Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Jones scores 31, No. 2 Duke beats Georgia State, 74-63
DURHAM, N.C. — Tre Jones scored a career-high 31 points and No. 2 Duke pulled away to beat pesky Georgia State.
Freshman Vernon Carey Jr. added season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds and Jack White finished with 10 rebounds.
Duke (4-0) overcame season-worst 34.2% shooting by outrebounding the Panthers 58-32, and the school says its 30 offensive rebounds were the most in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 40 seasons.
And yet, three nights after top-ranked Kentucky was upset at home by Evansville, the Blue Devils — 28 1/2-point favorites — were on upset alert against an unintimidated mid-major for longer than expected before they scratched out a sloppy victory, their 150th in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium against nonconference opponents.
This one was tied at 40 with less than 17 minutes to play, before Jones took over. He scored 10 points during a 13-0 run that pushed the lead into double figures.
NO. 5 KANSAS 112, MONMOUTH 57
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas was seconds away from another lopsided win in Allen Fieldhouse when Monmouth’s George Papas stole the ball from freshman Tristan Enaruna and ran the other way for a dunk, triggering a minor scuffle under the bucket.
It was the most fight the Hawks showed all night.
Isaiah Moss poured in 21 points to lead six Jayhawks in double-figure scoring, and No. 5 Kansas romped to a victory over its undersized and outclassed MEAC opponent.
NO. 17 UTAH STATE 81, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 54
LOGAN, Utah — Alphonso Anderson had 21 points, six rebounds and three assists and Justin Bean added 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists to help No. 17 Utah State beat North Carolina A&T.
Ronald Jackson led North Carolina A&T with 15 points.
With North Carolina A&T (1-3) rallying in the second half, Utah State (4-0) made a key run to pull away.
After trailing by as much as 15 points, North Carolina A&T cut it to six points on Fred Cleveland’s 3-pointer with 14:03 left. Utah State regrouped and went on a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to make it 51-36. Utah State took advantage of three North Carolina A&T turnovers, with Bean scoring five of the Aggies’ nine points.
NO. 21 XAVIER 59, MISSOURI STATE 56
CINCINNATI — Paul Scruggs scored 14 points and made a layup with 11.6 seconds left, helping No. 21 Xavier hold off Missouri State for a victory.
The Musketeers (4-0) never trailed but couldn’t shake clear of the team picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears (2-2) tied it at 56, but Xavier made a free throw and two big plays in the closing seconds.
After Naji Marshall’s free throw broke the tie, Tyrique Jones missed a jumper but got the rebound and passed to Scruggs, who drove for a layup and a 59-56 lead. The Bears missed a pair of 3-point shots in the closing seconds.
Jones added 15 points and six rebounds but had five of Xavier’s 15 turnovers. The Musketeers again struggled to make perimeter shots, going 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.
Lamont West and Keandre Cook scored 13 points apiece for the Bears, who had 22 turnovers.
The Musketeers were coming off a ragged 63-58 overtime victory over Missouri. They blew a 15-point lead and rallied from behind to send it overtime on Marshall’s 3-pointer late in regulation.
NO. 22 AUBURN 116, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 70
AUBURN, Ala. — Samir Doughty scored a career-high 33 points and J’Von McCormick had a school-record 16 assists, leading No. 22 Auburn to a rout of Cal State Northridge.
The Tigers (4-0), who eked out a win over South Alabama on Tuesday night, were in control throughout this time. They scored the first 11 points and led 66-38 at halftime.
It was the most points Auburn had scored since getting 119 against Winthrop on Nov. 24, 2017.
Doughty made his first five 3-pointers and scored 22 by halftime against the Matadors (0-4).
The senior guard finished 10-of-15 shooting and made 6 of 8 3s. He also had eight rebounds. Doughty’s previous career best was 23 points against Duquesne when he was a freshman at VCU.
Terrell Gomez led Cal State Northridge with 23 points and made five 3-pointers. He was coming off a career-best 33-point game against Pepperdine.
ARKANSAS STATE 80, UC DAVIS 67
JONESBORO — J.J. Matthews scored 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting as Arkansas State beat UC Davis.
Caleb Fields came off the bench to add 17 points for the Red Wolves (3-1), while Canberk Kus filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. Malik Brevard had a game-high 11 rebounds to go with eight points for Arkansas State.
Joe Mooney hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 to lead the Aggies (2-2). Matt Neufeld added 14 points, while Caleb Fuller scored 10.
UC Davis outshot Arkansas State from the floor 51% to 48%, but the Red Wolves took eight more free throws than the Aggies and made seven of them.
RHODE ISLAND 93, ALABAMA 79
KINGSTON, R.I. — Fats Russell scored 22 points, Jeff Dowtin added 21 and Rhode Island turned a hot first half into a win over Alabama.
Cyril Langevine added 12 points and a career-high six assists for the Rams (2-1), who beat the first Southeastern Conference team to play in the Ryan Center. Tyrese Martin and Jacob Toppin had 11 points each.
Kira Lewis Jr. led the Crimson Tide (1-2) with 21 points and Herbert Jones added 17.
Dowtin made all six of his shots in the first half and scored 15 points to help Rhode Island build a 50-33 lead. Russell added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists with the Rams shooting 56%, going 5 of 12 from 3-point range. Alabama was held to 39% shooting, including 0 for 10 from 3-point range. Jones and Lewis Jr. combined to score 21 of Alabama’s 33 points.
Rhode Island forced 13 Alabama turnovers and scored 19 points off turnovers.
Lewis Jr. had back-to-back layups and Jaden Shackelford hit a 3-pointer to cap an 11-0 run early in the second half to cut the deficit to 58-48. The difference stayed around 10 until Alex Reese and John Petty Jr., had consecutives 3s and Alabama was within 7467 with 7:20 to play.
MISSISSIPPI 85, WESTERN MICHIGAN 58
OXFORD, Miss. — Mississippi guards Breein Tyree and Devontae Shuler scored 20 and 16 points, respectively, and combined to spark a decisive 16-0 first-half run as the Rebels defeated Western Michigan.
Luis Rodriguez added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds for Ole Miss (3-0), who led 40-32 at halftime and opened the second half with a 11-2 run that ended any Western Michigan (3-1) comeback hopes.
Brandon Johnson and Michael Flowers scored 21 and 14, respectively, for the Broncos. Western Michigan led 16-8 in the opening 10 minutes. The Broncos shot 20 of 59 (33%) from the field, 5 of 32 (15%) from 3-point range and made 13 of 17 free-throw attempts.
Ole Miss shot 32 of 61 (52%), 5 of 15 (33%) from 3-point range and 16 of 20 (80%) from the free-throw line and outrebounded the Broncos 38-33, while forcing 19 turnovers.
COLLEGE WOMEN
NO. 10 MISSISSIPPI STATE 124, MURRAY STATE 43
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jessika Carter had career highs with 25 points and 18 rebounds, and No. 10 Mississippi State set a school record for points in a game as it coasted past Murray State.
Carter was 8 of 16 from the field and 9 of 10 at the free-throw line. Half of her rebounds came on the offensive end and she also had two assists.
Rickea Jackson had 16 points for the Bulldogs (3-0), while Yemiyah Morris added 14 points off the bench. Andra Espinoza-Hunter and Myah Taylor finished with 11 points apiece, and Promise Taylor had 10. Alexis Burpo led Murray State (1-2) with eight points and Laci Hawthorne had seven.
Behind Carter, Mississippi State took control early. Carter had 12 points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter as the Bulldogs built a 34-7 lead.
Mississippi State continued to expand that advantage and led 57-23 at halftime. The Bulldogs shot 47.8% from the field in the opening half, while Murray State shot 36%. The Lady Racers had 17 first-half turnovers, while Mississippi State had a 26-16 rebounding advantage at the break.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN 88, KENT STATE 53
AKRON, Ohio — Akienreh Johnson scored a career-high 21 points, Naz Hillmon had 14 points and nine rebounds and No. 24 Michigan beat Kent State 88-53 on Friday in the Akron Classic.
Johnson, a Toledo native, scored 13 of her points in the third quarter when Michigan had 31 points to build a 23-point lead. Hillmon, who attended Gilmour Academy in nearby Cleveland and had her No. 00 jersey retired last December, was 7 of 9 from the field.
Michigan (3-0) plays host Akron on Saturday before facing No. 15 Notre Dame, on Nov. 23. Asiah Dingle scored 12 points for Kent State (2-1).
NO. 25 SOUTH FLORIDA 77, VCU 55
TAMPA, Fla. — Freshman Maria Alvarez scored a season-best 20 points, hitting 3-pointers for South Florida.
Bethy Mununga added 14 points and 12 rebounds. The Bulls are 4-0 for the fourth straight season and the fifth time since 2012-13.
Tera Reed led VCU (1-2) with 16 points.