UMass in command
Cobb’s 17 highlight rout of Pine Bluff
Curtis Cobb scored 17 points and led four players in double-figure scoring and UMass bounced back from consecutive home losses with a rout of winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a Las Vegas Holiday Invitational Tournament campus game last night in Amherst.
The Minutemen (3-2), who played their first five games at home, head to Las Vegas for two tournament games. They face Southern Illinois on Thanksgiving.
UMass scored the game’s first seven points and pushed the lead to 10 points on Carl Pierre’s 3-pointer seven minutes into the game. By intermission, the lead was 17 points.
Cobb hit 4-of-5 shots from long range and Pierre was 4-of-9 to finish with 16 points. Luwane Pipkins added a double-double with 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
Martaveous McKnight finished with 27 points to lead the Golden Lions (0-4).
In other N.E. games: Utah Valley 72, Hartford 65 — Conner Toolson had 23
points and seven rebounds, helping the Wolverines (2-3) beat the Hawls (-14) in the middleweight bracket of the MGM Resorts Main Event in Las Vegas.
J.R. Lynch made five 3-pointers and had a careerhigh 25 points for Hartford.
In Top 25 action: Duke 90, San Diego State 64
— R.J. Barrett scored 20 points, Cam Reddish added 16 and the top-ranked Blue Devils (4-0) remained undefeated with a rout of the Aztecs (2-1) in the first round of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Duke shot 52 percent, made 10-of-25 from 3-point range and improved to 16-0 in Maui while earning a spot in today’s semifinals against No. 8 Auburn. North Carolina 101, Saint Francis (Pa.) 76 — Cameron Johnson scored 20 points, freshman Nassir Little added 19 and the No. 7 Tar Heels (5-0) cruised past the Red Flash (1-3) in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Luke Maye had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Kenny Williams had a career-high nine assists and freshman Coby White finished with 16 points for North Carolina, which shot 52 percent and never trailed. Auburn 88, Xavier 79 — Bryce Brown scored 26 points, Jared Harper added 25 and the No. 8 Tigers (4-0) outlasted the Musketeers (2-2) to open the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
The Tigers shot poorly from the perimeter early and had a hard time shaking the new-look Musketeers, missing a shot to win in regulation.
Ryan Welage had 17 points for the Musketeers. Kansas State 82, Missouri 67 — Dean Wade scored 21 points, and the No. 12 Wildcats (5-0) crushed the Tigers (3-2) in the championship game of the Paradise Jam tournament in St. Thomas.
Barry Brown Jr. added 19 points and six assists, Xavier Sneed had 13 points and Kamau Stokes scored 10 for the Wildcats, who won their first in-season tournament title in four tries under head coach Bruce Weber.
Jordan Geist had 24 points, Xavier Pinson added 12 and Mark Smith 11 for Missouri. Florida State 93, Canisius 61
— In Tallahassee, Fla., Mfiondu Kabengele scored a careerhigh 18 points and Terance Mann added 12 as the No. 14 Seminoles (3-0) warmed up after a seven-day layoff to beat the Golden Griffins (1-1).
Kabengele, the nephew of former NBA All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo, came off the bench to shoot 6-of-12 from the floor and grab six rebounds for the Seminoles.
Malik Johnson scored 20 points for Canisius. Clemson 72, Akron 69 — Shelton Mitchell scored 22 points with four steals, Elijah Thomas had 15 points and 12 rebounds and the No. 16 Tigers (4-0) beat the Zips (3-1) in the first game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
Marcquise Reed added 16 points for Clemson (4-0).