Tuesday, November 22, 2005
He made a shot and then blocked another one to sink West Virginia.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- LaMarcus Aldridge made a putback with 3.6 seconds left and blocked a last-second shot to lift No. 2 Texas to a 76-75 victory over No. 13 West Virginia on Monday night in the semifinals of the Guardians Classic.
Daniel Gibson hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points to lead Texas (3-0). P.J. Tucker added 19 points for the Longhorns and Aldridge finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
After the Mountaineers' Johannes Herber and Kevin Pittsnogle missed the front ends of 1-and-1 opportunities, Tucker's follow shot got Texas within 75-74 with 15.4 seconds remaining. Pittsnogle missed another 1-and-1 with 14.7 seconds to go, and Aldridge converted after misses by Paulino and Brad Buckman.
Aldridge then blocked a last-second layup attempt by Mike Gansey, who led the Mountaineers (2-1) with 28 points.
No. 12 Michigan State 89,Chaminade 67
LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Michigan State's second game in Hawaii was a lot better than its first.
Maurice Ager scored 23 points to lead the 12th-ranked Spartans over Chaminade.
The win came just two days after the then-No. 4 Spartans lost 84-62 at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. The Spartans (1-1) weren't bothered by leg cramps against Chaminade (0-1) like they were against Hawaii when four starters were forced from the game, including Shannon Brown being carried from the court on a stretcher.
Chris Reaves had 18 points for Chaminade, which fell to 4-58 in the tournament.
No. 8 Gonzaga 88,No. 23 Maryland 76
LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Gonzaga's "Big Three" took care of the offense and the eighth-ranked Bulldogs' zone took care of the defense in their victory over Maryland in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
Preseason All-America Adam Morrison scored 25 points, Derek Raivio had 24 and J.P. Batista added 21 for Gonzaga (2-0). The Bulldogs advanced to Tuesday's semifinals where they will play No. 12 Michigan State, which beat Chaminade 89-67.
The Bulldogs' matchup zone was really effective over the final 10 minutes of the game, holding Maryland (1-1) to four field goals in that span, three of them coming in the final 1:14.
McCray had 18 points for Maryland, while D.J. Strawberry added 16 and Mike Jones 12.
No. 20 Indiana 100,Florida A & amp;M 63
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Marshall Strickland scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half, and Roderick Wilmont added 17 to help No. 20 Indiana rout Florida A & amp;M.
Instead of relying on their strong inside game, the Hoosiers (2-0) were forced to use a 3-point barrage to beat the Rattlers (1-1).
Florida A & amp;M dared Indiana by opening the game in a zone, and Strickland quickly took advantage. He hit his first five 3s, then got his teammates involved. Wilmont finished with three 3s, Errek Suhr had 13 points and three 3s, and seven different Hoosiers connected on a 3. Indiana finished 16-of-29 from behind the arc, tying the second-highest total in school history. Indiana had 17 against Illinois in 2002 and 16 against Alaska-Anchorage in 2001.
Brian Greene led Florida A & amp;M with 19 points and eight rebounds.
No. 24 Wake Forest 79,UNC-Asheville 63
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Justin Gray paced a balanced offense with 16 points, Trent Strickland scored 14 and No. 24 Wake Forest finally got a breather with a victory over pesky UNC-Asheville.
The Demon Deacons (4-1) finished third in the 2K Sports College Hoop Classic, and their run of four games included two that went to overtime. The loss came to Florida in the semifinals of the event, another one that went down to the wire.
It also dropped Wake Forest five spots in The Associated Press poll.
Joe Barber scored 17 points for Asheville, and teammate Oliver Holmes had 11.