Thursday’s basketball: Nevada rallies, tops Oakland
Anchorage, Alaska — Marcus Marshall scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and Nevada rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to beat Oakland 82-78 late Wednesday night in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Nevada (4-1) scored on its first four possessions of the second half — on two 3-pointers, a dunk and two free throws — to pull to 47-38. It was tied at 58-all midway through the half after Lindsey Drew scored on two straight fast breaks.
Cameron Oliver, who finished with 22 points, hit a corner 3-pointer to give Nevada its first lead of the game at 64-62. His 3-pointer with 1:16 remaining extended the Wolf Pack’s lead to 80-75 lead but Sherron Dorsey-Walker answered with a 3-pointer with 28.4 seconds left. Marshall sealed it with two free throws.
Oakland (4-1) scored the first nine points of the game and Isaiah Brock’s dunk gave it a 44-28 halftime lead. Dorsey-Walker scored 16 of his career-high 23 points in the first half.
State women
Michigan 78, No. 25 Gonzaga 66: At St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Katelynn Flaherty made four 3-pointers and scored 22 points, Siera Thompson added five 3s and 21 points, and Michigan beat Gonzaga 78-66 in the Paradise Jam.
Nicole Munger played a key role in the final minutes for Michigan. She made a 3-pointer from the corner for a 70-63 lead with 3:19 left and drew a charge with 32.6 seconds remaining. She was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and hit two free throws for a 74-66 lead.
Hallie Thome had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Michigan (5-0), which never trailed. The Wolverines made 12 of 21 3-pointers while Gonzaga was just 3 of 20 (15 percent).
Boogie Brozoski hit a long contested 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer to give Michigan a 44-34 lead.
Jill Barta made 9 of 13 shots, hit all eight of her free-throw attempts and finished with a season high 27 points for Gonzaga (3-1). Emma Stach added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Big Ten
No. 19 West Virginia 89, Illinois 57: At New York, Nathan Adrian had 13 points and eight rebounds in West Virginia’s victory in the NIT Season Tip-Off. Jevon Carter added 10 points, six rebounds, six steals and five assists for the Mountaineers (4-0). Esa Ahmad and Elijah Macon each had nine points, and Teyvon Myers and Daxter Miles Jr. added eight each. Michael Finke led Illinois (4-2) with 13 points, and Mike Thorne Jr. had 12.
Nebraska 80, Dayton 78: At Fullerton, California, Glynn Watson Jr. hit two free throws with 8.8 seconds remaining in the first round of the Wooden Legacy. Watson finished with 20 points, and Ed Morrow Jr. added 19 points and 10 rebounds, as the Cornhuskers improved to 4-0 for the second time under fifth-year coach Tim Miles. The Flyers (2-2) took their only lead of the game on Scoochie Smith’s layup with 16 seconds remaining, but Watson drove to the basket and drew contact to salvage a game in which Nebraska led by as much as 14.
Top 25
No 10 Louisville 62, Wichita State 52: At Paradise Island, Bahamas, Donovan Mitchell scored 14, including two critical 3-pointers in the final 4 1/2 minutes, to help Louisville (5-0) earn a trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.
No. 11 Gonzaga 82, Quinnipiac 62: At Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Jonathan Williams and Zach Collins led a balanced offense with 13 points each, helping Gonzaga pull away in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational at Disney World. The Bulldogs (5-0) also got 10 points each from Jordan Mathews and Josh Perkins to advance to the semifinals of the eight-team tournament against Florida or Seton Hall. Peter Kiss paced Quinnipiac (0-3) with 18 points.
No. 19 West Virginia 89, Illinois 57: At New York, Nathan Adrian finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in West Virginia’s victory in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center.
No. 21 Iowa State 73, Indiana State 71: At Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Monte Morris scored 20 points and Iowa State (4-0) took the lead for good in the final minute in the opening game of the AdvoCare Invitational.
Temple 89, No. 25 Florida State 86: At New York, Quinton Rose scored 26, including two free throws with 2 seconds left, to lead Temple over No. 25 Florida State in the first game of the 2016 NIT Season Tip-Off.