AGBAJI’S 25 ENOUGH FOR NO. 3 KU
Bill Self knew that Ochai Agbaji was within one point of 1,000 for his career, so the Kansas coach reminded his star player of the milestone in the gentlest way possible during a late timeout against Stony Brook.
“Coach told me that if I didn’t shoot he was going to take me out,” Agbaji said with a smile.
Well, he shot. He didn’t score. So despite 25 points from Agbaji in an 88-59 victory over the Seawolves on Thursday night, he remains sitting precariously on 999 as the third-ranked Jayhawks prepare to head to the ESPN Events Invitational in Florida next week.
“Really my main focus has been consistency,” said Agbaji, who opened with 29 points against Michigan State and had 26 against Tarleton. “Not going out with a total in mind or anything like that. Just being assertive and consistent every night.”
David McCormack added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Christian Braun and Zach Clemence scored 11 apiece for the Jayhawks (3-0).
Xavier 71, No. 19 Ohio State 65: Jack Nunge had 14 points and 14 rebounds, Paul Scruggs also scored 14 points and host Xavier (3-0) led wire to wire in knocking off the Buckeyes. E.J. Liddell had 17 points for the Buckeyes (3-1).
No. 24 Florida 81, Milwaukee 45: Colin Castleton had 19 points
and 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double and Florida (3-0) dominated visiting Milwaukee in the Gators’ first game as a ranked team in nine months.
No. 22 St. Bonaventure 67, Boise State 61: Kyle Lofton had 17 points and seven assists, Jaren Holmes added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and St. Bonaventure came back to win at the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. St. Bonaventure trailed 59-57 with 5:40 left, but the Bonnies (3-0) held Boise State (1-2) to 1-for-9 shooting after that.
West
Washington State 109, Idaho 61: Noah Williams scored 16 points and led six players into double-digit scoring as visiting Washington State (4-0) routed Idaho (1-3) to win the 277th edition of The Battle of the Palouse, the longest continuous running rivalry in the country.
Cal 75, Southern Utah 68 (2 OT): Andre Kelly scored 28 point missing only five of 16-shot attempts and grabbed 15 rebounds and host Cal (2-2) beat back Southern Utah (1-3) in double overtime.
Samford 78, Oregon State 77: Cooper Kaifes hit a go-ahead 3pointer with 1:21 left and Samford (3-1) held off host Oregon State (1-3).
Cal Baptist 67, San Jose State 66: Taran Armstrong had a tripledouble with 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds to carry Cal Baptist (4-0) to a win over visiting San Jose State (1-2).
Utah State 87, Penn 79: Justin Bean had a career-high 33 points plus 16 rebounds to carry Utah State (2-1) to a double overtime win over Penn (2-3) in the Myrtle Beach Invitational in Conway, S.C.
Wednesday’s late result
No. 2 UCLA 98, North Florida 63: Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 20 points, Johnny Juzang added 17 and host UCLA (4-0) rolled past North Florida.
Calhoun retires, again
Jim Calhoun, who led UConn to three national titles, has retired again, this time from Division III Saint Joseph. The 79-year-old Hall of Fame coach ends his career with a record of 920-397. That includes 248 wins in 14 years at Northeastern and 625 in 26 years at UConn, where his teams won NCAA titles in 1999, 2004 and 2011.