Eighth-ranked Gators cruise past Gardner-Webb
Men
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Egor Koulechov scored 34 points, hitting six 3-pointers in his Florida debut, to lead the eighth-ranked Gators to a 116-74 victory against Gardner-Webb in the team’s season opener Monday night.
Koulechov, a graduate transfer from Rice, broke the school record for most points in a debut. Tom Baxley held the previous mark, scoring 32 points against Rick Barry and Miami in 1962. Florida ended up losing that game after Baxley fouled out in overtime.
• No. 6 Wichita St. 81, College of Charleston 63 — At Wichita, Kan.: Senior center Shaquille Morris had 18 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes to lead Wichita State past College of Charleston.
Morris was 7 of 11 from the floor and part of the Shockers (2-0) dominating the interior. Fellow senior post players Rauno Nurger (16 points) and Darral Willis (14 points) found success inside and helped Wichita State to a 44-27 rebounding advantage.
• No. 12 Cincinnati 102, Western Carolina 51 — At Highland Heights, Ky.: Sophomore Jarron Cumberland scored 20 points for the second time in his career, and Cincinnati’s full-court pressure forced 22 turnovers as the Bearcats pulled away to a victory over Western Carolina.
Cincinnati (2-0) won its 28th straight home game — a streak that spans two arenas — with the type of defense that’s been the program’s hallmark. The Bearcats allowed 77 points during an opening win over Savannah State, making defense a point of emphasis.
• No. 13 Notre Dame 88, Mount St. Mary’s 62 — At South Bend, Ind.: Bonzie Colson had 27 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks while Notre Dame shook off a choppy opening half to roll past Mount St. Mary’s in the Irish’s home opener.
It was the 25th career double-double of his career. Rex Pflueger added his first with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
• No. 14 Minnesota 86, Providence 74 — At Providence, R.I.: Jordan Murphy had 23 points and 14 rebounds, and Minnesota outlasted Providence.
• No. 15 Xavier 101, Rider 75 — At Cincinnati: Trevon Bluiett had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead Xavier to a victory over Rider in the teams’ first-ever meeting.
• No. 20 Northwestern 75, St. Peter’s 66 — At Rosemont, Ill.: Bryant McIntosh scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half, and Northwestern held off Saint Peter’s.
• No. 25 Baylor 70, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 46 — At Waco, Texas: Manu Lecomte scored 23 points and Baylor pulled away from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
• UC Davis 74, Northern Colorado 59 — At Greeley, Colo.: Chima Moneke scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, Siler Schneider scored a goahead 3-pointer amid a 28-10 second-half run, and UC Davis rallied to beat Northern Colorado 74-59 on Monday night to win their season opener.
Trailing 49-46 in the second half, Schneider bracketed a Moneke free throw with a 3 and a jumper while the Bears went scoreless for nearly four minutes, and the Aggies led 54-49 with 6:29 to play. TJ Shorts II hit back-to-back jumpers, Moneke added a layup and a 3, and UC Davis finished with 13 unanswered points.
Women
• No. 4 South Carolina 94, No. 15 Maryland 86 — At College Park, Md.: A’ja Wilson had a career-high 32 points and 12 rebounds, and defending NCAA champion South Carolina withstood a late charge by No. 15 Maryland to escape with a 94-86 victory Monday night.
The fourth-ranked Gamecocks (2-0) let a 26-point lead dwindle to 87-84 before Tyasha Harris made a three-point play with 23 seconds left to clinch it.
• New Mexico 88, No. 16 Marquette 87 — At Albuquerque, N.M.: Jaisa Nunn converted a three-point play with 1.8 seconds to play and finished with a careerhigh 39 points, giving New Mexico an upset win over Marquette.
• DePaul 111, No. 21 Oklahoma 108, OT — At Chicago: Amarah Coleman hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Blue Demons outlasted Oklahoma.