No. 12 WISCONSIN 85, No. 23 LOUISVILLE 48
MADISON, Wis. — Micah Potter scored 20 points and Aleem Ford added 12 to lead Wisconsin over short-handed Louisville in a rescheduled ACC/Big Ten Challenge game.
The Cardinals, playing their first game since Dec. 1 after team activities were suspended due to coronavirus issues within the program, were without leading scorer Carlik Jones. The graduate transfer point guard, averaging 17.3 points, traveled with the team but didn’t play.
Louisville (4-1), playing its first road game, originally had been scheduled to visit Wisconsin on Dec. 9.
Trevor Anderson added 11 points and Brad Davison 10 for Wisconsin (6-1), which rolled to a 44-18 halftime lead.
David Johnson had 12 points and Quinn Slazinski 11 for the Cardinals.
UCF 86, No. 15 FLORIDA STATE 74
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Brandon Mahan scored 26 of his career-high 32 points in the second half and Isaiah Adams added 22 points as UCF ended Florida State’s 27-game home winning streak.
Mahan shot 10 of 13 from the floor and 10 of 10 from the line as UCF (2-1) won for the first time in 12 games against the Seminoles.
Darin Green Jr. scored 20 points for the Knights, who opened the second half by making 6 of 7 3-pointers to pull away. UCF shot 27 of 54 (50%) from the floor and 9 of 19 (47.4%) from 3-point range.
M.J. Walker scored 22 points, two shy of a career high as the Seminoles (4-1) saw their streak of 41 straight home nonconference wins snapped.
No. 20 OHIO STATE 77, UCLA 70
CLEVELAND — Duane Washington Jr. hit two free throws in the final minute and finished with 14 points, helping Ohio State hold off UCLA at the CBS Sports Classic.
Zed Key had 11 points and six rebounds and CJ Walker scored 10 points for the Buckeyes (6-1), who bounced back from a 70-67 loss at Purdue on Dec. 16. Neither team led by more than six points until the final minute.
UCLA (5-2) ended a five-game winning streak. It built a 54-48 lead on Johnny Juzang’s 3-pointer with 12:35 left. Cody Riley scored 15 points and Juzang had 13 for the Bruins.
Tyger Campbell’s free throw pulled UCLA within 73-68 with 2:46 left, and neither team scored again until Washington’s free throws with 51 seconds left made it a three-possession game.
No. 22 NORTH CAROLINA 75, KENTUCKY 63
CLEVELAND — Armando Bacot scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the second half, rallying North Carolina from a double-digit deficit to beat Kentucky at the CBS Sports Classic.
Kentucky (1-5) has lost five in a row for the first time since John Calipari became coach in 2009.
Kerwin Walton scored 13 points and fellow freshman guard Caleb Love had 11 points and six assists for the Tar Heels (5-2), who outscored the Wildcats 33-15 to end the game.
Kentucky’s Davion Mintz scored 17 points — making all three of the Wildcats’ 3-pointers — and grabbed eight rebounds.