Second-half rally by Kentucky falls short
NEW YORK – Keita Bates-Diop scored 14 points and Ohio State held off a furious second-half rally by No. 4 Kentucky for a 74-67 victory Saturday in the CBS Sports Classic at Barclays Center.
The Buckeyes (6-5) led by 16 points with 11:26 to play but had to withstand not only the Wildcats’ rally but a crowd of 16,311 mostly Kentucky fans making so much noise it sounded like Rupp Arena.
Freshman Jamal Murray had a season-high 33 points for the Wildcats (9-2) and kept the rally going with 3-pointer after 3-pointer. He finished 7 of 9 from beyond the arc, all the makes in the second half.
No. 1 Michigan State 78, Northeastern 58: Denzel Valentine scored 17 points and Michigan State beat Northeastern to improve to 12-0.
The Spartans trailed by five midway through the first half before recovering in their first game against Northeastern. The Huskies (7-4) sold out the century-old Matthews Arena for the first time in two decades but couldn’t hold on for their second victory over a ranked team this season.
Bryn Forbes scored 12 points for Michigan State and Valentine added six assists and five rebounds.
Zach Stahl had 18 points and seven rebounds for Northeastern.
No. 2 Kansas 88, Montana 46: Perry Ellis had 18 points and nine rebounds for Kansas.
Brannen Greene and Wayne Selden added 11 points apiece, and Svi Mykhailiuk finished with 10 for the Jayhawks (9-1). They led by 20 at halftime before coasting to their eighth straight win.
Brandon Gfeller led the Grizzlies (4-6) with 12 points.
No. 3 Oklahoma 87, Creighton 74: Buddy Hield scored a career-high 33 points to help Oklahoma pull away.
Creighton cut Oklahoma’s lead to 71-68 in the second half before Hield, a preseason All-American, scored nine straight points in 1:22 to put the game out of reach.
Jordan Woodard had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Sooners (8-0). Maurice Watson scored 19 points for the Bluejays (7-4).
Utah 77, No. 7 Duke 75, OT: Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points to lead Utah past Duke in the Ameritas Insurance Classic.
Jakob Poeltl had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Utah (9-2) before fouling out with 31 seconds left in overtime. Luke Kennard led Duke (9-2) with 24 points.
No. 8 Virginia 86, No. 12 Villanova 75: Anthony Gill scored 22 points and London Perrantes had 15 of his 19 in the second half to help Virginia hold off Villanova.
Malcolm Brogdon had 20 points for Virginia (9-1), including a pair of free throws with 44.6 seconds left. Kris Jenkins scored 23 points for Villanova (8-2).
No. 10 Xavier 85, Auburn 61: Jalen Reynolds had a season-high 18 points as Xavier’s front line dominated, and the Musketeers got their best start in school history by beating Auburn.
Xavier (11-0) was comfortably ahead the whole way after an opening 8-0 run. Kareem Canty had 25 points for Auburn (5-3).
No. 11 North Carolina 89, no. 22 UCLA 76: Brice Johnson scored 27 points, the second straight game he set his career high, and beat UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic at Barclays Center.
The senior forward missed his first shot from the field then didn’t miss again, finishing 11 for 12 as he bettered the 25 points he scored against Tulane.
Joel Berry II added a career-high 17 points for the Tar Heels (9-2). Isaac Hamilton had 23 points for Bruins (8-4).
No. 15 Miami 85, College of Charleston 63: Ja’Quan Newton scored a career-high 20 points, Sheldon McClellan added 14 and Miami returned from an 11-day break to beat College of Charleston.
Anthony Lawrence scored 11 points for the Hurricanes (9-1). Canyon Barry, the son of former Miami great and Basketball Hall of Famer Rick Barry, had 20 points for Charleston (7-3).
No. 19 Louisville 78, Western Kentucky 56: Quentin Snider scored 16 points for Louisville in the Cardials 78-56 win over Western Kentucky. Trey Lewis and Damion Lee each added 15 points for the Cardinals (9-1). Fredrick Edmond led Western Kentucky (6-5) with 14 points and eight rebounds.
No. 21 George Washington 87, Saint Peter’s 74: Tyler Cavanaugh scored 18 points, and Patricio Garino added 16 for George Washington.
Kevin Larsen had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Colonials (10-1). Trevis Wyche scored a career-high 26 points for Saint Peter’s (3-6).
No. 23 Cincinnati 69, VCU 63: Troy Caupain and Farad Cobb had 15 points apiece for Cincinnati.
Gary Clark scored nine of his 13 points in the second half for the Bearcats (10-2). He also had nine rebounds. Korey Billbury led the Rams (5-5) with 22 points and nine rebounds.