Davis scores 30 as Wisconsin upsets No. 12 Houston
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No. 12 Houston scored the first 17 points against Butler in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational on Monday, and then allowed Wisconsin to score the first 13 points en route to a 20point halftime deficit in Tuesday’s semifinal.
It cost the Cougars in the long run, as Johnny Davis scored a career-high 30 points to lead Wisconsin past Houston 65-63.
The Cougars cut Wisconsin’s lead to two on Kyler Edwards’ three-pointer with 40 seconds left. With the final possession, Jamal Shead drove the baseline and passed to Edwards, who wasn’t expecting the feed, costing the Cougars a chance at a final attempt.
“Looking back, I’m kind of glad this did happen so we can learn how to finish a game down the stretch,” Wisconsin coach Gary Gard said. “I think it was just a great experience for these guys.”
Davis finished 10 for 18 from the f loor, including four for seven from three-point range, and was six for six from the free-throw line.
No. 13 Arkansas 73, Cincinnati 67:
Au’Diese Toney scored 19 points, including the go-ahead free throws with just over a minute to go, and Chris Lykes was perfect at the foul line down the stretch in helping Arkansas beat Cincinnati in the title game of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo. Lykes finished with 15 points and JD Notae overcame another cold-shooting night to finish with 13 for the Razorbacks (5-0), who made every crucial play in the closing minutes of a game that neither team led by more than six. Toney’s free throws with 1:23 left gave the Razorbacks a 68-67 lead, the fifth time it had changed hands in the final five minutes. Jeremiah Davenport missed for Cincinnati, and Arkansas grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds before Lykes was fouled and made two more free throws with 21.8 seconds left.
No. 14 Illinois 72, Kansas State 64:
Kofi Cockburn missed the first three games of the season for Illinois for violating NCAA rules, and Alfonso Plummer might as well have missed them given the way his normally reliable shot kept bouncing out. Both of them made their presence known against Kansas State. Cockburn bruised his way to 23 points and 13 rebounds in his second game back, and Plummer hit seven three-pointers and added 21 points in the consolation game of the Hall of Fame Classic.