No. 2 Kansas tops Wake Forest, 87-78
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Andrew Wiggins scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half and No. 2 Kansas moved into the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis, downing previously unbeaten Wake Forest 87-78 on Thursday.
Frank Mason scored 12 points and Joel Embild added 10 for the Jayhawks (5-0), who had a 14-point halftime lead trimmed to four before hanging on in the final minutes.
Kansas will play Villanova on Friday night for a spot in the title game.
Codi Miller-McIntyre scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half for Wake Forest (5-1). The Demon Deacons held Kansas to a season-low 47 percent from the field, but lost forward Devin Thomas after he was ejected for two technical fouls with 7:28 remaining.
Smart scores 30, No. 5 Oklahoma State beats Purdue
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Marcus Smart scored 30 points, and No. 5 Oklahoma State nearly blew a big lead before beating Purdue 97-87 on Thursday in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic.
Markel Brown added 25 points for the Cowboys (6-0), who came in averaging 100.2 points and had defeated their first five opponents by an average of 37.8.
Oklahoma State led 52-29 at halftime after going to the foul line 25 times.
Purdue (5-1) got 18 points from Bryson Smith, and Errick Peck added 12. Ronnie Johnson, who was averaging 13.8 points, battled foul trouble and had 10 points.
The Boilermakers stormed back late and pulled within 84-80 on a 3-pointer by Kendall Stephens with 3 minutes left. Brown and Smart made layups to give Oklahoma State a little breathing room. This is the first time Oklahoma State has scored 90 or more points in six consecutive games.
Smart, who scored 24 before halftime, received a technical after reacting to a foul call against him midway through the second half. He spent considerable time on the bench with four fouls.
McDermott scores 27 as No. 20 Creighton beats ASU
FULLERTON, Calif. -- Creighton knows how to learn from its mistakes.
The Bluejays took an early lead over Arizona State in the championship game of last year's Las Vegas Invitational, only to watch the Sun Devils creep back into contention. This time, Creighton didn't give ASU that opportunity.
Doug McDermott scored 27 points, Devin Brooks added a season-high 23 and the 20th-ranked Bluejays beat Arizona State 88-60 on Thursday night in the opening round of the Wooden Legacy.
Creighton (5-0) used an early 14-2 run to take control and then pulled away with 3-point shooting in the second half.
''They trickled their way back into the game but we didn't let it happen this time,'' McDermott said. ''We were clicking on all cylinders. The start we got off to was huge.''
If the Sun Devils had a legitimate comeback in them, it never showed. Arizona State (6-1) shot 39 percent from the field and went a woeful 7 of 18 at the free-throw line.
Jahii Carson led the Sun Devils with 15 points. Jermaine Marshall and Richie Edwards scored 12 apiece.
Jackson scores 18, No. 21 Memphis tops Siena 87-60
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Joe Jackson scored 18 points, Shaq Goodwin had 17 and No. 21 Memphis advanced to the semifinals of the Old Spice Classic by beating Siena 87-60 on Thursday night.
Michael Dixon Jr. added 16 points for Memphis (3-1).
Siena (2-5) got 11 points from Brett Bisping. Leading scorer Rob Poole (15.5 points per game) was held to six on 3-of-15 shooting.
After a slow start, Memphis grabbed a 48-31 halftime advantage as Goodwin and Dixon both scored 13 points. Jackson added 12, including a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
Lavon Long's layup got Siena to 52-41 just 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.
Jackson had a three-point play to give the Tigers a 59-41 lead with 15 minutes to go. Dixon extended the advantage to 71-47 on a 3-pointer.
Siena held two-point leads four times early on, including 8-6 when Bisping scored on a layup.
Memphis took its first lead, 10-8, on Goodwin's dunk 5 1/2 minutes into the game. Jackson's first points, on a layup midway through the half, made it 18-12.
No. 23 Iowa rallies past Xavier in overtime
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- The notion defies logic. Iowa had not led for a single second all night long. The guy who was single-handedly carrying the offense was gone with a nasty leg cramp. The deficit was four and time was running out.
Somehow, that meant the Hawkeyes had Xavier right where they wanted.
Never led in regulation, never trailed in overtime, and still unbeaten. Such is the story for No. 23 Iowa, which rallied from a 15-point, second-half deficit to beat Xavier 77-74 in overtime at the Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals Thursday night.
''You know what's interesting about our team, and I mean this sincerely, we've got so many different players who can score,'' Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said.
The Hawkeyes needed them all, too.
Devyn Marble scored 30 points before leaving with a right leg cramp, a problem that affected Xavier standout Semaj Christon as well. The converted ballroom that serves as the arena for this event has a low ceiling, hot lights and it was packed with people seated not far from the floor. So yes, even indoors -- and on a relatively cool day in the Bahamas -- the elements were a factor.
Iowa (6-0) handled them all. Zach McCabe scored 11 points, and Gabriel Olaseni had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawkeyes. Aaron White's 10-point night ended with a clutch tip-in with 1:40 left in overtime, and the Hawkeyes held on from there.
''Coach trusted us,'' Olaseni said.
Wilson leads No. 25 Marquette against Fullerton 86-66
FULLERTON, Calif. -- Jamil Wilson scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, and No. 25 Marquette routed tournament host Cal State Fullerton 86-66 on Thursday in the first round of the Wooden Legacy.
Davante Gardner and Jajuan Johnson each had 18 points off the bench for the Golden Eagles, who quickly squashed any hope the Titans had of pulling an upset. Marquette grabbed a double-digit lead just 10 minutes into the game and cruised from there.
The Golden Eagles shot 55.7 percent from the field and outrebounded Cal State Fullerton 40-20. They led by as many as 26, allowing backups to play the majority of the second half.
Michael Williams scored 16 points and Marquis Horne added 13 for Cal State Fullerton.
Marquette will play George Washington in the tournament semifinals on Friday. The Titans face Miami in the consolation bracket.
