No. 1 Villanova avoids an upset against La Salle

PHILADELPHIA - Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Josh Hart had 21 to help No. 1 Villanova hold off La Salle 8979 on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats (9-0) failed to dominate in their first game of the season as the top-ranked team in the country. The national champions led La Salle (4-3) by only single digits late in the game and played little like the team that had steamrolled to the top.

Coach Jay Wright had worried that Villanova’s ascension to No. 1 would give the Explorers a little more incentive to go out and knock off the champs.

Johnnie Shuler and Pookie Powell made late 3-pointers that pulled the Explorers to 77-70. La Salle, which has never defeated a No. 1 team, got more late help from long range when Jordan Price popped a 3 that made it a fourpoint game. Powell scored 27 points.

No. 3 Kansas 105, UMKC 62 at Kansas City, Mo.: Frank Mason scored 30 points to match his career high, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson also had big games and No. 3 Kansas rolled to a victory over Missouri-Kansas City to give coach Bill Self career win No. 600.

Jackson had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Graham was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points as the Jayhawks (8-1) allowed Self to empty his bench early again.

He became the ninth-fastest coach to reach 600 wins, just behind Phog Allen, whose name adorns their building.

No. 5 Duke 84, No. 21 Florida 74 at

Amile Jefferson had career New York: highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead No. 5 Duke to a victory over No. 21 Florida in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.

Luke Kennard scored 29 points and freshman Jayson Tatum added 22 for the Blue Devils (9-1), whose only loss was to Kansas on this same court in the Champions Classic in November.

At No. 14 Virginia 76, East Carolina

Kyle Guy scored 13 points to lead 53: five Virginia players in double figures, and the No. 14 Cavaliers used strong perimeter shooting to beat East Carolina.

At No. 23 Notre Dame 87, IPFW 72: Bonzie Colson had his sixth straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, leading No. 23 Notre Dame to a win over Fort Wayne.

Women’s Top 10

At No. 3 Baylor 90, Texas State 24: Natalie Chou, Kalani Brown and Alexis Prince each scored 15 points, and No. 3 Baylor routed Texas State 90-24 on Tuesday night.

At No. 4 Maryland 97, Towson 63: Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough each scored 19 points before leaving early during another blowout by No. 4 Maryland, which rolled to a victory against in-state foe Towson.

Pac-12

California 62, Princeton 51 at Honolulu: Charlie Moore scored 15 points to lead four players in double figures and California pulled away from Princeton in the Pearl Harbor Invitational.

At Utah 87, Utah Valley 80: JoJo Zamora scored 17 points and Lorenzo Bonam made a trio of clutch plays down the stretch to help Utah surge past Utah Valley.