GONZAGA RALLIES PAST W. VIRGINIA
Losing Jalen Suggs in the first half shook up No. 1 Gonzaga.
Getting him back in the second half Wednesday provided a needed jolt of energy.
Joel Ayayi matched his career high with 21 points and Andrew Nembhard and Corey Kispert each scored 19 points, and Suggs’ return shifted the transition game into gear to help the Bulldogs rally past No. 11 West Virginia 87-82 in the Jimmy V Classic at
Gonzaga 87, West Virginia 82
No. 1 No. 11
Indianapolis.
“At first, we were kind of disappointed because we all love Jalen,” Nembhard said. “Him coming back in the game was big for us. He played football so you know he’s tough and we’re pretty versatile so we could do some different things in the second to help him out.”
By the second half, he was lobbying to get back on the court. And once he did, everything turned for Gonzaga, which struggled against the Mountaineers’ size and strength.
But once the Zags were off and running, it was no match. Gonzaga (3-0) has won seven straight, dating to the end of last season, and already has two wins over top 15 opponents — Kansas and West Virginia (3-1).
No. 2 Baylor 82, No. 5 Illinois 69: Adam Flagler scored 18 points off the bench as the Bears (3-0) ran away from the Illini (3-1) with a 51-point second half in the Jimmy V Classic.
No. 17 Texas 69, No. 14 North Carolina 67: Matt Coleman III hit a stepback jumper with 0.1 seconds left to give No. 17 Texas a 69-67 victory over North Carolina (3-1) in the championship game of the relocated Maui Invitational played in Asheville, N.C.
Coleman finished with 22 points and was the tournament’s most valuable player.
The Longhorns (4-0) blew a 16-point lead late in the first half and fell behind with about 21⁄ 2 minutes left. Coleman and Kai Jones came up big in the critical moments for Texas, securing the Longhorns’ first Maui title in their fifth tournament appearance.
Missouri 83, No. 21 Oregon 75: Xavier Pinson scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and Missouri (2-0) overcame a mid-game lull and late Oregon flurry to beat the Ducks (0-1).
No. 22 Florida State 86, North Florida 58: M.J. Walker scored 17 points and Balsa Koprivica added 13 as host Florida State opened its season with a rout of North Florida (0-4).
No. 23 Ohio State 77, Morehead State 44: E.J. Liddell scored 16 points to help Ohio State rout Morehead State (1-3). Justice Sueing, C.J. Walker and Duane Washington Jr. had 11 points apiece for Ohio State (3-0).
West
Indiana 79, Stanford 63: Trayce Jackson-Davis scored a career-high 31 points and Indiana (3-1) responded to an ugly loss by beating Stanford (1-2) in the third-place game at the Maui Invitational.
Washington State 59, Oregon State 55: DJ Rodman (son of Dennis Rodman) scored 13 points to lead the host Cougars (3-0, 1-0) past the Beavers (2-1, 0-1) in the Pac-12 opener for both teams.
San Francisco 85, Nevada 60: Khalil Shabazz scored 22 points as the Dons improved to 3-0, and host Nevada lost its first game to fall to 3-1.
Wyoming 94, Incarnate Word 83 (OT): The host Cowboys (2-1) needed a secondhalf rally to get to overtime, where they outscored the Cardinals (1-2) 16-5.
Davidson 77, UNLV 73: Kellan Grady of Davidson (2-2) scored 22 points to offset 27 from Bryce Hamiton of UNLV, which fell to 0-4, the last three losses in the Maui Invitational.
BYU 74, St. John’s 68: Guard Alex Barcello scored 23 points for host BYU (4-1) in its win over the Red Storm (3-1) in the Roman Legends Classic in Uncasville, Conn.