No. 2 Kentucky edges No. 1 Spartans in opener

NEW YORK >> Tyrese Maxey, Kentucky’s latest freshman star, scored 26 points and the secondranked Wildcats opened the season with a 69-62 victory against No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 5 in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.

The Nos. 1 and 2 teams opened their seasons against each other for the first time since 1975 and the Wildcats made their case to be top-ranked next week.

Michigan State entered the season as the No. 1 team in the country for the first time, but aside from All-American Cassius Winston, the Spartans struggled to score. Winston had 21 points.

After Winston cut the lead to three on a three-point play with 1:27 left, Maxey hit a 3 from way behind the line to make it 65-60 with 59 seconds left.

The Spartans couldn’t find the range from 3, going 5-for26 and certainly looked like they could have used the scoring of senior guard Joshua Langford, who is expected to be out until January with a right foot injury. NO. 4 DUKE 68, NO. 3 KANSAS 66 >> Tre Jones scored 15 points and Cassius Stanley added 11 of his 13 points in the second half to help Duke beat Kansas in the opener of the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.

While Duke doesn’t have the star-studded freshmen class of last season of Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett, coach Mike Krzyzewski may have a more balanced team, capable of making plays down the

stretch when needed.

Trailing 61-59 with 2:29 left, Stanley drove to the basket and made the layup and was fouled. The freshman guard converted the free throw to give the Blue Devils a one-point lead.

Devon Dotson missed a layup on the other end and Jones then hit a jumper that bounced off the rim twice before dropping in with 1:33 left.

Dotson finished with 17 points. NO. 5 LOUISVILLE 87, MIAMI 74 >> Jordan Nwora’s 23-point performance included four 3-pointers and a throwdown dunk in Louisville’s season-opening win.

The Cardinals are touted as a potential Final Four team, and they lived up to the hype with a rout on the road against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

Nwora, the preseason ACC player of the year, shot 8 for 16 and had 12 rebounds in 31 minutes.

McMahon and Dwayne Sutton had 16 points apiece for the Cardinals, who shot 54%.

Chris Lykes had 18 points and DJ Vasiljevic scored 16 for the Hurricanes. NO. 6 FLORIDA 74, NORTH FLORIDA 59 >> Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his Florida debut, and the Gators beat North Florida.

Blackshear, who came to Gainesville after four years at Virginia Tech, added three assists and two steals.

Scottie Lewis finished with nine points, five rebounds and two assists in his college debut. Tre Mann had 11 points and four boards.

Noah Locke chipped in 14 points for the Gators.

JT Escobar led North Florida with 15 points. Garrett Sams added 14. NO. 7 MARYLAND 95, HOLY CROSS 71 >> Jalen Smith had 16 points and 11 rebounds,

Darryl Morsell scored 15 and Maryland launched a season of high hopes by defeating Holy Cross.

Taking full advantage of their height and depth, the Terrapins placed four players in double figures, finished with a 47-33 rebounding advantage and scored 64 points in the paint.

Freshman guard Drew Lowder scored 24 for Holy Cross, playing its first game under coach Brett Nelson. NO. 8 GONZAGA 95, ALABAMA STATE 64 >> Corey Kispert scored a career-high 28 points as Gonzaga used a second-half surge to beat Alabama State.

Filip Petrusev added 15, Admon Gilder scored 12 and Ryan Woolridge had 11 for depleted Gonzaga, which is down to nine scholarship players. The Bulldogs have won 16 consecutive season openers dating to 2003.

Jacoby Ross scored 16 points and Brandon Battle had 10 for Alabama State in the first meeting between the teams. NO. 10 VILLANOVA 97, ARMY 54 >> Jeremiah RobinsonEarl scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Saddiq Bey had 22 points to help Villanova cruise past Army.

Robinson-Earl, the preseason Big East Freshman of the Year, was sensational in his debut and scored 15 points by the break.

Cole Swider scored 18 points and hit four of Villanova’s 12 3-pointers. Tommy Funk and Tucker Blackwell led Army with 15 points. NO. 12 SETON HALL 105, WAGNER 71 >> Myles Powell scored 27 points to lead Seton Hall to the win without coach Kevin Willard.

Seton Hall announced a week ago that the NCAA is investigating the program and Willard would be sitting out two games.

Quincy McKnight added 10 points and seven assists for Seton Hall.

Patrick Szpir led Wagner with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Alex Morales finished with 13 points.