Tigers (5-0) advance to Cancun finals
TOP 25 MEN
NO. 13 AUBURN 85, BRADLEY 64
CANCUN, Mexico — Wendell Green Jr. and Johni Broome each scored 14 points and No. 13 Auburn beat Bradley 85-64 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Cancun Challenge.
Auburn (5-0) advances to play in tonight’s championship game of the Riviera Division.
Green also had six assists and Broome, who got the start after sitting out the last game due to injury, had nine rebounds and three blocks.
Green was scoreless for the first 16 minutes of the game, but he made a 3-pointer to end a 7-0 Bradley run late in the first half and he beat the halftime buzzer with a layup to give the Tigers a 4532 lead. It was the most points Auburn has scored in the first half this season.
Allen Flanigan (Little Rock Parkview) sank a three-pointer in the corner to extend the Tiger’s lead to 55-38 early in the second half.
K.D. Johnson added 13 points, Flanigan had 12 points and Jaylin Williams scored 11 for Auburn. The Tigers shot 56% from the floor (31 of 55).
Williams made a pair of three-pointers early as Auburn scored 12 of the opening 14 points of the game. Williams scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half.
Connor Hickman and Duke Deen each scored 15 points for Bradley (3-2), which will play in the thirdplace contest today. Malevy Leons added 11 points.
Auburn leads the alltime series 3-0, including a 90-86 victory in the 1988 NCAA Tournament to spoil a 44-point performance by Bradley’s Hersey Hawkins, a future NBA All-Star.
NO. 21 TEXAS TECH 70, LOUISVILLE 38
LAHAINA, Hawaii — Kevin Obanor scored 15 points and No. 21 Texas Tech held Louisville to its lowest point total in 74 years in a 70-38 victory in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday.
The Red Raiders (4-1) bounced back from their 76-65 loss to No. 10 Creighton on Monday with their most dominating defensive performance since holding Incarnate Word to 37 points in 2018.
Louisville (0-5) was held scoreless for more than 10 minutes spanning the halves. The Cardinals missed 13 field goals and two free throws and committed six turnovers during the drought.
When it started, Texas Tech led 2013. When it ended with Sydney Curry’s layup, the Red Raiders were ahead 45-15.
The Cardinals’ 38 points were their fewest since a 62-34 loss to Xavier on Jan. 7, 1948.
Jaylon Tyson’s three-pointer pushed the Red Raiders’ lead to double digits during a 17-2 spurt that ended with the Red Raiders ahead 32-13 at the half.
The 13 first-half points were the fewest allowed by Texas Tech since Northwestern State scored 10 on Dec. 12, 2018. It was only the second time since the 2009-10 season that Louisville had scored so few points in a first half.
Of the 12 Texas Tech players who suited up, 11 scored, and the Red Raiders shot 43% for the game and made 14 steals.
El Ellis and Jae’Lyn Withers each scored seven points for the Cardinals, who were 11 of 49 from the floor (27%) and finished with 18 turnovers.