Iowa has answers in upset of Oregon

Jordan Bohannon scored 16 points to lead Iowa to a 77-69 upset of No. 13 Oregon in the second semifinal of the 2K Classic on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Luka Garza added 12, and Ryan Kriener finished with 11.

The Hawkeyes (3-0) will play Connecticut in the championship game Friday. Connecticut upset No. 15 Syracuse 83-76 in the first game.

Iowa led throughout. The Hawkeyes jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first 2:36 and enjoyed a 39-28 advantage at halftime. The lead grew to 13 at 52-39 on Kriener’s dunk with 12:19 left in the second half.

Oregon closed it to 76-69 in the final 23.6 seconds, but that was as close as the Ducks would come.

Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert scored 16 points each to lead Connecticut in the first game.

In its first season under Dan Hurley, the Huskies improved to 3-0 and took the 95th all-time meeting between the schools. They are 39-56 against Syracuse.

Hokies hold on: Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 21 points for No. 16 Virginia Tech, which opened the Charleston Classic with a 73-64 victory over Ball State in Charleston, S.C.

The Hokies (2-0) watched a 16-point lead slip to 49-44 midway through the second half before going on a 14-4 run to take control.

Virginia Tech will play Northeastern, a 68-52 winner against Alabama, in Friday’s semifinals. It was Northeastern’s first victory against an SEC opponent in six tries.

Tayler Persons led Ball State (1-2) with 21 points.

Purdue rolls: Carsen Edwards had 25 points, 17 in the first half, as No. 23 Purdue powered past Appalachian State 92-70 at the Charleston Classic.

The Boilermakers improved to 3-0. They took a 46-32 lead by halftime and gradually grew the lead to 26 down the stretch.

Ryan Cline added 21 points for Purdue. Edwards and Cline each hit four of their team’s 13 3-pointers.

Justin Forrest had 14 points to lead Appalachian State (1-2).