Williams fuels No. 16 A&M’s rout of OSU
NEW YORK — Robert Williams had 11 points, 11 rebounds and a handful of alley-oop dunks to help No. 16 Texas A&M beat Oklahoma State 72-55 in the first game of the 2017 Progressive Legends Classic on Monday night.
Williams added three steals and two blocks for the Aggies (3-0). DJ Hogg led all scorers with 18 points. Tonny Trocha-Morelos finished with 12 points, and Admon Gilder had 10.
The loss was the first of the season for Oklahoma State (3-1). Brandon Averette led the Cowboys with 10.
The Aggies took a 39-22 lead into halftime, thanks to Williams and a 25-7 run over the final eight minutes of the half. Williams checked in five minutes into the game and scored nine points in the first half, eight on alley-oops.
Texas A&M extended the lead to 22 after Gilder knocked down a jumper 1:22 into the second half. Oklahoma State outscored the Aggies 18-8 in the next 8:03 to cut the deficit to 52-42.
Just as it looked as if Oklahoma State would seriously challenge Texas A&M, the Aggies had a 12-3 run to push their advantage to 64-45 and essentially decided the outcome.
Texas A&M will play Penn State in the championship game Tuesday.
BAYLOR 70, WISCONSIN 65
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Manu Lecomte added 25 points, and the No. 25 Bears held on after blowing most of a 19-point lead to beat the Badgers in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City, Mo.
Baylor (4-0) established a 38-26 lead by halftime and stretched it to 53-34 midway through the second half, only for Wisconsin (2-2) to whittle it to 57-55 with 2:12 left in the game.
Lecomte answered with five consecutive free throws, though. After the Badgers’ Aleem Ford curled in a 3-pointer, Nuni Omot added two foul shots, and Lecomte made two more to put the game away, sending the Bears into a matchup with Creighton for the title Tuesday night.
CREIGHTON 100, UCLA 89
Marcus Foster scored 23 points, Mitch Ballock added 22 in front of his boyhood fans, and the Bluejays upset the No. 23 Bruins in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic at Kansas City, Mo.
Khyri Thomas added 16 points for Creighton (4-0), which has won 12 straight in-season tournament games after titles at the MGM Grand Main Event and the Paradise Jam.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 80 EASTERN KENTUCKY 70
Zachary Hamilton scored 23 points, and the Panthers picked up their first victory of the season, beating the Colonels at the MGM Main Event tournament in Las Vegas.
Hamilton was 8-of-16 shooting and made three 3-pointers for Prairie View A&M (1-3), which came in winless after a challenging string of games against Oregon, UNLV and Utah. Gary Blackston added 19 points and five assists.
Prairie View advances to the championship game of the “Middleweight Bracket” on Wednesday with Georgia Southern, playing for third place.
UNLV 95, RICE 68
Brandon McCoy scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jordan Johnson added 14 points, and the Rebels routed the Owls at the MGM Grand Main Event tournament in Las Vegas.
A.J. Lapray led Rice (1-3) with 15 points off the bench, and Robert Martin scored 14.
DUKE 92, FURMAN 63
Marvin Bagley III scored 24 points, and the No. 1 Blue Devils beat the Paladins at Durham, N.C. in the on-campus round of the PK80.
Trevon Duval had a season-best 18 points, Wendell Carter Jr. added 14 and a fourth freshman — Alex O’Connell — scored 10 for Duke (5-0).
KENTUCKY 70, TROY 62
Kevin Knox scored 17 points, and the No. 8 Wildcats built a big lead in the second half before having to withstand a late rally by the Trojans to hold on for a victory in Lexington, Ky.
WICHITA ST. 92 CALIFORNIA 82
Shaquille Morris scored 25 points, and the sixth-ranked Shockers got the Maui Invitational off to a wild start by rallying from an 18-point deficit to beat the Bears in Lahaina, Hawaii.
CINCINNATI 73, BUFFALO 67
Gary Clark scored 24 points, and the No. 12 Bearcats held off the Bulls to close the opening round of the Cayman Islands Classic in Georgetown, Cayman Islands.