Clemson advances to title game in Cayman Islands

GEORGE TOWN, CAYMAN ISLANDS >> Marcquise Reed scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Elijah Thomas had his second straight double-double and No. 16 Clemson beat Georgia 64-49 on Tuesday to advance to the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic.

Thomas finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Clemson (5-0), which is off to its best start since the 2013-14 season. Shelton Mitchell, who scored a season-high

22 on Monday, chipped in with 13 points and David Skara had three of the Tigers’ nine steals.

Coach Brad Brownell won his 154th game at Clemson, three away from passing Bill Foster for second in program history.

Derek Ogbeide led Georgia (3-2) with

11 points. Nicolas Claxton, who scored 22 points in an 80-68 win on Monday, was held to three points on 1-of-9 shooting — but he had nine rebounds and five blocks. IOWA STATE 84, ILLINOIS 68 >> Talen HortonTucker had 26 points and 14 rebounds, Michael Jacobson added 23 points and Iowa State ran away from Illinois in the second half for a victory in the Maui Invitational.

Down to eight scholarship players due to injuries and suspensions, Iowa State (4-1) bounced back from an opening loss to No.

3 Gonzaga with a strong game at both ends. The Cyclones used their pressure defense to keep it close in the first half, then went on an 18-2 run early in the second to build a nine-point lead. Iowa State kept boosting the lead from there, making 16 of 28 shots to earn a spot in Wednesday’s fifth-place game against San Diego State.

Trent Frazier had 15 points to lead Illinois (1-3), which will face Xavier in the seventh-place game.

SAN DIEGO STATE 79, XAVIER 74 >> Jalen McDaniels scored 25 points, Devin Watson added 21 and San Diego State held off Xavier 79-74 on Tuesday to earn a spot in the Maui Invitational fifth-place game.

San Diego State (3-1) was blown out by top-ranked Duke in its Maui opener and fell behind by 19 early against Xavier (2-3). The Aztecs answered with a 19-3 run to pull within three by halftime and had an early

16-2 run in the second half to go up 58-49.