Kelly helps Cal turn back Hampton
Andre Kelly scored five of his 15 points as part of a pivotal run midway through the second half, and host Cal pulled away to beat Hampton 8066 on Tuesday night.
Paris Austin had 20 points and six assists in his first game at Haas Pavilion after sitting out last season as a transfer from Boise State, Justice Sueing added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Darius McNeill scored 11 for Cal (1-1).
The Bears led by 17 at halftime then had to hold off a late surge by the Pirates (1-2) in the first round of the Legends Classic. Cal hosts Detroit Mercy on Thursday in the second round before heading to Brooklyn next week for the final two games of the tournament.
After Hampton scored consecutive layups to cut Cal’s lead to 61-55 with 9:14 remaining, Kelly scored on a three-point play. Austin added two free throws, and Kelly made a layup as part of 9-0 run.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE 66, GEORGIA TECH 53 >> Grant Williams scored 22 points, and the host Volunteers (3-0) used their stingy defense to beat the cold-shooting Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech (1-1) shot just 27.6 percent from the field, missing 15 straight shots during one stretch, including their first 11 attempts of the second half.
NO. 22 LSU 85, MEMPHIS 76 >> Skylar Mays scored 19 points, and the host Tigers held off a relentless effort by first-year coach Penny Hardaway’s team.
COLORADO 100, DRAKE 71 >> Namon
Wright scored a career-high 25 points, and McKinley Wright IV added 17, helping the host Buffaloes (1-0) pull away in the second half. Redshirt freshman Evan Battey made his Colorado debut nearly 11 months after suffering a stroke, finishing with eight points in 20 minutes. He took a hard fall on a layup late in the game but quickly jumped up and made both free throws.
BYU 82, NORTHWESTERN STATE 57 >> Yoeli Childs scored 18 points and collected 15 rebounds, and the host Cougars prevailed. BYU shot 48 percent from the field to Northwestern State’s 31 percent.
SEC MAKES NASHVILLE ITS TOURNAMENT HOME >> The Southeastern Conference has decided Music City is the place to keep its basketball tournament for years to come, extending its deal with an option that could keep the event in Nashville through 2035. The SEC tournament in 2019 will be the eighth at Bridgestone Arena.
Women
NO. 23 CAL 70, BYU 52 >> Asha Thomas scored 17 points, Kristine Anigwe had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and the Bears used a big fourth quarter to beat the Cougars (1-1) in Provo, Utah. Cal (3-0) trailed 25-24 at halftime but opened the second half on a 12-2 run with six points from Anigwe. BYU (1-1) was within 54-50 with 5:39 remaining in the fourth, but Anigwe scored six points during a 10-0 run for a 14-point lead with two minutes left.
Thomas made two free throws with 45 seconds left in the fourth to reach 1,000 career points, the 30th player in program history to reach the mark. SANTA CLARA 60, SAN DIEGO STATE 43 >> Lexie Pritchard scored 10 points, and Lauren Yearwood grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and added six blocks for Santa Clara (3-0). RUTGERS’ STRINGER REACHES 1,000 VICTORIES >> Coach C. Vivian Stringer became the fifth Division I women’s basketball coach to win 1,000 games when the host Scarlet Knights beat Central Connecticut State 73-44. Stringer joined Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Tara VanDerveer and Sylvia Hatchell in the 1,000-victory club. Division II coach Barbara Stevens also has won more than 1,000 games. The 70-year-old Stringer is the first African-American coach to reach that milestone.