Hoyas win despite dismal shooting
Georgetown and Tennessee held each other scoreless over the final four minutes, and the No. 20 Hoyas beat the Volunteers 37-36 in a display of abysmal shooting Friday night in the SEC/Big East Challenge.
On a night when the “challenge” part of the event was the task of simply putting the ball in the basket, the teams combined to make just 7 of 20 shots — from the free throw line. The fieldgoal shooting was just as horrid, with the Vols hitting 33 percent and the Hoyas 36 percent.
Appropriately enough, the final possession of the game consisted of an air ball by Tennessee’s Skylar McBee. The rebound went out of bounds to the Vols, and Jordan McRae’s 3-pointer at the buzzer clanged off the rim.
No player scored in double figures for either team.
No. 6 Syracuse 91, Arkansas 82: James Southerland came off the bench to score a gamehigh 33 points to lead the visiting Orange. Brandon Triche and Michael Carter-Williams each added 17 points for Syracuse (5-0).
No. 10 Kansas 84, Oregon State 78: Ben McLemore scored 21 points and Travis Releford 20 as the Jayhawks downed the Beavers in Kansas City, Mo.
Oklahoma 69, Northwestern State 65: Romero Osby scored 11 points and host Oklahoma converted three free throws in the final 17 seconds to give coach Lon Kruger his 500th career victory.
Utah 74, Texas State 69: Jarred Dubois had 21 points and Jason Washburn added 18 to lead visiting Utah over Texas State. Jordan Loveridge added 15 points and eight rebounds for Utah (5-2).
Joel Wright had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Texas State (34). Vonn Jones added 16 points, and Matt Staff had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Women
No. 10 California 63, Old Dominion 47: Layushia Clarendon scored 15 points and No. 10 California survived a scare in a very sloppy road debut, beating Old Dominion.
Brittany Boyd added 11 points and Gennifer Brandon had nine points and 17 rebounds for the Golden Bears (6-0), who won despite committing 25 turnovers and missing 16 of 32 free throws. half in the locker room after suffering a concussion when she absorbed an inadvertent elbow to her forehead in the first half. Texas post player Cokie Reed, a senior, also suffered a concussion, which occurred early in the second half after she had scored 16 points. She headed to the bench and did not return.
Both Fussell and Reed will be re-evaluated on Monday, Texas coach Karen Aston said. The Longhorns next play on Dec. 8, when they will face UCLA at Reliant Stadium in Houston.
After the Longhorns’ victory Friday afternoon, Fussell headed to her sister’s wedding on Saturday in Troy, Tenn.
With the Longhorns playing before 6,340 fans — including about 4,000 elementary school students — Bass connected on her first shot of the season, a three-pointer from the left wing midway through the first half. She finished with 11 points.
UT’s frontcourt trio of Reed, Nneka Enemkpali and Imani McGee-Stafford combined for 47 points and 32 rebounds as the 13th-ranked Longhorns improved to 5-0.
“This was a very important and special game for me,” Bass said. “Coming back from injury has been a long road, and I just wanted to come out and show that I have been working really hard to get back.”
This is the second straight year Bass opened the season on the bench after suffering a concussion in practice. Aston said Bass lends “leadership and maturity” to a team with seven first-year players.
On Friday, Texas built a 16-2 lead before A&MCorpus Christi made its first field goal, a jumper by guard Alisa Roberts with 11:19 to play in the first half.
“I continue to be impressed by how our team has started games,” said Aston, whose Horns led 46-9 at halftime. “I really love teams that are ready to play when the tip happens, and I’m a big believer in setting a tone in the first four or five minutes.”
After a slow start, Enemkpali scored 11 points and contributed 18 rebounds, her fifth straight double-double to open the season, tying a school record set by Tiffany Jackson in 2006.