Other Articles in this Category
Most Viewed Stories
Most Commented Stories
Most Recommended Stories
Save & Share this Article
Texas and Big 12 Basketball Capsules: James and Pittman lead No. 3 Texas in 89-42 win
Comments 0 | Recommend 0AUSTIN — When the freshmen looked nervous, No. 3 Texas had the luxury of a strong senior class to take control and lead the way.
Damion James had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Dexter Pittman scored 21 to lead the Longhorns to a season-opening 89-42 victory over UC-Irvine on Sunday.
Those two had flirted with going to the NBA after last season, but returned to play with one of the nation's top freshman classes.
And in the first game with such high expectations, it was senior steadiness that carried the day.
"We knew we had to set a tone. We had to show them how it was done," Pittman said. "We weren't trying to steal the show."
Texas coach Rick Barnes sprinkled the freshmen through the lineup and the start was a bit ragged. Freshman J'Covan Brown started at point guard and finished with 13 points, but had no assists and five turnovers. Two of the turnovers came in the first 2 minutes.
Barnes said he could see the nervous energy the night before the game.
"J'Covan Brown wore us all out before the game," Barnes said. "I've never seen a guy as amped up. Ever."
Avery Bradley, considered the top player among the freshmen, got in the game 4 minutes in, but misfired on his first couple of shots and didn't make his first basket until a steal and dunk with 3:26 left in the half.
Bradley won the McDonald's All-America dunk contest in high school but kept his first college slam pretty simple without any showboating.
The early miscues forced Pittman and James to make sure Texas (1-0) didn't fall far behind and they scored 15 of Texas' first 18 points. Aided by the Texas mistakes, UC-Irvine led 19-18 before the freshmen finally shook off their jitters.
Brown started the big run with a 3-pointer and Jordan Hamilton's 3 a couple of minutes later made it 26-19. James and Pittman dunked before another 3-pointer by James put Texas up by 20.
"We know how good they are. They're going to be great," James said. "You can't throw a freshman in there and expect them to just go to the top."
Brown's second 3-pointer with 48 seconds left made it 42-21 at halftime.
UC-Irvine had no way to match up with the 6-foot-10, 290-pound Pittman, who scored at will on 10-of-11 shooting. Pittman scored Texas' first two baskets after halftime and his dunk off a steal by Justin Mason put the Longhorns up 57-29.
Texas shot 57 percent for the game and outrebounded UC-Irvine 49-30.
"I've seen him on TV. He's a load inside," UC-Irvine coach Pat Douglass said of Pittman. "It's a stretch to remain positive. This was a tough assignment."
Once the game was in control, the freshmen looked much more comfortable. Brown finished with four 3-pointers and Hamilton and Bradley showed off with two flashy dunks.
Hamilton finished with 12 points and Bradley scored 10.
"At the end of the game, those young players were out there for a long time," Barnes said. "They probably have a great appreciation for just how hard it is and how hard the older guys play to sustain it."
Zack Atkinson scored 10 points to lead the Anteaters (1-1).
Top 25 Women
Aggies knock off No. 6 Duke 95-77
COLLEGE STATION — Danielle Adams needed only one game to endear herself to Texas A&M fans.
Adams scored 24 points in 22 minutes in her Texas A&M debut and the Aggies stunned No. 6 Duke 95-77 on Sunday.
The Aggies (1-0) took the lead near the midway point of the first half and didn't trail again. Despite poor shooting, the Blue Devils (1-1) cut the lead to three points with about 14 minutes remaining, but the Aggies scored 10 straight points to make it 65-52 and Duke didn't threaten again.
Adams scored seven points in that span, including a nifty off-balance layup which she turned into a three-point play.
"The team was down so I had to come out and contribute and push the lead up more," Adams said.
Sydney Colson made a free throw to cap that run and then sprinted to the star at midcourt for an airborne chest bump with Tanisha Smith as a timeout was called.
"The first five minutes of the second half were ugly," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said. "They could have got right back in the ball game, but every time we would screw up, they would screw up going the other way. When we were playing our worst five minutes of the game they didn't take advantage of it."
The win improved Texas A&M's all-time record against the Blue Devils to 3-0. This was the first meeting between the schools since a 77-63 win by the Aggies in the round of 16 in the 2008 NCAA tournament.
Texas A&M got 19 points from Smith, 17 from Colson and Sydney Carter added 14. Damitria Buchanan had seven rebounds and tied an A&M record with seven blocks.
"I think the bottom line is they just played a team game," Duke coach Joanne P. McCallie said. "You can highlight (Adams), but you are looking at five people in double figures for them, so our team defense did not perform."
Jasmine Thomas had a career-high 26 points for the Blue Devils and Allison Vernerey scored 11.
Adams, the preseason Big 12 newcomer of the year and last year's junior college player of the year at Jefferson College, had five rebounds and a block and made three 3-pointers.
"The atmosphere was great, I'd never seen nothing like it playing at a junior college," she said.
The nonconference record crowd of 6,866 gave her more than one standing ovation.
"That's what I came to do was make my mark and make my name here," she said.
Her teammates said they expected this kind of play from Adams.
"We see this every day in practice," Carter said. "It was just a matter of her showing off what she could do and surprising the crowd and surprising the other team. It really wasn't any big thing to us."
This game was a much tougher test for the Blue Devils after they beat tiny Houston Baptist 104-35 in their opener Friday night. Against the Aggies they were foiled by poor shooting as they made 26 of 78 shots while Texas A&M was 33 of 58. Texas A&M had nine 3-pointers while Duke made four of 20.
The Aggies were up by 13 points when Duke finally got going and went on a 11-1 run to get within 55-52 on a jumper by Thomas with about 14 minutes left. But Adams and the Aggies thwarted the rally to cruise to the win.
"We worked hard defensively to get that little run going and just poor decisions once we got it within three," Thomas said. "On my part with me being a leader out there, I should have made better decisions."
Texas A&M was up by 15 points before scoring six straight points thanks to a missed layup and two turnovers by Duke to make it 82-61 with about 6 minutes remaining.
Texas A&M took a 13-12 lead with about 12 minutes in the first half when Carter hit both free throws after Karima Christmas was called for an intentional foul after pushing her down from behind on a fast break.
That was the start of an 8-0 run that pushed Texas A&M's lead to 19-12 about 10 minutes before halftime.
Duke cut the lead to four points before the Aggies went on another 8-0 run fueled by two 3-pointers by Carter to make it 31-19 with 5½ minutes left in the first half.
The Blue Devils got within five a couple of minutes later but Texas A&M outscored them 10-5 to lead 45-35 at halftime.
-- Kristie Rieken
No. 8 Tennessee beats No. 7 Baylor 74-65
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee coach Pat Summitt wanted to keep Brittney Griner's dunking potential from being a distraction. So she reminded the Lady Volunteers that a dunk was only worth two points.
"Obviously going into it everybody's talking about Brittney Griner and the dunk," Summitt said of the 6-foot-8 Baylor freshman. "So I told them, 'Angie (Bjorklund) and (Shekinna) Stricklen: if she dunks, just go hit a 3. Now we're one up.'"
Stricklen ended up with 25 points and 14 rebounds and No. 8 Tennessee beat No. 7 Baylor 74-65 on Sunday in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic.
Griner, women's college basketball's celebrated recruit dunked in an exhibition game and a few times in warmups. She scored 15 points and had four blocks but never got close enough to the rim for a chance to dunk during the game.
The Lady Volunteers(1-0) didn't need many 3s, but instead used a combination of post players — who spent much of the game in foul trouble — to shut down Griner. The freshman found herself with four fouls 2 minutes after halftime and sat for 6½ minutes of the second half.
"They were petty fouls. That's part of the learning I'm going to have to do coming from the high school level to the college level, playing with fouls," Griner said.
Baylor led by as many as seven points in the first half and entered halftime with a 26-24 lead, but Tennessee scored the first 12 points coming out of the break.
Stricklen hit a fast-break layup on a steal and assist from Kamiko Williams to cap a 14-2 run that gave the Tennessee a 52-38 lead with 9:49 left.
"They made a few runs, and Shekinna would come down and make a jump shot," Lady Vols center Kelley Cain said. "When she makes those shots, it really picks up our team and lets us know that we're still in it, and that we aren't going to let them come back."
Baylor (0-1) got within nine points several times but kept sending the Lady Vols to the free throw line, where they shot 85 percent in the second half.
The Lady Vols were looking for redemption after losing in the opening round of the NCAA tournament in March. Summitt has praised her young players for working harder than all her recent teams in the offseason.
"I brought them into a hornet's nest," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "(Summitt's) mad at her team. They lost in the first round of the tournament, they got kicked out of their locker room and I'm coming to Knoxville, Tennessee.
"You think I wasn't sitting there proud as a peacock when we had a lead at halftime and proud at the end of the game? Absolutely, but I'm not into moral victories," she said.
Melissa Jones led the Lady Bears with 21 points, and Morghan Medlock had 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Cain had 15 points for Tennessee, and Bjorklund added 13.
Both teams featured underclassmen, and both teams shot poorly in the first half: Baylor 29.2 percent and Tennessee 28.9 percent.
"With the hype of the game and the large crowd, we were nervous in the first half," Summitt said. "I told them at halftime, 'OK, you can settle down now. Most of these people are cheering for you.'"
The 2010 women's Hall of Fame class was introduced as part of the State Farm Tip-Off Classic festivities.
The inductees include Leta Andrews, the winningest high school girls' basketball coach; celebrated USA basketball player Teresa Edwards; Connecticut star Rebecca Lobo; WNBA standout Teresa Weatherspoon; and former Maryland coach Chris Weller.
"You saw the past, the present and the future," Mulkey said. "I thought it was a great way to start off the season, except for the loss."
-- Beth Rucker
No. 20 Kansas opens with 106-80 win over ORU
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Whipping passes through the zone, dropping in 3-pointers, dominating in the paint, No. 20 Kansas played a near-flawless first half to get the rout started.
The defense? Still needs a little work. Allowing an opponent to score 80 points on 36 percent shooting is proof of that.
Danielle McCray scored 21 of her 27 points in a dominating first half and Aishah Sutherland added 24, helping Kansas overcome some defensive breakdowns to open the season with a resounding 106-80 win over Oral Roberts on Sunday.
Ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1999, Kansas (1-0) shot 56 percent, saw every starter hit double figures in scoring, led by as much as 26 in cruising to its fifth straight season-opening win.
Not that coach Bonnie Henrickson noticed. She was too busy watching Oral Roberts sneak out for breakaway layups after made shots, the constant penetration by its guards, the big games by its best player and a freshman.
"I was so mad defensively I probably didn't enjoy the offense," Henrickson said. "Maybe when I watch the tape, I'll just fast forward through the defense and watch the offense, and maybe feel a little better about it."
Henrickson might not stop smiling if she does.
Picking apart Oral Roberts' extended 2-1-2 zone and relishing the game's up-tempo pace, Kansas dominated the first half, scoring inside, outside, in transition. The Jayhawks opened the game with an 11-3 run and barely slowed, shooting 61 percent and getting 16 assists on 26 field goals to lead 64-42 — the fourth-most points in a half in school history.
"It might look different when we watch it on film but it felt like they couldn't miss a shot in the first half," Oral Roberts guard Janae Voelker said.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) opened the season with a 33-point victory over Texas-Pan American on Friday, but were no match for Kansas inside and had trouble shooting from the perimeter. Oral Roberts shot 7 of 29 from 3-point range, was outscored 18-0 on second-chance points and by 52-34 in the paint.
Voelker, from Newton, Kan., led Oral Roberts with 29 points and nine rebounds, and freshman Kevi Luper had 24 points to follow up her 25-point performance in the opener.
"It's nice to be here at Allen Fieldhouse and the history and tradition it represented," Oral Roberts coach Jerry Finkbeiner said. "A lot of our girls, this is their first time being here. This could have been overwhelming but I think we settled in."
McCray, the preseason Big 12 player of the year, wasted little time stamping her senior season, opening with a turnaround jumper and hitting two 3-pointers in the game's first 3 minutes. McCray had four 3-pointers and 21 points by halftime and shot 9 for 15 from the field overall.
It wasn't just shooting, though.
Following a be-more-aggressive pregame urging by Henrickson, McCray filled up the stat sheet, grabbing 11 rebounds, handing out seven assists, throwing in two blocked shots and a steal for good measure.
"Coach challenged me today for getting on the boards and I thought I needed to go to the boards," said McCray, who had five offensive rebounds. "That really just helped get me going tonight."
Of course, it seemed like all the Jayhawks could do no wrong.
Redshirt freshman Angel Goodrich gave Kansas the playmaking ability it missed at the point last season, whipping no-look passes through traffic, pulling up for jumpers in transition. Fully recovered from the torn ACL she suffered before last season, she had 10 points and seven assists.
Sutherland, a role player as a freshman last season, was a force at both ends, hitting a variety of short jumpers on offense, blocking and altering shots at the other end. She shot 11 of 15 from the floor and blocked three shots.
Junior center Krysten Boogaard, who bulked up in the offseason, had her way inside, using her 6-foot-5 frame to shoot over the Golden Eagles on the way to 19 points and 10 rebounds. Sade Morris had her intermediate game working, scoring 12 points on mid-range jumpers and slashes through the lane.
Limited to one or two scoring options last season, the Jayhawks clearly have more depth this year.
"We knew coming in this year that we added playmakers, athleticism and things were going to change," Morris said. "It makes it a lot easier for D (McCray) and I because we have other people who can score."
-- John Marshall
No. 21 Georgia holds off No. 13 Oklahoma, 62-51
ATHENS, Ga. — Senior Ashley Houts made the most of her new backcourt help and Georgia recovered after losing a 13-point lead in a game which showed Oklahoma how much it misses Courtney Paris.
Porsha Phillips and Jasmine James each scored 15 points and No. 21 Georgia held off No. 13 Oklahoma's second-half comeback for a 62-51 victory Sunday.
Georgia led by 13 points early in the second half only to see Oklahoma pull even at 43 with 6:48 remaining. The Lady Bulldogs (1-0) regained the lead on Meredith Mitchell's three-point play.
Oklahoma (1-1), a Final Four team last season, never led against its first Top 25 opponent since the end of the Courtney Paris era. The Sooners have to replace Paris, the NCAA's all-time rebounding leader, and her sister, Ashley.
"We knew Georgia had a fantastic inside game and we knew we were going to have to make open shots," said Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale. "We got the opportunity but our shooting percentage was dismal."
Oklahoma fell behind by shooting 23.5 percent (8 of 34) from the field in the first half. It shot 34.4 percent for the game.
Whitney Hand led Oklahoma with 13 points, while Abi Olajuwon had 10 points and nine rebounds.
James, a freshman from Memphis, did not start but played 34 minutes with Houts, who is beginning her fourth year as a starter.
"The reason J.J. is on the floor longer than the other (freshmen) is she has an ability set similar to Ashley's," said Georgia coach Andy Landers. "To have J.J. out there with her really changes the game for Ashley."
Houts, who had 11 points, three steals and two assists while playing the full 40 minutes.
The game matched the point guards — Houts and Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson — who shared the position for the U.S. National team which won the gold medal at the World University Games last summer. Robinson had nine points and eight assists.
"I thought Ashley Houts did a tremendous job, managing the game for Georgia and running her team, leading, scoring when she needed to, making the plays that great players make," Coale said.
Amanda Thompson had eight points, 13 rebounds and three blocks for Oklahoma.
"Thompson for us did a tremendous job battling on the inside," Coale said. "She was terrific on the boards and did just what we asked her to do."
Georgia has played in five Final Fours under Landers, but none since 1999.
"We've been focusing this year really on change and getting back to where the program needs to be," Houts said.
Georgia finished only 18-14 last season and was unranked following a first-round loss to Arizona State in the NCAA tournament.
-- Charles Odum
State Men
Texas Tech holds off Oregon State 64-60
LUBBOCK — David Tairu is the spark Texas Tech coach Pat Knight wanted when he recruited the junior college transfer.
Tairu scored 19 points to lead Texas Tech past Oregon State 64-60 in the Duel in the Desert tournament Sunday.
"I'm not surprised," Knight said of Tairu's offensive and defensive influence. "That's how he played in junior college. He just got all over them."
The Beavers battled back from a 14-point deficit to pull even with the Red Raiders (3-0) at 50-50 with 4:11 remaining in the game.
The score stayed close until Tairu and Mike Singletary hit back-to-back 3s to put the Red Raiders ahead 60-54 with 59 seconds remaining, putting the game out of reach for Oregon State (1-2).
Seth Tarver scored 17 points to lead the Beavers.
Knight said beating a Pac-10 opponent "really helps us," meaning that his Red Raiders need to be successful over teams from a "power conference," like the Big 12. Last season the Red Raiders won just three conference games.
And "to come away 3-0, that's the best we could hope for," Knight said.
Knight has stressed defense relentlessly since last season. The work seems to be paying off.
"Defensively, I've like what I've seen in all three games," said Knight, who is in his second full season leading the Red Raiders.
Craig Robinson, the Beavers coach, said some first-half chances were missed.
"I thought our energy coming out in the second half was much better," he said. "The first half we had some opportunities we couldn't cash in on. It was our defense that let us down, and usually our defense doesn't let us down."
Tairu, who was named MVP of the tournament, was 6-of-11 from the field and hit 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
He credited teammates John Roberson and Nick Okorie for his performance.
"They were driving to the lane and kicking it out for me to get open and be able to shoot the ball," Tairu said.
The Beavers outrebounded the Red Raiders 35-23. Joe Burton of Oregon State had a game-high nine rebounds.
Texas Tech went up 25-11 in the first half, but the Beavers slowly crept back. Six Red Raiders turnovers helped Oregon State put together an 11-5 run to close the half. Freshman Mike Davis hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Texas Tech a 30-24 lead at the break.
Roeland Schaftenaar, Joe Burton and Calvin Hayes started to click in the second half, keeping the Beavers close. Oregon State took its first lead since early in the game when Schaftenaar hit a jumper and a free throw for a 47-45 lead with 6:52 remaining.
Tairu hit two free throws for the game's first tie, 50-50, before Hayes hit two field goals. Texas Tech's D'walyn Roberts and Darko Cohadarevic then scored consecutive field goals before Singletary and Tairu hit their 3s to seal the win.
-- Betsy Blaney
Baylor defeats Hartford 71-69 at buzzer
WACO — Ekpe Udoh hit a turnaround jumper from 18 feet at the final buzzer to cap a second-half comeback that lifted Baylor to a 71-69 win Sunday over Hartford.
Udoh, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, made the game-winner from the right wing while being hounded by a pair of defenders.
"I had a feeling today that I was going to make a play to win the game," said Udoh, a 6-10 transfer from Michigan, who had 11 points in the final eight minutes and blocked a pair of 3-pointers.
LaceDarius Dunn added 29 points for the Bears (2-0).
Joe Zeglinski led Hartford (0-2) with 23 points. Morgan Sabia, Milton Burton and Joel Barkers had 14 for the Hawks, and Andres Torres added seven rebounds and 12 assists with only one turnover.
Dunn scored 10 straight points to spark a 13-0 run midway through the second half, giving Baylor its first lead since the opening minutes at 55-54.with 8:02 remaining. Hartford, which had only two turnovers in the game's first 27 minutes, committed four in just over three minutes during the stretch.
Baylor dominated the inside, outscoring Hartford 34-12 in the paint and outrebounding the Hawks, 38-26. But Hartford stayed in it by shooting over the Bears' soft zone defense, making 8 of 16 3-pointers in the first period and three more in succession right after halftime.
The Hawks, who fell to 0-5 all-time against Big 12 schools, took control with a 13-5 run midway through the first half as Sabia hit a pair of 3-pointers from the left wing and Zeglinski another from the right side. Between them, they hit 8 of 12 from beyond the arc before halftime.
Texas-San Antonio stuns Iowa 62-50
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The fact that Iowa's 46-game winning streak in home openers was snapped by Texas-San Antonio was surprising enough.
Perhaps more shocking, though, was that it didn't really feel like an upset.
Morris Smith IV led five players in double figures with 16 points and Texas-San Antonio stunned Iowa 62-50 to hand the Hawkeyes their first defeat in a home opener since the 1962-63 season.
Terry Fields, Devin Gibson and freshman Melvin Johnson III each added 12 for the Roadrunners, who opened the second half on a 17-3 run and never looked back in shocking the youthful Hawkeyes for their first victory over a Big Ten team.
Iowa has just two returning upperclassmen from last year's team, which finished 15-17, and the inexperience was clearly evident against the Roadrunners, who started four seniors and a junior.
"I did anticipate that there would be difficulties along the way just because the competition level that we're at, and it's new for so many of them. it's new for this team," said Iowa coach Todd Lickliter. "We're not a veteran team, and we played a veteran team."
Texas-San Antonio (1-0), picked to finish third in the Southland Conference's West Division, pushed a two-point halftime lead to as much as 16 early in the second half, as Smith and Gibson buried 3-pointers to give the Roadrunners their first double-digit lead.
Iowa (0-1) pulled within 56-50 with just under 3 minutes left, but Matt Gatens threw the ball away under the Hawkeyes' basket and Texas-San Antonio iced it at the free-throw line.
Freshman Eric May had 13 points to lead the Hawkeyes, who shot 5-of-27 from 3-point range and committed 16 turnovers.
"I thought that they went through some lulls and I thought our defense had some effect on them," Roadrunners coach Brooks Thompson said. "They missed some open looks that are uncharacteristic of them."
Perhaps no sequence symbolized the Hawkeyes' woes like the one that came during Texas-San Antonio's decisive run early in the second half. May muffed an easy pass near midcourt, and Fields took it back for a layup that pushed the Roadrunners' lead to 43-29 with 15:37 left.
"We made a couple shots that were pretty tough shots, but then also we were getting those stops and getting some layups and beating them down the floor," Thompson said.
Threes from Matt Gatens and Cully Payne and a layup by May helped Iowa pull within 47-39 midway through the second half. May's bucket with 4:25 left cut the lead to 54-49, but that would be Iowa's last field goal.
Johnson gave the Roadrunners an early boost with four threes — including a wide-open shot from the corner — to help Texas-San Antonio jump ahead 24-19 with just under 5 minutes left in the first half.
Sunday night's loss emphasized just how much of a rebuilding year it's expected to be for the Hawkeyes, who lost four players — including starters Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson — to offseason transfers. Iowa started three sophomores, guards Gatens and Anthony Tucker and forward Aaron Fuller. Payne, a freshman, started at point guard.
Hawkeyes junior center Jarryd Cole is the only player who's been with the program for three seasons — and even he missed most of his freshman year with a knee injury.
Payne had 12 points in his debut and Cole added 13 rebounds. Iowa was also playing without junior Devon Archie, a junior-college transfer who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
"It's kind of hard to stomach. It's so early, but it is what it is," Cole said.
Texas-San Antonio, on the other hand, brought back three starters from a team that finished 19-13 last season. The Roadrunners threw a major scare into the Hawkeyes last season in Iowa City before falling 73-67, and this time they finished the job in surprisingly easy fashion.
"I think we're going to grow because of it. We need to do it fast," Lickliter said.
-- Luke Meredith
Rice tops Houston Baptist 60-46
HOUSTON — Suleiman Braimoh and Tamir Jackson had 10 points each to lead Rice past Houston Baptist 60-46 in the Rice Basketball Challenge on Sunday.
Connor Frizzelle added nine points for the Owls (3-0), and Lucas Kuipers had a team-high seven rebounds.
Houston Baptist was led by Andrew Gonzalez, who had a game-high 14 points. Mario Flaherty added six points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (0-3).
The Huskies kept it close until Rice went on a 13-1 streak in the final 2½ minutes of the first half. The Owls built a lead as high as 23 points with 2:15 left in the game.
A late rally by Houston Baptist cut the Rice lead to 14.
South Dakota gets late 3-pointer, wins 76-73
LUBBOCK — Jake Thomas' sixth 3-pointer of the game with 39 seconds left gave South Dakota the lead and the Coyotes held on for a 76-73 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Sunday in the Duel of the Desert tournament.
Thomas scored 20 points to lead South Dakota (1-2). Tyler Cain had 16 points and eight rebounds, Kendall Cutler added 10 points and eight assists, and Roman Gentry made two free throws in the final seconds for the Coyotes.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1-2) trailed by 10 with 6 minutes 15 seconds to play, but tied it on Flip Toncinic's 3-pointer with less than 2 minutes to play. Kevin Palmer, who scored 25 points to lead the Islanders, scored with 56 seconds left when South Dakota's Tyler Cain was called for goaltending, giving Texas A&M-Corpus Christi its only lead of the game at 73-71.
Big 12 Men
Kansas State beats Western Illinois 82-50
MANHATTAN, Kan. — After spending all of last season at power forward, Jamar Samuels was asked to learn the small forward position to make room for Curtis Kelly, a transfer from UConn who sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.
Samuels had little trouble at his new position on Sunday, scoring 19 points to lead Kansas State past Western Illinois 82-50. Despite leading his team in scoring, Samuels' primary concern after the game was getting the team ready for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tipoff, a four-day tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico that starts Thursday.
"We have a day off tomorrow and then practice on Tuesday. We have to pick it up before we go to Puerto Rico because the competition is going to be a lot better than this weekend," Samuels said.
Samuels was one of five Kansas State players to reach double figures in scoring. Denis Clemente added 13 points, Rodney McGruder and Wally Judge, former high school teammates, each had 11 and Jacob Pullen added 10 for the Wildcats (2-0).
The Leathernecks (0-2) were led by Matt Lander with a game-high 20 points. He was the only Western Illinois player to reach double figures.
Both teams stumbled out of the gates and neither squad could seem to gain an advantage until a 7-0 run by Western Illinois gave the Leathernecks a slim 10-7 lead. But the lead would be short-lived as a layup by Judge sparked a 14-2 Kansas State run that put the Wildcats on top for good.
Kansas State held the Leathernecks to just four points in the final seven minutes of the first half en route to a 31-20 halftime lead. Western Illinois couldn't capitalize on scoring opportunities, hitting just nine of 33 field goal attempts before the break.
After struggling offensively in the first half, Kansas State's shooting improved after intermission. The Wildcats opened the second period on an 11-2 run to put the game well out of reach. They remained hot from the field, connecting on 60 percent of their shots compared to 41.9 percent in the opening period.
"I think in the first half, we were lackadaisical," said Kansas State coach Frank Martin. "We had some turnovers where we were trying to dribble the ball early in the shot clock in the paint. That's not going to work because of how (Western Illinois) plays."
While Kansas State's offense flourished down the stretch, the Leathernecks' offense remained stagnant in the second half. Lander exploded for 14 points after being held to six before the break, but it wasn't enough to mount a comeback, as Western Illinois managed just three field goals after a two-point bucket by Davud Gebru with 13:07 left in the contest.
"When you look at it, they just overpowered us inside," said Western Illinois head coach Jim Molinari. "We competed better than we did last game, but they just wore us down in the last 10 minutes."
After being outrebounded in their first game, the Wildcats won the battle against Western Illinois, grabbing 48 boards to the Leathernecks' 31. But Martin still wasn't pleased with the rebounding effort.
"You can't win games giving up 13 offensive rebounds," said the third-year head coach. "One of the reasons that we've had the chance to win games the last couple years is because we offensive rebound. We're allowing other people to do that to us. You're not going to beat certain teams if you continue to do that."
The game wrapped up a two-game road trip for the Leathernecks, in which Molinari said his team learned a lot about its identity.
"We figured out how hard you have to work, how emotional you have to play," Molinari said. "We also figured out that we have some guys on our team that can play. This weekend I put my team in a very difficult position, but we will work harder and get better."
The contest also marked the end of a two-game homestand for Kansas State, and Martin said there is plenty to improve on before the team leaves for Puerto Rico later this week.
"I can promise you that our whole demeanor is going to change on Tuesday in practice," Martin said. "I don't know what we're going to do in the games down there, but the laid back, casual approach that we've had back here, well that is going to change or we'll have different people in uniform when we take the court in Puerto Rico."
Iowa State beats Chicago State 72-50
AMES, Iowa — Marquis Gilstrap grabbed 15 rebounds and scored all 11 of his points in the second half in helping Iowa State roll to its second straight easy victory, 72-50 over Chicago State on Sunday night.
Scott Christopherson added 12 points for the Cyclones (2-0), while Jamie Vanderbeken went 3 for 3 from 3-point range and scored 11. Craig Brackins, ISU's leading scorer last season, contributed seven points and eight rebounds, but shot just 2 for 12.
Iowa State was sloppy at times on the offensive end but played solid defense throughout, holding Chicago State (1-1) to 28.6 percent shooting and forcing 20 turnovers, 14 in the first half. The Cyclones also blocked 10 shots and came up with seven steals.
Chris Wall led Chicago State with 19 points.
Iowa State played without transfer LaRon Dendy, who had 16 points and seven rebounds in the Cyclones' 88-68 season-opening victory over Idaho State on Friday night. Dendy sprained his right knee in practice on Saturday and is expected to be out for at least two weeks.
Gilstrap, the Big 12's preseason newcomer of the year, missed his first seven shots before scoring six straight points to start the second half. The 6-foot-7 transfer hit a free throw, scored on a putback, threw down a one-handed dunk on which he was fouled, then made the free throw to complete the three-point play.
Diante Garrett followed with two more free throws to put the Cyclones up 39-19 and Chicago State never got closer than 13 after that. Iowa State led by as many as 25 late.
Iowa State frustrated Chicago State's Carl Montgomery all night after the 6-foot-7 junior scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a season-opening 81-61 victory over Division III Concordia, Ill. Montgomery didn't get a basket until 14:14 remained and finished with just 5 points on 1-for-10 shooting.
With more depth than his three previous Iowa State teams, coach Greg McDermott constantly shuffled players in and out. No one played more than 27 minutes and 10 players scored.
Iowa State rocketed to a 6-0 lead in the first 1:34, then started getting careless with the ball and Chicago State crept back. Midway through the first half, the Cougars trailed just 15-13.
But they made only two more baskets the rest of the half and Iowa State steadily built its lead.
Lucca Staiger's 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run that made it 29-17, and after Wall sank two free throws with 1:53 left in the half, the Cougars didn't score again until Victor Scott hit a 3 at the 17:58 mark in the second half.
See archived 'Sports' stories »
We want our site to be a place where people discuss and debate ideas that foster stronger communities. We built this for you. Please take care of it. Tolerate broad thinking, but take action against obscene or hateful material. Make it a credible and safe place worth preserving and sharing.
