No. 17 Michigan State drains 11 3-pointers in 83-66 win over No. 12 Kentucky

NEW YORK (AP) — Kur Teng hit three of Michigan State’s season-high 11 3-pointers on the way to scoring a career-best 15 points, and the 17th-ranked Spartans beat No. 12 Kentucky 83-66 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the opener of the annual Champions Classic.

Jaxon Kohler sank two shots of his own from beyond the arc to finish with a team-high 20 points, and Trey Fort scored 13. Michigan State (4-0) made half of its 3-point attempts after entering the game shooting 21.7% from long range — fourth-worst out of 361 Division I programs — with just 14 total through its first three games.

Pounding the ball inside and cashing in on second opportunities, a much more familiar recipe for coach Tom Izzo’s bunch, also worked. The Spartans outrebounded Kentucky 42-28 and never led by fewer than 10 after Teng’s baseline fadeaway jumper deep in the corner with 2 seconds remaining in the first half.

Coen Carr threw down one of his trademark dunks on an alley-oop early in the second, and Michigan State fended off some Kentucky runs and expanded its lead to 20 and beyond in the final minutes.

The Wildcats (3-2) started fast and led 5-0 very early before going ice cold from the field. They were 8 of 29, including 4 of 15 from 3-point range, in the first half on the way to a second loss in three games.

Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 12 points, while Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler and New York native Mouhamed Dioubate scored 10 apiece.

Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe missed his fifth consecutive game to open the season. He’s out indefinitely after dislocating his right shoulder in an intrasquad scrimmage last month.

NO. 5 DUKE 78, NO. 24 KANSAS 66

NEW YORK (AP) — Cameron Boozer had 18 points and 10 rebounds, twin brother Cayden made a couple of big second-half baskets and fifth-ranked Duke outlasted No. 24 Kansas, defeating the undermanned Jayhawks in the annual Champions Classic.

Isaiah Evans scored 16 points and Patrick Ngongba had 13 on 4-of-4 shooting for the Blue Devils (5-0).

The Jayhawks (3-2) were still without their best player, freshman Darryn Peterson, the nation’s top recruit and potentially the top pick in next year’s NBA draft, because of a lingering hamstring injury. Peterson has missed three consecutive games since hurting himself during a shootaround.

Peterson’s absence was enough to make a difference at Madison Square Garden even though the Blue Devils were less consistent than in their previous four victories. Kansas rattled Duke with some fast-break points early before getting worn down by foul trouble and a depth disparity.

All five Kansas starters had at least one foul and three had two apiece in the first half, and Duke closed it out on a 17-5 run to lead by eight. The Jayhawks trimmed their deficit to 67-64 on Melvin Council Jr.’s 3-pointer with 4:59 left.

The foul trouble showed in some tired legs. Flory Bidunga picked up his fourth with more than seven minutes left, and Bryson Tiller fouled out with 3:04 remaining.

Evans hit a 3 coming out of the under-4-minute timeout, and Cameron Boozer scored four of the eight points in an 8-0 run by Duke to pull away.

NO. 18 NORTH CAROLINA 73, NAVY 61

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Wilson had 23 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 18 North Carolina to a win over Navy.

A true freshman, Wilson also had four steals and three blocks for the Tar Heels (5-0). Luka Bogavac added 16 points, Jarin Stevenson scored 11 and Henri Veesaar had 10.

Austin Benigni scored 19 points for Navy (2-3) and Jinwoo Kim added 14 in the Midshipmen’s first trip to Chapel Hill since 1936.

UNC led wire-to-wire, but Navy trimmed the deficit to three points midway through the first half on a layup from Donovan Draper. The Tar Heels responded with a 14-5 run — capped off by free throws from Bogavac — to retake a comfortable double-digit advantage.

Navy cut the Tar Heels’ lead to four points early in the second half, but UNC answered with a 24-7 run, highlighted by three spectacular transition dunks from Wilson.

Despite returning 86.6 percent of its scoring from last season — the most of any roster in the nation this year — Navy had trouble finding the basket consistently against UNC, shooting just 30.4 percent from the floor. The Tar Heels have held four opponents to under 40-percent shooting this season and are now 49-4 under fifth-year coach Hubert Davis when doing so.

North Carolina became the third program in Division I men’s basketball to reach 2,400 victories, joining Kentucky and Kansas.

This victory marked the final of five consecutive home games to start the season for the Tar Heels, the longest season-opening home stretch they’ve had since 1918. UNC won’t return to the Dean Smith Center until Dec. 7.

NO. 19 UCLA 79, SACRAMENTO STATE 48

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eric Dailey Jr. had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Xavier Booker scored 12 and No. 19 UCLA rode a new-look starting lineup to a victory over Sacramento State.

Trent Perry, Jamar Brown, Steven Jamerson II and Brandon Williams all started for the Bruins (4-1) after making just two starts between them in the first four games of the season. Booker, Tyler Bilodeau, Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark all began the game on the bench.

The revamped starting unit helped to hold Sacramento State scoreless over the opening six minutes, and the defense overall limited the Hornets to 24.1% shooting for the game.

Perry had 11 points and Brown added 10 for the Bruins, who bounced back from a 69-65 loss to then-No. 5 Arizona last Friday.

Prophet Johnson had 13 points with 10 rebounds and Jahni Summers scored 11 as Sacramento State fell to 0-4 against UCLA.

The Hornets (3-3) lost leading scorer and second-leading rebounder Jeremiah Cherry to a right knee injury with 8:18 remaining in the first half. He finished with two points and one rebound

UCLA’s new starting lineup played nearly five minutes together to begin the game. Only when Bilodeau, Booker and Clark entered with 15:17 remaining in the half did the Hornets finally score on a jumper from Brandon Gardner following a turnover by Perry.

Dent, who entered leading the Bruins in assists (5.3 per game) and was second in points (14.7), came off the bench with 12:37 left in the first half. He finished with five points on 2-of-9 shooting.

UCLA led 42-17 at halftime by holding Sacramento State to 21.7% shooting from the floor.

NO. 21 ARKANSAS 84, WINTHROP 83

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Meleek Thomas scored a career-high 26 points as No. 21 Arkansas scored the final six points to rally past Winthrop.

Arkansas took their final lead with 11 seconds left when Nick Pringle scored at the rim after a Winthrop turnover. After the basket, he and Winthrop’s Logan Duncomb became tangled. As the officials attempted to break up the entanglement, Pringle threw Duncomb to the floor, leading to a brief delay as the play went to review.

Pringle and Duncomb were issued offsetting technical fouls and four players — two from Arkansas and two from Winthrop — were ejected for coming on to the floor from the bench. Duncomb’s technical resulted in him fouling out, as well.

Daylen Berry attempted a potential game-winning 3-pointer from the wing as time expired, but Thomas played tight defense, forcing an awkward attempt and the ball bounced off the rim.

Thomas shot 10 for 20 from the field, Trevon Brazile scored 14 points, Pringle 13 and Darius Acuff Jr. added 12 for Arkansas.

Winthrop stuck around and carried the lead into the waning seconds thanks to 15-for-31 shooting from 3-point range. Kareem Rozier led the Eagles with 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, including a 7 for 10 on 3s. Kody Clouet added 16 points, 12 of which came from beyond the arc.