NEW YORK (AP) — Chaz Lainer scored 22 points, and No. 1 Tennessee beat struggling Miami 75-62 on Tuesday night at the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.
Igor Milicic Jr. added 16 and nine rebounds for the Volunteers, who took the top spot in the AP Top 25 this week for the first time since February 2019. Zakai Zeigler added 13 points and nine assists for Tennessee, which pulled away late in the first half and withstood a Miami comeback attempt for its first 9-0 start since 2000-01.
Lynn Kidd scored 14 as the Hurricanes (3-8) dropped their seventh straight game. Nyjel Pack added 12 and AJ Station-McCray added 11 for Miami, which shot 39.3%.
The Hurricanes held a two-point lead on a hook shot by Kidd with 7:52 remaining in the first half. The Volunteers never trailed after Ziegler hit three free throws 30 seconds later to start a 14-0 run.
NO. 4 DUKE 72, INCARNATE WORD 46
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Khaman Maluach scored a season-high 17 points and No. 4 Duke beat Incarnate Word.
Maluach — a 7-foot-2 freshman center from South Sudan — shot 6 of 7 from floor and had seven rebounds as the Blue Devils (8-2) won their fourth straight. Isaiah Evans scored 14 points and Kon Knueppel 10.
Jalin Anderson and Dylan Hayman each scored 11 points for Incarnate Word (5-5).
Duke played without second-leading rebounder Maliq Brown, who is day-to-day with toe injury. The Blue Devils won the rebounding battle 44-26 and outscored the Cardinals 30-14 in the paint.
NO. 15 HOUSTON 62, TROY 42
HOUSTON (AP) — L.J. Cryer scored 22 points and had six 3-pointers, and No. 15 Houston used a strong defensive effort to beat.
Cryer scored 16 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers, as the Cougars (6-3) built a 33-11 halftime lead. Cryer finished 8 of 11 from the field.
The 11 first-half points set a school record for fewest allowed in a half, surpassing the 12 Houston gave up in the first half at UConn on Dec. 28, 2016.
Emanuel Sharp added 14 points for Houston, which won its 27th straight home game.
Thomas Dowd had 10 points and Tayton Conerway added nine for Troy (5-4). The Trojans fell to 0-3 against power conference opponents this season.
The Associated Press