Winston helps Michigan State beat Binghamton
NNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNN Playing a night after the death of his brother, Cassius Winston had 17 points and 11 assists to lift No. 1 Michigan State to an emotional 10047 victory over Binghamton in the Spartans’ home opener Sunday night.
Zachary Winston, Cassius’ younger brother, died after being hit by a westbound Amtrak train in Albion on Saturday night. He was a basketball player at Albion College.
Cassius Winston took his usual spot in Michigan State’s starting lineup Sunday. The crowd observed a moment of silence in Zachary’s honor, then Cassius assisted on Michigan State’s first basket and sank his first shot, a 3-pointer from near the top of the key.
The game was a rout, as expected. Michigan State
(1-1) rebounded easily from its season-opening loss Tuesday to No. 2 Kentucky. Xavier Tillman scored 17 points for the Spartans, and Aaron Henry added 16.
Winston’s final basket came when he shook past a defender and drove for a layup. He was taken out immediately after that, receiving a hug from coach Tom Izzo and a standing ovation from the crowd.
Sam Sessoms led Binghamton (0-2) with 12 points. FNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN FNNNNNNNNNNN Devin Vassell scored 13 points, M.J. Walker added 12 and Florida State upset Florida, extending its series winning streak to six.
The Seminoles (1-1) avoided their first 0-2 start since 2000 thanks to suffocating defense that forced the rival Gators (1-1) into
16 turnovers and a woeful shooting performance. Florida was 14 of 50 from the field, including 4 of 22 from 3-point range.
The Gators, a six-point favorite at home, expected some growing pains from a team that features graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr., three sophomores and five freshmen. They clearly weren’t ready to match Florida State’s intensity.
Keyontae Johnson led the Gators with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNN Jordan Nwora scored 21 points in Louisville’s home opener.
The Cardinals (2-0) made the first 11 shots to jump out to a 24-8 lead. They then started the second half making seven of their first nine shots to put away the Penguins (1-1).
Steven Enoch added 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for Louisville
Naz Bohannon led the Penguins with 14 points. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN NNNNNNNNNNNN Mamadi Diakite had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Virginia used a
29-6 run spanning halftime to pull away.
The Cavaliers (2-0) led by just 22-20 until Kihei Clark’s 3-pointer started a 9-0 burst for Virginia. A
3-pointer by Darius Banks ended that, making it 31-23 at the half.
Braxton Key scored seven straight for the Cavaliers. After Zach Jacobs’ 3-pointer for JMU, Virginia reeled off
13 more points to lead 51-26 with just under 12 minutes to play. Key finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and, like Diakite, spent most of the last 10 minutes watching.
Matt Lewis led James Madison (1-1) with 14 points. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
NNN NNNNNNN Freshman D.J. Carton and Kaleb Wesson each had 13 points for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (2-0) got contributions throughout the lineup in the tuneup against the Atlantic East squad ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup with No. 10 Villanova. Wesson also had
13 rebounds and five assists. Luther Muhammad added
11 points.
Obadiah Noel led UMassLowell (1-2) with 15 points.