Eagles rally past Rhode Island
Wynston Tabbs had his first career double-double, Steffon Mitchell added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Boston College beat Rhode Island 69-64 on Thursday night at the 2K Empire Classic.
Tabbs, a 6-foot-2 guard who missed all of last season (knee) after averaging 13.9 points as a freshman in 2018-19, finished with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Rich Kelly — a graduate transfer from Quinnipiac — scored all of his 11 points in the second half for BC (1-1).
Fatts Russell led Rhode Island (1-1) with 23 points.
After Ishmael Leggett made a layup to give the Rams their biggest lead at 48-42, Luka Kraljevic and Kelly made back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a 10-1 run that gave BC a 52-49 lead when Makai AshtonLangford hit two free throws with 8:43 to play.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Rhode Island shot 46% from the field, compared to 42% by the Eagles, but the Rams made just 3 of 18 from 3-point range and 9-of-18 free throws. BC hit 20 of 34 (59%) from the foul line.
Jay Heath, who scored 16 points in BC’s season-opening loss to No. 3 Villanova, did not play (foot). Heath led the team in scoring (13.7 per game) as a freshman last season.
Tabbs hit a 3-pointer to give the Eagles their biggest lead at 29-21 with 5:18 left in the first half but Rhode Island scored 10 of the next 11 points to take a one-point lead into the break.
No. 1 Gonzaga 102, No. 6 Kansas 90 — Drew Timme scored 25 points, Jalen Suggs had 24 and Corey Kispert added 23 as No. 1 Gonzaga pulled away from No. 6 Kansas for a victory in the season opener for both teams.
The Bulldogs built a double-digit lead in the first half at the Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off, then saw the Jayhawks tie it twice in the second half before putting them away. Gonzaga went on a 22-7 run to go up 96-78.
Suggs, who got in foul trouble in the first half, scored 17 of his 24 in the second half.
Marcus Garrett led Kansas with 22 points and Ochai Agbaji added 17 points. Agbai picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half, which hurt the Jayhawks. When he left, Kansas trailed 70-67.
The Jayhawks rallied from a 14-point deficit in the first half to tie the game at 57.
Gonzaga went on a 12-3 run to take a 20-9 lead. Timme scored eight of those points from the inside. He and the Bulldogs constantly broke down Kansas’ defense, which led to three layups in a row.
With Gonzaga leading 2915, Kansas made a couple of runs to cut the deficit to as little as five. However, Kispert heated up and kept the Jayhawks at bay. Gonzaga led 54-46 at the half.
The Bulldogs showed great balance. While they outscored Kansas 30-14 in the paint, they made 5 of 10 3-pointers. They also made 68% of their shots in the first half (21 of 31).
The way these teams played each other, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Gonzaga and Kansas meet again late in the NCAA Tournament, maybe the Final Four.
The Bulldogs are deep and look like they can play defense as well as any of coach Mark Few’s teams. They can score from the inside and the outside.
Kansas never gives up. Not many teams in the country could get in a 14point hole to the nation’s No. 1 team and come back to tie it. However, the Jayhawks couldn’t recover from Gonzaga’s second offensive attack.
No. 8 Illinois 97, Chicago St. 38 — Ayo Dosunmu scored 22 points, freshman Andres Curbelo added 18 and No. 8 Illinois beat Chicago State.
The Illini (2-0, 0-0 Big Ten) never trailed in the game, scoring the first nine points and leading 47-17 at halftime. Big man Kofi Cockburn had 13 points and 5 rebounds at the break.
Adam Miller scored 15 points and Cockburn finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. It was Cockburn’s 14th double-double in 34 career games and his second consecutive one.
Illinois shot 36 of 60 (60%) from the field and 7 of 18 (39%) from 3-point range.
Xavier Johnson led Chicago State (0-2, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference) with 10 points and Jordan Polynice had nine.
Illinois used its huge rebounding edge (55-10) to fuel its running game.
“Definitely rebounding is key and will be through the end of the season,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “It gives us that ability to get the break and run.”
Underwood was particularly impressed with Cockburn’s play under the basket.
“Kofi puts on a lot of pressure in front of the rim and that leads to a lot of fouls on the other guys,” Underwood said.
Said the 7-foot-1 sophomore from Jamaica: “I just go out there and do what I have to do. I just need to go out there and do it every day.”
Illinois senior guard Trent Frazier, the team’s leader on the court, can get hot offensively and has been known to rain down 3-pointers on opponents. But his main claim to fame is his smothering defense, considered among the best in the Big Ten.
“These first few games are for playing time and gaining confidence,” Frazier said. “I think we were all on the same page out there today. Defense is something we work hard on.”
No. 15 West Virginia 78, VCU 66 — Derek Culver had 23 points and 15 rebounds to help No. 15 West Virginia beat VCU in the Bad Boys Mowers Crossover Classic semifinals.
West Virginia missed its first 10 shots of the game. The Mountaineers still raced to a 13-0 lead over VCU.
“That’s the neat thing about a tournament like this,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “Three games in three days with three different styles of play, three different styles of coaching.”
Culver rebounded from a seven-point game Wednesday night in the Mountaineers’ opening victory over South Dakota State, finishing two shy of his career high. He was 8 of 14 from the field.
Sean McNeil added 16 points, and Oscar Tshiebwe had 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Nah’Shon Hyland led the Rams (1-1) with 13 points.
VCU missed its first nine shots, finally scoring on a goaltending call midway through the first half. The Rams rallied with a fullcourt press and cut it to two with five minutes left in the half.