Brooks, No. 13 Kentucky gets a win over Ohio
No. 13 Kentucky 77, Ohio 59: Keion Brooks scored 22 points to lead host Kentucky to a win over Ohio on Friday night.
Freshman guard TyTy Washington followed Brooks with a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Davion Mintz added 12 points and Sahvir Wheeler added 11 for the Wildcats.
Ben Vander Plas finished with a team-high 19 points and six rebounds for Ohio, followed by Jason Carter with 15 points and Mark Sears with 10.
The Wildcats (3-1) used a big second half to fend off the Bobcats, who led for most of the first half. Brooks set the tone by scoring eight of the Wildcats’ first 10 points after halftime.
Kentucky was without leading scorer and rebounder Oscar Tshiebwe in the first half because he picked up two fouls in the first two minutes. But Kentucky outrebounded the Bobcats 26-19 in the first half and limited Ohio to just one shot on most possessions with 19 defensive rebounds.
In Kentucky’s first three games Tshiebwe averaged 18.3 points and 18.7 rebounds per game, including 20 boards in each of the first two contests. On Friday, he had two points and 10 rebounds.
Ohio (3-1) made five of its first six field goals and built a 22-14 lead before Kentucky rallied and led 40-38 at halftime.
The Bobcats made five 3-pointers in the first half, paced by Vander Plas’ three 3-pointers and 13 first-half points.
No. 20 Maryland 69, Hofstra 67: Ian Martinez made two free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining, allowing host Maryland to edge Hofstra on Friday night and avoid another loss this week.
Eric Ayala led Maryland (4-1) with 14 points but went just 5 of 17 from the field.
Jalen Ray was Hofstra’s leading scorer with 18 points.
With the score tied and the shot clock off, Hofstra (1-3) had the ball, but Omar Silverio’s deep 3-pointer was blocked by Ayala. When Silverio instinctively went for the loose ball, he fouled Martinez.
After Martinez made both free throws, Maryland (4-1) used its last foul to give near midcourt with 3.2 seconds left. Hofstra was unable to get the ball inbounds quickly — Maryland’s Julian Reese knocked the inbound pass back out, leaving 2.2 seconds left, then Fatts Russell stole the inbound pass, and the clock ran out.
Maryland scored the game’s final six points after a 3-pointer by Ray put Hofstra up 67-63.
Reese scored on an offensive rebound to make it 67-65, and Ayala’s driving layup tied it with 23.3 seconds remaining.
No. 21 Auburn 58, South Florida 52: K.D. Johnson scored 15 points, Zep Jasper added 13 and visiting Auburn rallied to beat South Florida.
Jabari Smith hit a 3-pointer 10 minutes into the second half during a 15-0 stretch that gave Auburn (3-0) its first lead at 42-40. It was the third made 3pointer by Auburn in 21 tries to that point.
Jaylin Williams and Devan Cambridge had consecutive slams to start the run with USF leading 40-31. Johnson had two layups, including one after a nifty steal, that helped the Tigers go up 46-40.
Caleb Murphy scored 19 points and Javon Greene added 12 for South Florida (2-2), which was coming off a 56-54 comeback win over North Carolina A&T on Monday.
Smith, a standout freshman coming off his first career double-double in a win over Louisiana-Monroe on Nov. 12, had nine points.
Greene hit a 3 to pull USF within 5552 with 2:30 remaining, but Sam Hines Jr. missed two free throws in the final minute.
Jasper made it 57-52 by making a pair of free throws with 32 seconds left.
Murphy had 11 points as USF took a 33-26 halftime lead.
The Bulls scored the first nine points and led 25-10 before Auburn put together a 10-0 run.
Auburn had five of its nine first-half turnovers in the opening five minutes and was scoreless until Johnson connected on a 3 with 14:43 left.
No. 22 St. Bonaventure 68, Clemson 65: Kyle Lofton and Jaren Holmes combined for 32 points in the second half and St. Bonaventure rallied from a 16point deficit to beat Clemson in the semifinals of the Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.
After the Bonnies’ top two scorers went 3 of 15 in the first half and made only one 3-pointer between them, the pair combined to shoot 9 of 14 in the second half, all but one of those buckets coming from 3-point range.
Lofton finished with 22 points and Holmes 19. Jalen Adaway had nine of his 14 points in the first half when the rest of his teammates struggled and fell behind by as many as 16.
PJ Hall matched his career high with 22 points, David Collins had 14 and Nick Honor 12 for Clemson.
Trailing 36-26 at halftime and falling further back at 51-37, the Bonnies (4-0) went on a 21-2 run that included five 3pointers in taking their first lead since it was 2-0.
The Tigers (4-1) tied the game on a drive by Honor with two minutes left. Holmes hit a 3-pointer before Hunter Tyson answered with a basket. Holmes was denied on a drive but Tyson missed on another 3-point attempt. Lofton grabbed the rebound and made two free throws for a three-point edge with 19.8 seconds left. Honor missed a tough 3point chance from the baseline as time ran out.
“We just we found a way,” Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt said. “You know, thank goodness we have five seniors that didn’t panic. … It wasn’t perfect. Didn’t look good at the beginning, but the guys hung in there and it’s a great victory for us.”
The Bonnies, shooting only 22% from the arc coming in, finished at 58% after making 10 of 12 in the second half.
“We just didn’t make a couple of plays that we need to make if we’re going beat a team of this caliber,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said.