Baylor advances to tourney final
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Matthew Mayer scored 15 points to help sixth-ranked Baylor hold off VCU 69-61 in Thursday’s semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Freshman Kendall Brown added 14 points for the reigning national champion Bears (6-0), who had to clean up a mistake-filled first half and keep the Rams at arm’s length throughout the second half.
The Bears will face Michigan State in Friday’s final.
NO. 4 KANSAS 71 NORTH TEXAS 59
Ochai Agbaji had 18 points and Christian Braun added 16 as No. 4 Kansas beat North Texas 71-59 in the first round of the ESPN Events Invitational at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Thursday.
Agbaji became the 63rd player to reach 1,000 points in Kansas history when he hit a 3 to open the scoring 2 ½ minutes into the game.
TEXAS A&M 73 NOTRE DAME 67
Backup guard Quenton Jackson scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and the Aggies won the final game at the Maui Invitational in Las Vegas on Wednesday night.
Hassan Diarra and Wade Taylor IV, scored 17 and 14 points respectively for the Aggies (6-1).
IONA 72 NO. 10 ALABAMA 68
Nelly Joseph and Walter Clayton Jr. made key free throws in the final seconds to lift Iona over the Crimson Tide in an openinground game at the ESPN Events Invitational at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
MICHIGAN ST. 64 CONNECTICUT 60
A.J. Hoggard hit the go-ahead free throws with 30.3 seconds left and the Spartans scored the game’s final nine points to push past the Huskies in Thursday’s Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals. Gabe Brown scored 16 points for the Spartans (5-1), who blew a 14-point lead before halftime.
Women
NO. 6 BAYLOR 68 FORDHAM 45
NaLyssa Smith had 19 points and 15 rebounds, Jordan Lewis added 15 points with six assists and No. 6 Baylor rallied in the second half to beat Fordham 68-45 on Thursday at the Cancun Challenge.
NO. 23 TEXAS A&M 57, PITTSBURGH 46
Jordan Nixon and Destiny Pitts scored 12 points, Kayla Wells added 10 points and the Aggies used a late run to pull away from the Panthers Thursday night at the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas, Virgin Island.
Maliyah Johnson finished with nine points and eight rebounds for Texas A&M (5-0). The Aggies have won a program record 21 consecutive non-conference games, dating to a loss against Florida State on December 1, 2019.
NO. 5 N.C. STATE 78 NO. 2 MARYLAND 60
Elissa Cunane scored 20 points, making eight of her nine shots from the field, to help the Wolfpack run past the Terrapins at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship tournament.
NO. 7 STANFORD 69 NO. 4 INDIANA 66
Cameron Brink had 21 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks to help the Cardinal edge the Hoosiers at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship tournament.
NO. 9 ARIZONA 48 VANDERBILT 46
Shaina Pellington hit an off-balance layup at the buzzer to lift the Wildcats past the Commodores in the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament.
Sam Thomas had 13 points and Ariyah Copeland 11 for Arizona (5-0).