Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
No. 8 Auburn gives No. 1 Duke a fight
NO. 1 DUKE 78, NO. 8 AUBURN 72
LAHAINA, Hawaii — R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish scored 18 points each, and topranked Duke survived its stiffest challenge of the season, holding off No. 8 Auburn 7872 Tuesday night to reach the Maui Invitational title game.
The Blue Devils (5-0) got off to another stellar start, looking as if they run another top-10 team out of the gym.
The Tigers (4-1) clawed back, trimming a 17-point deficit to 61-56 in the second half by fearlessly attacking Duke at both ends.
But every time Auburn tried to get closer, the Blue Devils answered with an alley-oop dunk or step-back jumper.
Duke will play Wednesday night for a chance at an unprecedented sixth Maui Invitational title.
Marques Bolden anchored Duke’s defense, blocking seven shots while finishing with 11 points and nine rebounds. The Blue Devils blocked 11 shots overall.
Jared Harper had 22 points and Bryce Brown 16 for Auburn.
NO. 16 CLEMSON 64, GEORGIA 49
GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Marcquise Reed scored 24 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, Elijah Thomas had 12 points and 11 rebounds as No. 16 Clemson beat Georgia to advance to the championship game of the Cayman Islands Classic.
Clemson (5-0) 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 for the Tigers.
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.
LIPSCOMB 73, NO. 18 TCU 64
FORT WORTH — Garrison Mathews had 23 points, Kenny Cooper scored 17 with a couple of breakaway layups off steals and Lipscomb held on to upset No. 18 TCU, giving the Bisons their first victory over a Top 25 team.
Lipscomb (4-1) had been 0-13 against ranked teams since 2006. All of those losses were by double digits.
Alex Robinson had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for TCU (31), which lost a November game for the first time since 2015. The Horned Frogs’ 18-game winning streak during the month had been the second-longest among Division I programs, behind only Virginia’s 21 in a row.
Kendric Davis had 14 points for TCU, and JD Miller added 11.
Rob Marberry scored 13 points for Lipscomb.
NO. 23 OHIO STATE 68, SAMFORD 50
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kaleb Wesson scored 17 points, Keyshawn Woods added 14 and No. 23 Ohio State shook off a sluggish first half to beat scrappy Samford for its fifth consecutive victory to begin the season.
Ohio State seemed out of sync from the opening tip, as Coach Chris Holtmann
benched four starters for being late to “game-day preparation,” according to the school. The Buckeyes shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the first half while Samford shot 50 percent and led 32-29.
Momentum shifted with 16:27 remaining when C.J. Jackson dove into the stands to save a ball headed out of bounds, starting a relay from Luther Muhammad to Woods that ended with Andre Wesson hitting a three-pointer.
The play seemed to spark Ohio State, which went on a 21-3 run that sealed the victory. The Buckeyes shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to 24 percent for Samford (5-1).
Junior guard Myron Gordon led the way for the Bulldogs, shooting 6 for 8 in the first half and finishing with 18 points. Samford’s 7-foot center, Ruben Guerrero, who was averaging 17 points per game, was hindered by foul trouble and held to a single basket.