Georgia Tech 'spanks' Memphis



The Yellow Jackets overcame a 16-point deficit.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The face of Georgia Tech this season is its three freshman stars. The Yellow Jackets' first big win was courtesy of their veteran big men.
Juniors Jeremis Smith and Ra'Sean Dickey led a dominant second half on the boards and No. 19 Georgia Tech overcame a 16-point deficit for a 92-85 victory over No. 12 Memphis on Tuesday in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.
"This game will be a great learning experience for our younger guys," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "We have big, strong guys and they played with toughness in the second half."
That toughness led to a 29-9 rebound advantage over the final 20 minutes and the Yellow Jackets (5-0) moved on to Wednesday night's championship game against the winner of the late semifinal between No. 5 UCLA and No. 20 Kentucky.
"This gave us confidence," Smith said. "We can say we beat a good team and apply what we did in the second half to the next game."
Memphis (2-1) took a 46-30 halftime lead using its speed and tenacious defense to go up by as many as 19 points. The 6-foot-8 Smith, who had 21 points and nine rebounds, and the 6-10 Dickey, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, then took over the boards in the second half, especially on the offensive end.
"We got spanked," Memphis coach John Calipari said.
No. 1 Florida 94, Prairie View 33
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Joakim Noah and Al Horford showed added dimensions to their games, leading Florida.
Noah was 7-of-7 from the free throw line, and he scored on a spinning layup and used a crossover dribble to drive past a defender toward the basket. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Horford was even better.
He made a baseline jumper, two midrange shots and a left-handed layup. He also drove coast-to-coast before handing off to Walter Hodge and had a full-court bounce pass to Corey Brewer for a layup. Horford totaled 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Of course, it came against another overmatched opponent. The defending national champions, playing for the fourth time in eight days, should get a much tougher test in Las Vegas. The Gators (5-0) play Western Kentucky on Friday, then face No. 10 Kansas the following night.
Hodge had 13 points and Brewer added 12 for the Gators, who extended their winning streak to 16 games and won their 25th consecutive game against non-conference opponents.
No. 7 Wisconsin 64, Delaware St. 52
MADISON, Wis. -- Alando Tucker scored 25 points and Brian Butch added 18 to lead No. 7 Wisconsin to a 64-52 win over Delaware State in the South Padre Island Invitational on Tuesday night.
Delaware State (1-4) trailed just 39-35 with 14 minutes left as the Hornets tried to slow the tempo against the Badgers (4-0) by waiting 15 seconds into the 35-second shot clock before running any plays.
It worked in the first half as Delaware State shot 65 percent.
No. 10 Kansas 89, Tennessee St. 54
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Sherron Collins scored 19 points and Brandon Rush had 14 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday night, leading Kansas in the second round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
In their best 20 minutes so far this season, the Jayhawks (3-1) raced to a 50-19 halftime lead, outscoring the Tigers 23-5 in one stretch.
Julian Wright had 14 points while Darnell Jackson scored 11 and freshman Darrell Arthur 10.
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