Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
No. 4 Jayhawks withstand rally
LAWRENCE, Kan.— The buzzer had just sounded on another win for Kansas when coach Bill Self collared East Tennessee State guard Bo Hodges in front of his bench and whispered something in his ear.
Then he did the same to the Pirates’ Tray Boyd III.
“He was just saying we’re a good team. We fight to the end. We’re tough to play,” Boyd said, long after the fourth-ranked Jayhawks weathered a second-half charge for a 75-63 victory Tuesday night.
“They’re the No. 4 team in the nation for a reason,” Boyd added, “but we didn’t back down.”
They sure didn’t. Kansas (3-1) led by as many as 18 early in the game before the Pirates whittled the lead to 43-31 by the break. East Tennessee State kept charging the final 20 minutes, closing within 61-56 with just over 5 minutes to go, before the Jayhawks finally eased away.
“I thought the first punch they gave us really put us down,” Pirates coach Steve Forbes said, “and it was really hard to battle back from there. But our team, one of our mottos is we’re gritty, grimy, tough and together, and I thought we showed that most of the game.”
Udoka Azubuike pounded home 21 points on an array of dunks to lead the Jayhawks. Devon Dotson had 19 points, most of it coming early in the game, and Marcus Garrett finished with 13 points.
Hodges wound up with 22 and Lucas N’Guessan scored 11 for the Pirates (3-1), who were off to their best start since the 1998-99 season. Daivien Williamson came off the bench to add 10.
NO. 6 MARYLAND 74, FAIRFIELD 55
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Jalen Smith had 17 points and eight rebounds, and No. 6 Maryland used depth and balance to wear down Fairfield in a 74-55 victory.
The Terrapins (4-0) took the lead for good at 9-8, increased the margin to 14 at halftime and cruised to the finish.
Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 12 points to pass James Gist and move into the Top 20 on Maryland’s career scoring list with 1,424.
Sophomore Ricky Lindo Jr. contributed a career-high 13 points, and Eric Ayala also scored 13.
Landon Taliaferro scored 15 for the Stags (1-4). Twelve of Fairfield’s 18 baskets were from beyond the arc.
NO. 7 VIRGINIA 61, VERMONT 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mamadi Diakite scored 19 points and No. 7 Virginia withstood a 3-point shooting display by Anthony Lamb and beat Vermont 61-55.
The Cavaliers (4-0) trailed before Diakite’s basket gave them a 50-49 lead with 5:12 left and sparked a 9-0 run. Jay Huff scored twice in the spurt and Braxton Key hit a 3-pointer as Virginia held the Catamounts scoreless, and forced four turnovers, in a nearly four-minute span.
Lamb scored 30 for Vermont (4-1), including 25 in the second half, to nearly match the point total of the Cavaliers’ first two opponents of the season, who each managed just 34 points. Stef Smith added 11 points, but Virginia turned Vermont’s 13 turnovers into 20 points.
Kihei Clark scored 15 points and Key had 14 points for Virginia.
NO. 8 GONZAGA 72, UT-ARLINGTON 66
SPOKANE, Wash. — Ryan Woolridge had 19 points and nine rebounds, and No. 8 Gonzaga held off Texas-Arlington 72-66.
Killian Tillie played for the first time this season and added 15 points and eight rebounds for Gonzaga (5-0), which has won 26 consecutive home games. Admon Gilder scored 13 points.
Jabari Narcis scored 16 points for Texas-Arlington (2-3), sinking all five of his 3-point attempts. Brian Warren and David Azore scored 15 points each for the Mavericks, who lost at No. 11 Oregon 67-47 on Sunday.
Tillie missed the first four games recovering from knee surgery.