Jones helps No. 2 Duke pull away from Georgia State
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Tre Jones scored a career-high 31 points and No. 2 Duke pulled away to beat pesky Georgia State 74-63 on Friday night.
Freshman Vernon Carey Jr. added season highs of 20 points and 14 rebounds and Jack White finished with 10 rebounds.
Duke (4-0) overcame season-worst 34.2% shooting by outrebounding the Panthers 58-32, and the school says its 30 offensive rebounds were the most in coach Mike Krzyzewski’s 40 seasons.
And yet, three nights after top-ranked Kentucky was upset at home by Evansville, the Blue Devils — 28 1/2-point favorites — were on upset alert against an unintimidated mid-major for longer than expected before they scratched out a sloppy victory, their 150th in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium against nonconference opponents.
This one was tied at 40 with less than 17 minutes to play, before Jones took over. He scored 10 points during a 13-0 run that pushed the lead into double figures.
He put them ahead to stay with a 3-pointer and followed that with three layups through traffic. On the last one, he blew past Chris Clerkley while drawing contact from the Georgia State guard, then hit a free throw to put Duke up 51-40. After Wendell Moore capped the run with a stickback, the Panthers never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Corey Allen scored 20 points and Kane Williams added 16 for Georgia State (1-2).
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Isaiah Moss scored 21 points and Kansas routed undersized and outclassed Monmouth.
Moss, who missed the opener against Duke because of an injury, was 5 of 6 from beyond the arc as the Jayhawks (2-1) ran their home winning streak to 23. The streak is the third-longest in the nation behind Tennessee (28) and Gonzaga (25).
Devon Dotson added 17 points, David McCormack had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Udoka Azubuike finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Kansas hit 14 3-pointers and shot 56% from the field. Deion Hammond had 17 points for the Hawks (1-3).
NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 77, GARDNER-WEBB 61
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Freshman star Cole Anthony had 28 points in North Carolina’s victory over Gardner-Webb.
Fellow freshman Armando Bacot posted his first double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Tar Heels, who shot 50% after halftime to build a double-digit lead after leading just 30-27 at the break.
The improved second-half efficiency was a positive for North Carolina (3-0), which has leaned heavily on Anthony offensively while struggling to find consistent producers around him to start the season.
Jose Perez scored 12 points for Gardner-Webb (0-3).
NO. 8 GONZAGA 79, TEXAS A&M 49
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Admon Gilder and Ryan Woolridge each scored 16 points and Gonzaga routed Texas A&M.
Filip Petrusev added 14 points and 10 rebounds, helping the Bulldogs (4-0) overcome a slow start. Drew Timme had 11 points.
Gilder also had seven rebounds in his return to Texas A&M. He transferred last summer after the Aggies fired Billy Kennedy and hired Buzz Williams from Virginia Tech. Gilder sat out last season following the discovery of a blood clot in his arm.
Wendell Mitchell led Texas A&M (2-1) with 14 points.
NO. 17 UTAH STATE 81, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 54
LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Alphonso Anderson had 21 points, six rebounds and three assists and Justin Bean added 18 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for Utah State.
With North Carolina A&T (1-3) rallying in the second half, Utah State (4-0) made a key run to pull away.
Ronald Jackson led North Carolina A&T with 15 points.
NO. 21 XAVIER 59, MISSOURI STATE 56
CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Scruggs scored 14 points and made a layup with 11.6 seconds left, helping Xavier hold off Missouri State.
The Musketeers (4-0) never trailed but couldn’t shake clear of the team picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference. The Bears (2-2) tied it at 56, but Xavier made a free throw and two big plays in the closing seconds.
After Naji Marshall’s free throw broke the tie, Tyrique Jones missed a jumper but got the rebound and passed to Scruggs, who drove for a layup and a 59-56 lead. The Bears missed a pair of 3-point shots in the closing seconds.
Jones added 15 points and six rebounds, but had five of Xavier’s 15 turnovers. Lamont West and Keandre Cook scored 13 points apiece for the Bears.
NO. 22 AUBURN 116, CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 70
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Samir Doughty scored a career-high 33 points and J’Von McCormick had a school-record 16 assists for Auburn.
Doughty made his first five 3-pointers and had 22 points in the first half. The senior guard was 10 of 15 from the field, making 6 of 8 3-point tries.
Auburn (4-0) had its highest-scoring game since getting 119 against Winthrop on Nov. 24, 2017.
Terrell Gomez led Cal State Northridge (0-4) with 23 points.
NO. 24 BAYLOR 72, TEXAS STATE 63
WACO, Texas (AP) — Jared Butler scored 15 points, Freddie Gillespie had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Baylor beat Texas State.
The Bears (2-1) had five players score in double figures while playing without preseason All-Big 12 junior forward Tristan Clark, who had a non-operative procedure on his knee this week. Clark was limited to 14 games last season because of a knee injury at the start of Big 12 play, but had played in Baylor’s first two games.
Nijal Pearson led Texas State (2-2) with 20 points.