CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Will Richard scored 22 points, Alijah Martin added 19 points and No. 7 Florida held off a furious second-half rally by North Carolina to remain unbeaten with a 90-84 victory Tuesday night in the Jumpman Invitational.
R.J. Davis had 29 points and eight rebounds for the Tar Heels (6-5), who battled back from a 17-point first-half deficit to take a four-point lead late in the second half.
Florida (11-0) jumped to a 35-17 lead after making 6 of 12 3-pointers, while UNC missed its first 11 shots from beyond the arc.
But the Tar Heels closed the gap to 12 at halftime and then started the second half on a 11-0 run after stepping up their defensive pressure, creating turnovers and cashing in on transition opportunities. The Tar Heels finally took the lead at 70-68 with 7:56 left when Seth Trimble came up with a steal and scored on a layup at the other end.
But Florida was strong down the stretch and Richard’s putback off an offensive rebound with 54 seconds left put the Gators ahead for good.
NO. 1 TENNESSEE 84, WESTERN CAROLINA 36
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Chaz Lanier scored 19 points to lead No. 1 Tennessee to a victory over Western Carolina.
The Volunteers (11-0) tied for the third-best start in program history. Jordan Gainey scored 17, Darlinstone Dubar added 13 points and Zakai Zeigler just missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists.
The Catamounts (3-7), who struggled offensively after leading 9-3 in the first few minutes of the game, were led by Bernard Pelote with 10 points.
NO. 2 AUBURN 100, GEORGIA STATE 59
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Chaney Johnson had a career-high 26 points with eight rebounds and four assists as No. 2 Auburn beat Georgia State after losing center Johni Broome to an apparent shoulder injury.
Broome, who entered the contest averaging 19.7 points and a Division I-leading 12.7 rebounds, left the game and went to the locker room with an arm injury just 2:17 into the game. No additional information was released about the injury.
Chad Baker-Mazara scored 19 points, and Denver Jones added 17 for Auburn (10-1).
Nick McMullen had 15 points and 16 rebounds to lead Georgia State (4-7).
NO. 5 DUKE 68, GEORGE MASON 47
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Freshman star Cooper Flagg had 24 points and nine rebounds as No. 5 Duke held George Mason to just 29.4% shooting in a win.
Flagg, a preseason Associated Press All-American, shot 7 for 20 from the field but was active on the glass. He had four assists and was perfect in eight trips to the foul line for the Blue Devils (9-2).
Jalen Haynes scored 18 points to lead the Patriots (7-4), but only one teammate hit more than two shots.
NO. 17 MISSISSIPPI 74, SOUTHERN 61
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Jaylen Murray scored 18 points and was 6 for 7 from 3-point range, and No. 17 Mississippi defeated Southern.
It was the fourth-straight win for the Rebels (10-1). Jaemyn Brakefield had 15 points and Dre Davis 14 for Ole Miss.
Southern (5-5) got points from 11 different players led by Derrick Tezeno and Michael Jacobs with 11 each.
NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 77, OAKLAND 58
DETROIT (AP) — Xavier Booker scored a career-high 18 points, Jaden Akins had 16 and Jaxon Kohler added 14 to lead No. 20 Michigan State in a win over Oakland.
The Spartans (9-2) have won four straight and seven of their last eight games.
The Golden Grizzlies (3-6) trailed by one point after a closely contested first half that included four ties and two lead changes.
Michigan State pulled away after halftime as Booker and Akins scored in double digits in the second half.
The Spartans held Oakland to 27.8% shooting.
DQ Cole scored 15 of his 17 points in the first half and Malcolm Christie finished with 15 points for the Golden Grizzlies.
NO. 22 DAYTON 66, UNLV 65
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Malachi Smith scored five of his 11 points in the final 37 seconds, including a decisive three-point play, and No. 22 Dayton beat UNLV.
Nate Santos had 14 points for the Flyers (10-2), who moved into the AP Top 25 poll this week for the first time this season. They extended their homecourt winning streak to 25 games — the fifth-longest in Division I.
Houston has the nation’s longest streak at 27 games.
Zed Key scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half and freshman Amael L’Etang finished with 10 for Dayton.
Dedan Thomas Jr. led UNLV (5-5) with 16 points. Jaden Henley added 15 and Julian Rishwain had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
SOUTH CAROLINA 91, NO. 25 CLEMSON 88, OT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Collin Murray-Boyles scored 22 points and Morris Ugusuk hit a 3-pointer in overtime to give South Carolina the lead for good in a victory over rival No. 25 Clemson.
South Carolina (8-3) seemed to have things in hand, ahead 76-69 in the final two minutes of regulation. But Chase Hunter had three 3-pointers down the stretch, including a bank shot with 0.3 seconds left that tied it at 80 and forced the extra period.
Ugusuk hit a 3-pointer and Murray-Boyles followed with a pair of foul shots to extend the lead.
Duke transfer Christian Reeves had two foul shots for Clemson (9-3) down 89-87 with 3.7 seconds to go. But he missed the first one and his line drive attempt banked in. Jamarii Thomas was quickly fouled by the Tigers and made both.
Hunter’s floating 3-pointer at the buzzer came up short as South Carolina won its fifth straight.
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