Jeremiah Fears had 26 points and made two free throws with eight seconds left to seal Oklahoma’s 82-77 win Thursday over No. 24 Arizona in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Fears sank two free throws with 20 seconds left after gathering a rebound following a missed 3-pointer by Jaden Bradley (16 points) that could have tied the game. Bradley was fouled driving to the basket and made two free throws with 14 seconds left to cut it to 80-77. Fears was fouled after getting the ball past midcourt and made the game-securing free throws.
Jalon Moore finished with 24 points and seven rebounds for Oklahoma, Duke Miles added 11 points and Luke Northweather had 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Caleb Love led Arizona with 17 points, Motiejus Krivas finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Trey Townsend had 10 points.
Oklahoma (6-0) will play Louisville in the championship game Friday. Arizona (3-3) will face fellow Big 12 member West Virginia in the third-place game.
No. 3 Gonzaga 89, No. 14 Indiana 73
Khalif Battle scored 16 points to lead the Bulldogs over the Hoosiers in the consolation bracket of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Gonzaga’s Nolan Hickman scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, finishing with three 3-pointers. Michael Ajayi also scored 15 points, Graham Ike added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Ben Gregg contributed 13 points in 19 minutes off the bench. Ryan Nembhard tallied 13 assists and five steals in addition to his 11 points. The Bulldogs (6-1) will oppose Davidson in the fifth-place game on Friday.
Indiana (4-2) was led by 25 points from Oumar Ballo, including 19 in the first half. He sank 11 of his 13 field-goal attempts and added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mackenzie Mgbako added 13 points for the Hoosiers, but no other Indiana player scored more than six points. The Hoosiers will face Providence in the seventh-place game on Friday.
No. 13 Purdue 71, North Carolina State 61
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored 22 points and the Boilermakers led most of the way to defeat the Wolfpack in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
Camden Heide poured in 15 points, aided by three 3-pointers, while Braden Smith had 11 points and Fletcher Loyer added 10 points for the Boilermakers (6-1) in a rematch of Purdue’s victory last spring in the Final Four.
Jayden Taylor posted 15 points and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield provided 13 points and eight rebounds for NC State (5-1), which played its first game away from home. Purdue will meet No. 23 Ole Miss in Friday’s title game, while NC State faces BYU.
No. 18 Florida 75, Wake Forest 58
Walter Clayton Jr. totaled 21 points despite 6-of-18 shooting, including 4-for-13 from 3-point range, to lead the Gators over the Demon Deacons in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Clayton was one of four players who scored in double figures for the Gators (7-0) as they advanced to the championship game of the tournament, where they will face Wichita State on Friday afternoon.
Tre’Von Spillers recorded a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds to lead Wake Forest while Hunter Sallis and Cameron Hildreth each scored 15 points. The Demon Deacons (6-2) had a brief two-game winning streak snapped.
Illinois 90, No. 19 Arkansas 77
Tomislav Ivisic posted 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Fighting Illini scorched the Razorbacks in Kansas City, Mo.
Matched up against 7-foot-2 twin brother Zvonimir Ivisic, Illinois’ 7-foot-1 Tomislav Ivisic sank 6 of 9 shots from deep and added three blocks before fouling out in the final minute. Kasparas Jakucionis had a team-high 23 points to go with six rebounds and four assists for Illinois (6-1).
For Arkansas (5-2), Adou Thiero notched a game-high 26 points and had six rebounds but missed nine of his 21 free throws. Zvonimir Ivisic had 13 points and six rebounds, while Billy Richmond III added 12 points.
No. 23 Ole Miss 96, BYU 85 (OT)
Jaylen Murray scored a career-high 28 points to lead the Rebels to an overtime victory over the Cougars in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
Murray, who hit 10 of 14 shots, forced overtime with a tough game-tying bucket late in regulation and then tallied nine points in the extra session — outscoring the Cougars on his own — as Ole Miss (6-0) put the game away. Dre Davis and Matthew Murrell each scored 18 points to help preserve the undefeated start.
Kanon Catchings led BYU (5-1) with 17 points. Richie Saunders, Egor Demin and Fousseyni Traore each scored 16.
No. 25 Mississippi State 80, UNLV 58
KeShawn Murphy scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and the Bulldogs dominated the Rebels inside in a victory in the Arizona Tip-Off in Tempe, Ariz.
Josh Hubbard added 11 points before being sidelined by an apparent ankle injury midway through the second half, and the Bulldogs (6-0) had a 46-29 advantage in rebounds, including 19-4 in offensive rebounds, and a 30-3 edge in second-chance points.
Jailen Bedford scored 13 points, Jalen Hill added 11 and Dedan Thomas Jr. had 10 to lead the Runnin’ Rebels (4-2), who had won three games in a row and were playing their first game away from home this season.