No. 17 Tennessee upsets No. 3 Houston 76-73 in Players Era Championship

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 22 points and made all six of his free throws in the final 35 seconds to lift No. 17 Tennessee to a 76-73 victory over No. 3 Houston in the Players Era Championship on Tuesday.

Jaylen Carey added 13 points for the Volunteers (7-0) and Bishop Boswell scored 10, including two free throws with 25 seconds left.

Kingston Flemings led Houston (6-1) with 25 points, and Milos Uzan had 17. Uzan, playing in his hometown, missed a halfcourt shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.

Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, who averages 17.7 points per game, was limited to 21 minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with eight points.

Sharp, who scored 26 in Monday’s 78-74 overtime victory against Syracuse, picked up two fouls in the first five minutes and sat the rest of the half.

These teams met in last season’s NCAA Tournament with a Final Four trip on the line. Houston won the Elite Eight game 69-50, eventually advancing to the championship before losing in the final minute to Florida.

The rematch was quite different.

Houston couldn’t get much to go down in the second half, enabling Tennessee to go on a 10-point run for a 51-46 lead with 9:42 left. The Cougars went 7:24 between points and 7:42 between field goals, and they missed 11 straight shots and 16 of 18.

NO. 7 MICHIGAN 102, AUBURN 72

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Roddy Gayle Jr. and Yaxel Lendeborg both scored 17 points as Michigan routed Auburn in the second round of the Players Era Championship.

It was the second time Michigan (6-0) topped the century mark this season. The Wolverines improved to 2-0 in this event, following a 94-54 win over San Diego State on Monday.

Nimari Burnett and Morez Johnson Jr. added 15 points apiece. Trey McKenney finished with 11 and L.J. Cason had 10 for the Wolverines, who shot 51.5% from the field — including 14 of 35 (40%) from 3-point range.

Auburn (5-2) was led by Tahaad Pettiford, who scored 16 points. Keyshawn Hall had 15, Filip Jovic added 13 and KeShawn Murphy chipped in with 12.

Michigan outrebounded the Tigers 51-35 and outscored them 47-27 in bench points. The Wolverines had 19 assists, while Auburn managed just three.

NO. 11 MICHIGAN ST. 89, EAST CAROLINA 56

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Jaxon Kohler and Divine Ugochukwu each scored 16 points to lead Michigan State’s balanced attack as the Spartans beat East Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Michigan State, which entered the game with four players averaging double-figure points, also got 13 from Coen Carr and 10 from Carson Cooper.

The Spartans (6-0) had 36 points in the paint, 35 points from its reserves and 31 points off 24 East Carolina turnovers.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo began clearing his bench with three minutes left.

NO. 12 GONZAGA 100, MARYLAND 61

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Braden Huff scored 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting as Gonzaga shredded Maryland’s defense in a blowout at the Players Era Championship.

Emmanuel Innocenti added 15 points off the bench on five 3-pointers for the Bulldogs (7-0). Steele Venters had 14 points, including four 3s, and Graham Ike scored 13.

Mario Saint-Supery racked up nine of Gonzaga’s 30 assists on 37 baskets.

Pharrel Payne paced Maryland (5-2) with 14 points. Darius Adams added 13 and Andre Mills scored 11, but the Terrapins committed 18 turnovers and got outrebounded 39-29. They shot just 36% from the field, including 5 for 21 (24%) from 3-point range.

Gonzaga shot 42.4% from behind the arc (14 for 33) and 57.8% from the floor overall. The Bulldogs got 51 points from their bench to nine for the Terps.

NO. 14 ST. JOHN’S 96, BAYLOR 81

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Bryce Hopkins scored 26 points, Oziyah Sellers added 22 and St. John’s beat Baylor in the second round of the Players Era Championship.

Using a dominant second half to open a 23-point lead, the Red Storm (4-2) bounced back from an 83-82 loss to No. 15 Iowa State in the opening round Monday.

St. John’s shot a blistering 57.4% from the field, including 11 of 22 on 3-pointers. Sellers went 5 for 7 from beyond the arc, and Hopkins was 9 of 12 from the floor while adding five rebounds and five assists.

Dillon Mitchell had 18 points off the bench to go with six rebounds and six assists. Reserve guard Ian Jackson scored 14.

Baylor (4-1) shot a season-low 37.2%, hitting just 29 of 78 from the field. The Bears hadn’t finished below 43.1% in any of their first four games.

Cameron Carr led all scorers with 27 points, and Michael Rataj had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Baylor. Tounde Yessoufou finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, and Isaac Williams IV scored 14 off the bench.

Surprisingly, the Bears dominated the boards in the first half, outrebounding St. John’s 25-14, including a whopping 17-3 edge on the offensive glass.

But Baylor couldn’t find its offensive rhythm, as the Red Storm held the Bears to 33.3% shooting in the first 20 minutes.

NO. 15 IOWA ST. 78, CREIGHTON 60

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Freshman Killyan Toure scored a career-high 20 points and Iowa State beat Creighton in the second round of the Players Era Championship.

Despite missing co-leading scorer Tamin Lipsey, who injured his groin in Monday’s 83-82 win over St. John’s, the Cyclones kept Creighton at arm’s length for most of the game.

Joshua Jefferson had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Blake Buchanan has 12 points and nine rebounds, and Milan Momcilovic finished with 10 points for the Cyclones (6-0).

NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 85, ST. BONAVENTURE 70

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Henri Veesaar scored 24 points and Caleb Wilson added 20 as North Carolina pulled away in the second half for a victory over St. Bonaventure in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Kyan Evans added 11 points and Luka Bogavac 10 for the Tar Heels (6-0), who are off to their best start since 2016-17.

Buddy Simmons II scored 22 for St. Bonaventure (5-1), while Frank Mitchell added 18 points.

The Tar Heels jumped to a 15-5 lead with a combination of 3-pointers and three-point plays. But St. Bonaventure kept rallying in the first half and took a 30-28 lead on Andrew Osasuyi’s dunk to cap a 16-4 run.

The Bonnies’ quick hands and feet not only blocked shots but slapped away attempts before North Carolina players could put them up but the Tar Heels led 35-33 at halftime.

The 7-foot Veesaar asserted himself more in the paint in the second half as North Carolina went up 47-38, 63-50 and 69-52. He had 16 of his points in the second half while adding 13 rebounds. Wilson had 12 rebounds and Tar Heels scored 36 points in the paint.

CALIFORNIA 80, NO. 18 UCLA 72

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Chris Bell had 22 points and six rebounds and was named Most Outstanding Player, Dai Dai Ames hit two late 3-pointers on the way to 14 points, and California beat UCLA in the Empire Classic championship game.

Justin Pippen added 13 points with his former NBA star father Scottie in the stands as the Golden Bears earned their first win against a top-25 opponent since beating 21st-ranked Colorado 76-62 at home in Haas Pavilion on Feb. 27, 2020.

Trent Perry scored 19 points and Eric Dailey Jr. added 17, but UCLA cost itself by shooting just 13 for 23 on free throws in a matchup of the longtime Pac-12 Conference opponents.

Bell reached double figures for the sixth straight game with a third 20-point performance to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. His baseline 3-pointer with 14:43 remaining put Cal up 49-46 then he converted a pair of free throws the next time down.

NO. 23 NC STATE 81, BOISE ST.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Darrion Williams scored 16 points and N.C. State beat Boise State in a Maui Invitational consolation game.

The Wolfpack (5-1) bounced back from an 11-point loss to Seton Hall one day prior to hand the Broncos (4-3) their second loss in as many days.

Ven-Allen Lubin had 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Terrance Arceneaux also scored 11 and Paul McNeil Jr. added 10 points.

Dylan Andrews made five of Boise State’s 11 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. Pearson Carmichael scored 11 points and Javan Buchanan had 10 points with nine rebounds.

NO. 25 INDIANA 86, KANSAS STATE 69

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Reed Bailey scored 21 points and Indiana limited the nation’s leading scorer, P.J. Haggerty, to 12 below his average in a win over Kansas State.

The senior Bailey did most of his work at the line, where he hit 13 of 15 free throws. Haggerty, who averaged 28 per game, finished 7 of 17 from the field for 16 points and had six turnovers.

Tayton Conerway added 19 for the Hoosiers (6-0). Lamar Wilkerson scored 14 and Trent Sisley had 12 points.

Indiana jumped out to a 20-4 lead with five different shooters hitting 3s. Despite 13 first-half turnovers, Kansas State rallied to a 26-24 deficit. That’s as close as the visitors would come. Indiana responded with a 13-3 spurt to take a 39-27 halftime lead, then continued the momentum after the break with a 10-2 run for a 49-29 lead.

The Wildcats (5-2) had averaged 92.8 points in their previous six games. C.J. Jones had 15 points and Nate Johnson 13 for Kansas State.

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