Monday, November 30, 2009

Morning Shootaround: West Virginia, Florida State with the 76, Old Spice Classics

Old Spice Classic

  • Florida State 57, Marquette 56: Great game in the final, as FSU came back from a 40-24 second half deficit to pick up the win. The Seminoles really turned up their defensive pressure during the second half, using a 15-4 run to get the lead down to 44-39. FSU kept creeping closer in this one before finally taking a 53-52 lead on a Derwin Kitchen three. It was their first lead since 2-0. Mo Acker responded by coming off of a ball screen and getting to the rim for a lay-up. At the other end, the Noles threw the ball in to Solomon Alabi, who hadn't finished a post move all night, used a powerful righty jump hook to take the lead back.

    Florida State won the Old Spice Classic on a couple post moves from Solomon Alabi.
    (photo credit: TBO)


    Lazar Hayward gave Marquette its last lead of the night at 56-55 on a 17 foot jumper from the top of the key, but on the next possession the Noles threw the ball back in to Alabi. Alabi, who had tried about six right-handed jump hooks while only making the one, gave a little fake to the left, then hit a turn around over his right should to give Florida State the win. Darius Johnson-Odom threw away a pass with 2.9 seconds to cement things. Chris Singleton, who was named Tourney MVP, had 18 points and 10 boards. Hayward had 19 points for the Golden Eagles, who were done in by poor free throw shooting (Jimmy Butlers was 4-12 on the night, missing four straight big ones late).
  • Alabama 68, Michigan 66: Alabama played great defensively, holding the Wolverines to just 38% shooting and 6-25 from deep. But it was the play of JaMychal Green inside that really helped the Crimson Tide to overcome another sterling performance from Manny Harris (26, 10 boards, 4 assists). Green had 20 points and 7 boards, which included a tip-dunk with five seconds left to break a 66-66 tie. At the other end, freshman Darius Morris went coast-to-coast but had his shot thrown into the stands by Green to seal the win. Mikhail Torrance had 11 points, 8 assists, and 6 boards for the Tide.
  • Baylor 69, Xavier 64: Tweety Carter had 27 points and six assists to lead the Bears to a win in the fifth place game. Carter's sixth three gave Baylor a 61-57 lead late in the second half, and the Bears sealed the game by hitting eight straight free throws. Epke Udoh, the Michigan State transfer, had 15 points, 9 boards, and 6 blocks, looking like he could one day be a star in the Big XII. Jordan Crawford played two horrible games down in Orlando, both Musketeer losses. Last night, Crawford was just 6-19 from the floor.
  • Iona 63, Creighton 55: Tied at 47, Iona went on a 10-1 spurt to build a 57-48 with just four minutes left. Kenny Lawson Jr had 18 points to lead the Gaels, while Kyle Smith added 14 points. Iona had a very strong showing in Orlando, almost knocking off Florida State and taking Baylor to OT before losing. They should be more than competitive in the MAAC this season.
76 Classic
  • West Virginia 84, Portland 66: The Pilots dream run came to an end on Sunday as they were just too small to deal with the Mountaineers inside. WVU pounded the offensive glass in the first half and used a stretch of four straight three pointers to open up a lead that swelled to as much as 22. Da'Sean Butler had 26 and 6 boards to lead the Mountaineers while Kevin Jones added 17 and 6 boards. Portland just could never find the range offensively as they went 5-24 from deep and struggled in the half court against WU's strong, athletic, and aggressive perimeter defense.
West Virginia was too physical inside for Portland.
(photo credit: AP)
  • Clemson 70, Butler 69: In what may have been the game of the night, Clemson rallied from a 12 points deficit to hand Butler their second loss of the tournament. The Tigers made their run when they dropped back from their full court press into a trapping half court defense. Down 67-62, Clemson hit back-to-back three to take the lead, the second of which was made by Andre Young from deep in the corner with just 1:32 to play. A Matt Howard tip-in gave Butler the lead back, and after both teams missed a shot, Demontez Stitt penetrated and drew a foul with 3.3 seconds left, hitting both free throws. His 19 points led the Tigers. Trevor Booker blocked a Shelvin Mack three pointer and then broke up the ensuing in bounds to seal the game. He finished with 12 points and 12 boards and Willie Veasley did an excellent job on him defensively. Mack finished the game with 15, 8 boards, and 4 assists, while Gordon Hayward had 20 and 12 boards for the Bulldogs.
  • Texas A&M 66, Minnesota 65: Down 66-59 late, the Aggies nearly blew this one as they missed six straight free throws late. First Paul Carter scored an acrobatic and-1 lay-in, then Al Nolen added a lay-up of his own. With under 30 seconds left, the Gophers forced a turnover and Carter drew another foul. After hitting his first free throw, Carter missed the second and the Aggies were able to hold on for the win. Derrick Roland led the way with 19 for the Aggies, while Colton Iverson had 14 and 12 boards to pace the Gophers.
  • Long Beach State 79, UCLA 68: The Bruins are in serious trouble this year. They went 0-3 in this tournament, and are now just 2-4 on the year with all four losses coming to mid-major opponents. UCLA simply does not have the talent this season despite having a number of top 50 recruits the past two years. TJ Robinson had 25 and 13 to lead the 49ers.
UNC 70, Nevada 63: The Tar Heels came up big down the stretch to win their first close game of the season. Down 64-62 with just over seven minutes left, the Heels went on a 12-3 run to open up a seven point lead and hit their free throws down the stretch. Once again, UNC flexed their muscles inside. Deon Thompson had a career high 23 points while Ed Davis added 16 points, 15 boards, and 2 big blocks late. Larry Drew and 12 points, 10 assists, and just one turnover in the win. Armon Johnson had 20 for the Wolfpack, while Luke Babbitt added 15 points and 11 boards, but was just 5-18 from the field.

Washington 63, Montana 59: Venoy Overton knocked down two late free throws, and then blocked what would have been a game-tying three as U-Dub held on against a pesky Grizzlies team. Isaiah Thomas had 13 despite going 1-9 from the floor for the Huskies, who were down 12 and shooting just 31% from the field before making their comeback.

Other notable scores:
  • Texas 77, Rice 59: The Owls just had no answer inside for Dexter Pittman, who finished the day with 21 points on 7-8 shooting. Rice made a run in the second half, but the Horns were just too big inside.
  • Cal 81, Princeton 60: Jamal Boykin had 22 points and 7 boards while Jerome Randle went for 22 and 9 dimes as the Bears battled injuries and illnesses Sunday.
  • Duquesne 71, Radford 63: BJ Monteiro had 21 points while Damian Saunders added 14 points, 16 boards, 6 blocks, 4 steals, and 3 assists as the Dukes hung on to the Radford.
  • NC State 69, New Orleans 52: Tracy Smith went for 20 points and 8 boards in the Wolfpack win.
  • Cornell 61, Drexel 54: Ryan Wittman had 18 points and Jeff Foote added 15 as the Big Red extended their winning streak to three games.
  • South Alabama 74, Arkansas 61: Already depleted due to suspension, the Razorbacks played without Michael Washington, who aggravated a back injury in warm-ups, taking their fourth loss of the year. Arkansas hit just six field goals in the second half.
  • Ole Miss 73, Texas A&M-CC 58: Terrico White and Chris Warren each scored 19 points in the win.
  • Nebraska 51, USC 48: Eshaunte Jones hit a three with just 11.7 seconds left, and Marcus Johnson air-balled a three at the end of the game as the Pac-10 lost another game to a major conference team.
  • Stanford 83, Portland State 64: Landry Fields scored 25 points to lead the Cardinal to a win over the Vikings.

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