Saturday's college basketball roundup: No. 5 Zags down No. 25 Texas Tech

Phoenix — Andrew Nembhard scored 16 points, Rasir Bolton added 15 and No. 5 Gonzaga outlasted No. 25 Texas Tech 69-55 in the Colangelo Classic on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (9-2) withstood Texas Tech’s defensive pressure most of the afternoon in the desert, limiting turnovers while working the ball around for open looks.

The Red Raiders collapsed in on Gonzaga big man Drew Timme, holding the preseason All-American to seven points on 2-of-4 shooting, but the Zags overcame it by hitting 13 3-pointers — five by Bolton. Gonzaga led by eight at halftime and stretched it to 16 by hitting four 3s during a big run midway through the second half.

The Red Raiders (8-2) struggled offensively without leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr., who didn’t play after leaving Tuesday’s game against Arkansas State with back spasms. Texas Tech shot 37% and wasn’t able to mount a charge after Gonzaga’s big second-half run.

Kevin McCullar and Adonis Arms had 14 points each to lead the Red Raiders.

More Top 25

►No. 2 Duke 87, Elon 56: Duke beat last-minute replacement Elon after two different opponents bowed out due to COVID-19 issues.

The Blue Devils (10-1) led 44-26 by halftime and never trailed. Duke’s Trevor Keels had a game-high 19 points, Paolo Banchero had 12 points and nine rebounds, Wendell Moore Jr. had 12 points and five assists and Jeremy Roach had 11 points.

Jerald Gilllens-Butler paced the Phoenix (3-9) with 14.

►No. 6 Alabama 65, Jacksonville State 59: Keon Ellis had 20 points and 10 rebounds, giving Alabama’s sputtering offense just enough to beat Jacksonville State.

Ellis hit four of Alabama’s eight 3-pointers and also had three assists. Jahvon Quinerly added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Crimson Tide (9-2). Darius Miles scored 10 points off the bench and made a key block that kept Jacksonville State from pulling within one possession in the final 30 seconds.

Jacksonville State (5-6) led for a large chunk of the first half, aided by a 15-2 run to take a 20-13 lead. Alabama committed three turnovers in 76 seconds and missed seven of eight shots during that run. Quinerly’s 3-pointer at the buzzer kept the Crimson Tide from entering the locker room with a deficit.

Alabama took the lead for good with Miles’ 3-pointer near the midway point of the second half and put Jacksonville State away by scoring 15 of the next 17 points.

Darian Adams led Jacksonville State with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Gibbs (12) and Kayne Henry (10) joined him in double-digit scoring.

►No. 7 Kansas 80, Stephen F. Austin 72: Remy Martin hit a 3-pointer with one minute to go to extend a three-point lead and help Kansas over Stephen F. Austin.

The Jayhawks (9-1) led 73-70 before Martin buried the 3 from the top of the key.

Christian Braun scored a game-high 21 points, Ochai Agbaji had 18, Martin contributed 15 and Jalen Wilson scored 10.

The Lumberjacks (8-4) were led by David Kachelries with 18 points, Gavin Kensmil scored 16, Sadaidriene Hall had 14 and Calvin Solomon scored 10.

►No. 8 Arizona 84, Cal Baptist 60: Azuolas Tubelis had 19 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 as Arizona shook off a slow start to beat Cal Baptist.

The Wildcats (11-0) continued their best start since opening the 2014-15 season with 12 straight wins, but they trailed by 11 less than four minutes into the game and didn’t take their first lead until 9:01 left in the first half.

Christian Koloko added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks and Oumar Ballo had 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Cal Baptist (8-3) was led by Ty Rowell, who had 11 points and was 3 for 3 from 3-point range, while freshman guard Taran Armstrong finished with nine points, three assists and four turnovers.

►No. 10 Southern California 67, Georgia Tech 53: Boogie Ellis scored 16 points, Drew Peterson added 14 and Southern California overcame a shaky start to beat Georgia Tech in the Colangelo Classic.

The Trojans (11-0) needed some time to solve Georgia Tech’s aggressive zone, relying on their defense early before pulling away from the Yellow Jackets.

USC went on a big run to lead by nine at halftime and kept making shots in the second to remain undefeated.

Georgia Tech (5-5) has labored through a gauntlet of tough games, losing to Wisconsin, North Carolina and No. 19 LSU before arriving in the desert. Michael Devoe led the Yellow Jackets with 25 points.

►No. 13 Auburn 74, Saint Louis 70: Walter Kessler scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots, and Wendell Green Jr. and Jabari Smith each scored 13 points to help Auburn overcome a 13-point deficit and beat Saint Louis.

K.D. Johnson hit a jump shot with nine seconds remaining to put Auburn (10-1) up 72-70, and Billikens forward Frances Okoro missed a pair of free throws with two seconds left.

Terrence Hargrove Jr. led Saint Louis (8-4) with 17 points and Yuri Collins added 13 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and eight assists.

►No. 14 Houston 72, Oklahoma State 61: Jamal Shead scored 18 points, Fabian White had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Houston beat Oklahoma State in the lone game of the scheduled Hoop Hype XL College Basketball Showcase doubleheader.

Marcus Sasser added 15 points and Kyler Edwards had 13 for the Cougars (10-2).

Bryce Williams led Oklahoma State (7-4) with 17 points, the only Cowboy to score in double figures.

Houston led 57-55 with 4:31 left in the second half before going on a 10-2 run. Eight points came from Shead, including both of his 3-pointers in the game.

The scheduled preceding game between No. 23 Colorado State and Tulsa was canceled because of COVID-19 issues within Colorado State’s team.

►No. 19 LSU 66, Louisiana Tech 57: Tari Eason scored 21 points, Darius Days added 13 with a career-high 18 rebounds and LSU rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Louisiana Tech.

The teams swapped the lead five times with seven ties in the second half. After Tech tied it at 57, Eason’s 3-pointer put the Tigers ahead for good with 2:28 left. His dunk with 33 seconds remaining stretched the lead to seven.

Eason had 14 points in the second half to help the Tigers (11-0) remain one of seven unbeaten teams in the country. Days went over 1,000 points in his career at LSU.

Louisiana Tech (8-3) had three players reach double figures. Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Amorie Archibald led the Bulldogs with 13 points each, while Exavian Christon scored 11.

►Providence 57, No. 20 UConn 53: A.J. Reeves scored 16 points and Providence held off UConn in the Big East opener for both teams.

Ed Croswell had 11 points and Nate Watson added 10 for the Friars (11-1), who led by as many as 16 points in the second half but had to hold on at the end.

R.J. Cole had 16 points and Tyrese Martin returned from a wrist injury to score 15 for UConn (9-3), which was playing its fourth straight game without leading scorer Adama Sanogo. He is sidelined with an abdominal strain.

Providence led 55-48 when a flagrant elbow from the Friars' Al Durham with 2:11 left gave the Huskies a final spark.

Martin hit two free throws and a 3-pointer from Tyler Polley cut the deficit to 55-53 with 1:48 left, but the Huskies missed their final five shots.

►No. 21 Kentucky 98, North Carolina 69: Sahvir Wheeler scored 26 points and Kentucky beat North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic.

Wheeler, who shot a season-best 80% (12 of 15) from the floor, was one of four Wildcats to score in double figures in Kentucky’s first victory away from Rupp Arena.

Oscar Tshiebwe added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (8-2), while Kellan Grady had 18 points and Keion Brooks Jr. had 10.

The Tar Heels (8-3) had kept five straight opponents below 64 points. They were held to their lowest scoring output of the season.

Armando Bacot led North Carolina with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while RJ Davis had 10 points.

►No. 22 Xavier 80, Marquette 71: Dwon Odom scored a career-high 19 points and Nate Johnson added 17 to lift Xavier over Marquette in their Big East Conference openers.

Jack Nunge had 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Xavier (11-1, 1-0 Big East), which has won seven straight.

Colby Jones added 11 points for the Musketeers. Marquette (8-4, 0-1 Big East) was led by Greg Elliott’s 18 points and Justin Lewis’ 15.

►Hofstra 89, No. 24 Arkansas 81: Former Arkansas big man Abayomi Iyiola scored 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Hofstra beat Arkansas.

The Razorbacks (9-2) failed to put their 22-point loss to Oklahoma a week ago behind them, and has now lost back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January 2021. JD Notae scored 20 points for Arkansas, and Chris Lykes had 19.

Hofstra (7-5) was up 40-32 at the half and didn’t relinquish the lead in the second half.