Houston rebounds to roll past Oregon
LAS VEGAS — Fabian White Jr. had 15 points and seven rebounds as No. 12 Houston crushed Oregon 78-49 in the third-place game at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
Houston (5-1) has not lost back-to-back games in the regular season since 2017 under coach Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars are 22-0 following a loss during that span.
A day after the Sampson described the Cougars’ first-half effort as “non-competitive” and “not a lot of emotion on defense” — falling behind by 20 points in a 65-63 loss to Wisconsin — UH built a 34-point lead and was never threatened against the overwhelmed Ducks.
UH raced to a 13-3 lead and extended it to 35-14 on consecutive 3-point shots by Fabian White Jr., a 6-8 forward who showcased his range during the three-day tournament. UH led Oregon 41-19 at halftime.
The Cougars opened the second half on a 12-0 run, a tip-in by Josh Carlton pushing the lead to 53-19 with 14:59 left in the game. Oregon went 6:01 without a field goal after halftime until Eric Williams Jr. made a jumper. Williams led the Ducks with 13 points.
It was a reversal from Tuesday’s game, when the Cougars got off a slow start and put together a furious second-half rally with a chance to win at the buzzer. White had 13 of his 15 points in the first half as UH shot 51.7 percent.
Jacob Young, a transfer guard from Rutgers and the son of Phi Slama Jama legend Michael Young, had eight points for Oregon (3-3), which was led by Eric Williams Jr.’s 13 points.
NO. 22 CONNECTICUT 115 NO. 19 AUBURN 109
Tyler Polley scored a careerhigh 24 points and hit the goahead 3-pointer with 2:58 left in the second overtime to help the Huskies beat the Tigers in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Adama Sanogo finished with a career-best 30 points for the Huskies (5-0), who blew a 15point lead in regulation and squandered a lead late in the first overtime in a wild game. But Sanogo and Polley didn’t let the Huskies stumble in the second overtime, scoring 14 points.
K.D. Johnson and top freshman Jabari Smith had their own huge performances for the Tigers (4-1). Johnson scored 23 of his career-high 27 points after halftime, including driving baskets in the final seconds of regulation and the first overtime to extend the game.
NO. 1 GONZAGA 83, NO. 2 UCLA 63
Andrew Nembhard scored 24 points, freshman Chet Holmgren showed off his unique skill set and the Bulldogs overwhelmed the Bruins on Tuesday to win the Empire Classic at Las Vegas.
The Zags (6-0) played like Vegas headliners, showing there’s a big gap between No. 1 and the current No. 2 with a dazzling display at both ends. Gonzaga shell shocked UCLA (5-1) with a huge early blitz and never let up to beat its second top-5 team this season.
Holmgren stole the show at times. The 7--1, 195-pound freshman earned a deserved ovation early in the second half, when he blocked Myles Johnson’s shot and went end to end — with a dribble behind his back to boot — for a two-handed slam.
Holmgren finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots. Drew Timme was just as effective inside, scoring 18 points.
NO. 13 ARKANSAS 73 CINCINNATI 67
Au’diese Toney scored 19 points, including the go-ahead free throws with just over a minute to go in helping the Razorbacks beat the Bearcats in the final of the Hall of Fame Classic on Tuesday at Kansas City, Mo.