college basketball roundup

college basketball roundup

Wednesday’s games

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No. 1 Kentucky 101, Cleveland State 70

LEXINGTON, KY.

Malik Monk scored 23 points and De’Aaron Fox added 16 to propel No. 1 Kentucky to a rout of Cleveland State. With leading scorer Isaiah Briscoe sidelined by a back injury, the freshman duo picked up the slack and did it quickly, helping Kentucky (5-0) roll to a 16-2 lead that was never threatened. They combined for 31 first-half points alone, with 19 from Monk, whose 4-for-4 start from long range and 8-of-12 shooting overall helped him match his career scoring best. Bam Adebayo added 14 points and seven rebounds while Mychal Mulder matched a career high with 13 for Kentucky, which shot a season-best 52 percent from the field in the second of three games in the Bluegrass Showcase.

No. 13 Oregon 79, Connecticut 69

LAHAINA, HAWAII

Chris Boucher scored 21 points, Tyler Dorsey added 19 and No. 13 Oregon beat Connecticut in the fifth-place game of the Maui Invitational. Oregon (4-2) lost its opener to Georgetown, but bounced back with an overtime victory over Tennessee on Dillon Brooks’ long 3-pointer. The Ducks wanted to get off to a fast start in their Maui finale and did just that, racing to a 15-point lead in the opening 41/2 minutes. UConn (2-4) chipped into the lead by halftime, but the Ducks started flying again, building the lead back up to 17. Dylan Ennis had 15 points and Jordan Bell added 12 for Oregon, which shot 54 percent and made 9 of 21 from 3-point range.

No. 20 Baylor 71, VCU 63

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS

Al Freeman scored 15 points and came up with three baskets during a critical second-half sequence to help No. 20 Baylor beat VCU in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Johnathan Motley scored a team-high 19 points before fouling out for the Bears (4-0). In addition, Manu Lecomte shook off a rough shooting game to finish with 16 points, including a hanging layup while being knocked to the ground for a three-point play to go with several key free throws in the final minute. JeQuan Lewis had 21 points for the Rams (3-1), who went without a basket for roughly 61/2 minutes during the second half.

South Carolina 61, No. 25 Michigan 46

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Sindarius Thornwell had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead South Carolina past cold-shooting and 25th-ranked Michigan. The Gamecocks improved to 5-0 for a second straight season and knocked off their first ranked opponent since an 81-78 win at No. 8 Texas A&M last February. South Carolina got a big assist in this one from Michigan’s awful outside touch — it finished 10 of 52 (19.6 percent) for its worst shooting percentage in six years. It was the first time the Wolverines (4-1) hadn’t reached 50 points since scoring 42 in a loss to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 9, 2014.

WOMEN

No. 19 West Virginia 79, East Carolina 47

SAVANNAH, GA.

Teana Muldrow had season highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds and No. 19 West Virginia beat East Carolina at the Savannah Invitational for the undefeated Mountaineers’ sixth straight victory. Tynice Martin, who made two free throws to extend her streak to 30 straight, and Kristina King each added 16 points, and Katrina Pardee, with three 3-pointers, had 10. Muldrow’s double-double was the first this season for the junior and the second of her career.

Associated Press