Thursday’s basketball: Oakland wins Horizon opener

Rochester, Mich. — Sherron Dorsey-Walker pumped in 25 points and collected five steals to spark Oakland to an 81-62 win over Wright State in the Horizon League opener for both teams Thursday night.

The Golden Grizzlies now have won 11 straight home league openers and are 16-2 all-time as a Division I program.

Oakland (11-3, 1-0) built an 11-point advantage at intermission and padded that advantage down the stretch.

Dorsey-Walker was 7 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 10 from distance, and 6 of 8 from the free-throw line. Jalen Hayes scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Martez Walker contributed 15 points.

The Golden Grizzlies were 25 of 61 from the field (41 percent), including 9 of 23 from beyond the 3-point arc, but converted 22 of 27 from the free-throw line (81.5 percent).

Mark Alstork scored 21 points to pace Wright State (9-5, 0-1).

State men

(At) Eastern Michigan 98, Long Beach State 72: Ray Lee scored 20 and Jordan Nobles 15 for the Eagles (8-5) in their nonconference finale.

Northern Kentucky 81, (at) Detroit Mercy 70: Jaleel Hogan had 22 points and eight blocks for the Titans (2-11, 0-1 Horizon).

(At) Western Michigan 80, Alabama A&M 50: Thomas Wilder scored 19 and Josh Davis 12 for Western (4-8).

Top 25

(At) No. 7 Gonzaga 92, Pepperdine 62: Nigel Williams-Goss and Przemek Karnowski each scored 16 points as Gonzaga extended the best start in program history. Three other players scored in double figures for unbeaten Gonzaga (13-0, 1-0 West Coast Conference).

The Bulldogs held a narrow lead after the first half and did not put away scrappy Pepperdine until midway through the second.

Lamond Murray Jr. scored 19 points for Pepperdine (4-9, 0-1), which has lost eight games in a row and was missing two starters because of injury.

No. 8 Kentucky 99, (at) Mississippi 76: Malik Monk scored 34 points, Isaiah Briscoe had a triple-double and Kentucky bounced back impressively from a loss at Louisville with a victory in the SEC opener for both teams. Briscoe added 19 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats (11-2), who led 60-41 at halftime and were never seriously threatened. Edrice Adebayo scored 25 points, primarily on the strength of seven dunks.

Monk finished 11 of 16 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds and three steals. Adebayo was 12 of 19 from the field and blocked three shots.

Sebastian Saiz led the Rebels (9-4) with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

(At) St. John’s 76, No. 13 Butler 73: Freshman guard Shamorie Ponds scored 26 points, including four free throws in the final 9.1 seconds in the Big East opener for both teams. The Red Storm (7-7), coming off a 33-point win at Syracuse, stayed close with the Bulldogs (11-2) and finally took a lead at 72-71 on a free throw by Malik Ellison with 14.1 seconds left.

Bashir Ahmed added 19 points for the Red Storm.

Kelan Martin of Butler let a shot go from halfcourt at the buzzer and it hit the rim. Tyler Wideman had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting for the Bulldogs, and Martin scored 13.

No. 25 Florida 81, (at) Arkansas 72: Florida guard KeVaughn Allen had a triumphant return to Arkansas, where he played high school ball, scoring 21 points in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Daryl Macon, who scored 22 points, did what he could to keep the Razorbacks close, but Allen drained a 3-pointer nearly every time Florida needed to put down a threat.

Kevarrius Hayes’ dunk and Allen’s 3-pointer made it 63-52 after Arkansas had trimmed the lead to six. After Moses Kingsley cut Florida’s edge to 65-58, Allen drained another 3 with 6:35 left to kill the Razorbacks’ momentum. Florida (10-3) led by double digits until the final 11 seconds.

Macon scored 22 points for Arkansas (11-2). Kingsley had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Anton Beard scored 10 points. Beard and Allen each went to North Little Rock High School.

State women

(At) Detroit Mercy 72, Butler 60: Brianne Cohen scored 22 for the Titans (5-7, 1-0 Horizon).

(At) Oakland 81, UIC 58: Taylor Jones scored 22 for Oakland (7-5, 1-0 Horizon).