Purdue wins opener at Charleston Classic

Carsen Edwards had 25 points, 17 in the first half, as No. 23 Purdue (3-0) powered past Appalachian State (1-2) 92-70 at the Charleston Classic on Thursday in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Boilermakers will face the winner of the final openinground game here, either Wichita State or Davidson, on Friday for a spot in the tournament finals.

Purdue 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. The Mountaineers will take on the Wichita State-Davidson loser Friday. UCONN 83, NO. 15 SYRACUSE 76: Jalen Adams and Alterique Gilbert scored 16 points each to lead Connecticut (3-0) to an upset of Syracuse (2-1) in the first game of the 2K Classic in New York. Tarin Smith added 14 for the Huskies. Eric Cobb finished with 13, and Christian Vital had 11. Jalen Carey led all scorers with 26. Tyus Battle had 16, and Elijah Hughes chipped in with 15. Leading by four with 3:38 left, UConn outscored Syracuse 13-10 to end the game. BOWLING GREEN 75, NC CENTRAL 60: Demajeo Wiggins and Justin Turner combined for 42 points as Bowling Green (2-2) took an early lead and held off North Carolina Central (0-3) in Bowling Green. Wiggins, who also pulled down 13 rebounds, was 10 of 11 from the floor for 22 points. Turner was 8-of-15 shooting, nailing three treys, to total 20 points.