Penn St. blasts Longwood
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STATE COLLEGE — Brandon Taylor scored a career-high 25 points as Penn State surged in the second half to dispatch Longwood 93-67 on Sunday.
Taylor was joined in double figures by D.J. Newbill with 23 points and Ross Travis, with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The unselfish Nittany Lions (4-1) piled up 25 assists, eight by point guard Tim Frazier and seven by Newbill, who also chipped in with nine rebounds.
Holding a 10-point lead at the half, the Nittany Lions outscored the Lancers, 56-40, in the second half. They were paced by Taylor and Newbill, who combined for more than half of Penn State’s second half points.
Longwood (2-3) was paced by three players in double figures. Isaac Belton scored 17. He was joined by Jeylani Dublin with 16 and Tristan Carey with 13. Carey, the Lancers’ leading scorer at more than 20 points a game, was held below his season average.
No. 24 North Carolina 93, No. 3 Louisville 84
UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Marcus Paige scored 32 points and No. 24 North Carolina broke open a tight game in the second half to upset No. 3 Louisville to win the Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament.
Brice Johnson added 13 points and Kennedy Meeks had 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists for the Tar Heels (4-1), who lost just a week ago at home to Belmont.
Russ Smith led all scorers with 36 points for Louisville, which came into the game on a school-record 21-game winning streak. Chris Jones added 20 points.
No. 6 Duke 91, Vermont 90
DURHAM, N.C. — Rodney Hood’s free throw with 5 seconds left helped No. 6 Duke dodge Vermont’s upset bid.
Jabari Parker scored 24 points and Hood finished with 22 for the Blue Devils (5-1), who extended their nonconference winning streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium to 106 games — barely.
Duke blew a 15-point lead and allowed Vermont to shoot 65 percent before finally getting the one defensive stop it needed.
Candon Rusin’s four-point play with 10.4 seconds left for Vermont tied it at 90. Hood brought the ball downcourt, drove the lane and drew contact from Clancy Rugg. Hood bounced his first free throw off the rim, then swished the second.
Georgetown 84, No. 10 VCU 80
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had 26 points and Georgetown fought off Virginia Commonwealth in the second half in the fifth-place game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Markel Starks added 23 points, and went 10 for 10 at the free-throw line to help preserve the win. Joshua Smith chipped in 17.
There were 61 fouls called in the game, which lasted nearly three hours.
Briante Weber had 22 points to lead VCU, which shot 47 free throws. Treveon Graham added 17 points.
Charlotte 63, No. 14 Michigan 61
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Terrence Williams put back Willie Clayton’s miss with 0.4 seconds left, and Charlotte stunned Michigan in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Michigan’s Mitch McGary tied the game at 61 on a layup with 9 seconds left, but Charlotte quickly pushed the ball up the floor. Clayton’s attempt rimmed out, but Williams got the rebound and scored.
Denzel Ingram had 12 points and Clayton added 10 points and 15 rebounds to lead the 49ers. Pierria Henry chipped in 11 points. Charlotte’s Shawn Lester was named to the all-tournament team.
No. 19 New Mexico 79, Davidson 58
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Alex Kirk had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 19 New Mexico bounced back from its first loss of the season to take third place at the Charleston Classic.
The Lobos (4-1) had hoped to be playing in the eight-team tournament’s title game, but fell to Massachusetts 81-65 on Friday. The 7-foot Kirk took full advantage of Davidson’s size disadvantage and largely had his way inside for his fifth double-double in as many games this season. It was the junior’s 15th career game with double figures in points and rebounds.
