Chad Baker-Mazara took over down the stretch as the No. 11 Auburn Tigers beat the No. 4 Houston Cougars 74-69 in the second game of the Mattress Firm Battleground 2k24 event Saturday night in Houston.
Baker-Mazara’s short hook shot in the lane resulted in the 13th and final lead change of the game and a 68-67 lead for Auburn (2-0). He even corralled a loose ball on the penultimate Houston possession, which forced Houston (1-1) to foul in trying to extend the game.
The Tigers’ Tahaad Pettiford had a game-high 21 points, Johni Broome had 20, including 16 in the second half, and Chaney Johnson added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Cougars’ LJ Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp each had 13 points, and J’Wan Roberts had 12 points and seven rebounds. Milos Uzan and Joseph Tugler added 10 points apiece.
No. 3 UConn 92, New Hampshire 53
Alex Karaban had 17 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Huskies to a victory over the Wildcats in Hartford, Conn.
Solo Ball added 14 points for UConn, which outscored New Hampshire 57-29 in the second half. UConn (2-0) got 11 points and eight rebounds from Tarris Reed, 10 points and 11 rebounds from Liam McNeeley and 14 points from Jayden Ross.
Anthony McComb III led New Hampshire (1-2) with 17 points. Sami Pissis added 15 points, but was 1-of-7 from 3-point territory. Trey Woodyard tossed in 11 for the Wildcats, who shot 35.4 percent from the field (17 of 48).
No. 8 Baylor 72, No. 16 Arkansas 67
Jayden Nunn scored 16 points and Norchad Omier added 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Bears knocked off the Razorbacks on a neutral court in Dallas.
Jeremy Roach added 13 points, V.J. Edgecombe had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Robert Wright scored 10 points for the Bears (1-1).
Adou Thiero scored a game-high 24 points with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Boogie Fland added 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Razorbacks (1-1). Arkansas never led but tied it three times. Fland drilled a deep 3-pointer with 22.8 seconds left to cut the Baylor lead to 70-67.
No. 10 Arizona 102, Old Dominion 44
Tobe Awaka scored 18 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked two shots to lead the Wildcats past the Monarchs in Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (2-0) stormed out to a 14-2 edge and never let up, flexing its distinct size advantage and using its aggressive defense to quickly turn the game into a rout.
Devin Caesar was one of the few bright spots for Old Dominion (0-2) with 12 points and three rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting.
No. 12 Tennessee 77, Louisville 55
Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier scored 19 points each for the Volunteers, who posted their first road win of the season in dominating fashion, beating the Cardinals.
Tennessee (2-0) came out sharp on both ends of the court, scoring the first 10 points of the game. Louisville (1-1) did not score until the 14:35 mark and was forced to play catch-up all day.
The Volunteers made that difficult thanks to 56.6 percent shooting on their end, while holding the hosts to just 26.7 percent. Reyne Smith scored 18 points to lead the Cardinals, while Noah Waterman added 10 points off the bench.
No. 23 Kentucky 100, Bucknell 72
Koby Brea scored 20 points as the Wildcats built a double-digit lead in the first seven minutes and went on to pound the visiting Bison in a nonconference matchup in Lexington, Ky.
Brea hit 6 of his 8 3-point shots and 7 of 11 overall for 20 points, and Jaxson Robinson added 14 points for Kentucky (2-0), which scored 103 points in its blowout of Wright State on Monday. Amari Williams finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
Ian Motta led Bucknell (2-1), which has yet to play a home game, with 18 points, including 3-of-5 shooting on 3-pointers. Josh Bascoe netted 15 points, 12 in the first half.
–Field Level Media
