Neoklis Avdalas scored 33 points aa Virginia Tech defeated Providence 107-101 in overtime at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Saturday night in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Avdalas, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Greece, made 13 of 23 shots overall and 5 of 8 3-pointers. He had five rebounds and six assists.
The Hokies went on a 9-0 run early in the second half, erasing an eight-point deficit and taking a 56-54 lead with 14 1/2 minutes left in regulation. Neither team led by more than three points for the remainder of the second half. Amani Hansberry’s jumper for Tech with five seconds left sent the game to overtime at 86-all.
Tech did not trail in overtime, although there was one tie early. A 3-pointer from Hansberry gave the Hokies a 99-95 lead with two minutes left, and they went up by eight when Tyler Johnson made one of two free throws with 27 seconds left.
Jailen Bedford scored 18 points for the Hokies, and Hansberry had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson scored 12 points and Jaden Schutt added 10 for the Hokies (2-0). Tobi Lawal grabbed 13 rebounds.
Jayson Edwards scored 28 points, Jaylin Sellers 26 and Stefan Vaaks 17 for Providence. Oswin Erhunmwunse had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
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Wisconsin-La Crosse 74, Virginia Wesleyan 71: The Eagles (2-0) edged the Marlins (1-1) for the TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament title at TowneBank Arena.
Omari DeVeaux led the Marlins with 31 points, shooting 8 for 20 from the field and 12 for 12 from the free-throw line; he added four rebounds and two assists. Amari Moorer followed with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Sam Grieger scored 27 and JJ Paider 23 for the Panthers.
La Crosse outshot VWU 54.2% to 38.7% from the field. A 10-0 run gave the Panthers a 27-19 edge, and they maintained control thereafter.
Hampden-Sydney 79, Keene State 61: In the consolation game of the TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament, the Tigers (1-1) prevailed over the Owls (0-2) from New Hampshire. H-SC’s Shane Fernald had 18 points and sophomore Santana Lynch had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his first college double-double.
Miami-Hamilton 62, Apprentice 50: The Builders went to Ohio and lost their opener to the Harriers.
Devon Brown scored 12 points to lead Apprentice, and Shamon Rosser, Alex Ethridge and Jahlil Hope added 10 each. Terrell Pollard led Miami-Hamilton with 18 points.
Richmond 87, East Carolina 72: Reserve Jonathan Beagle led the Spiders with 15 points at Robins Center. He shot 3 of 3 from the field and 9 for 11 from the free-throw line for the Spiders (2-0). Aiden Argabright scored 14 and Jaden Daughtry had 13 for UR, which led for the final 31-plus minutes.
Giovanni Emejuru led the Pirates (1-1) with 20 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. Joran Riley added 18 points, six rebounds and three steals
No. 8 Brigham Young 98, Holy Cross 53: Richie Saunders scored 20 points, star freshman AJ Dybantsa had 17 points and eight rebounds, and BYU (2-0) never trailed against the Crusaders (0-2) in Provo, Utah.
No. 22 Michigan State 69, No. 14 Arkansas 66: Freshman Cam Ward had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Coen Carr scored 15 points and had seven rebounds in a matchup of Hall of Fame coaches.
The host Spartans (2-0) grabbed 19 offensive rebounds and converted them into 18 points, a staple of Tom Izzo’s program for 31 seasons.
Coach John Calipari has touted freshmen Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas in his second season with the Razorbacks (1-1). Both scored 16 points.
No. 21 Gonzaga 83, Oklahoma 68: Graham Ike had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Tyon Grant-Foster added 14 points, and the Bulldogs (2-0) won at Spokane Arena. Jalen Warley and Braden Huff each scored 13 points for Gonzaga (2-0) and the duo combined to grab 17 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Mario Saint-Supry finished with eight points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Nijel Pack led the Sooners (1-1) with 20 points and Xzayvier Brown scored 19.
Austin Peay 74, Air Force 54: Tate McCubbin scored 19 points and Anton Brookshire added 16 for the Governors (2-0) in Colorado. McCubbin added five assists and four steals. Ethan Greenberg led the Falcons (0-2) with 21 points.
St. Thomas 83, Army 76: Nolan Minessale had 20 points and six assists for the Tommies (1-1) in their victory in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Jorn Everson finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for Army (1-1). Jacen Holloway added 16 points and Jackson Furman 15.
Stanford 91, Montana 68: Ebuka Okorie scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half for the Cardinal (2-0). Money Williams scored 19 to lead the visiting Grizzlies (2-1).
High Point 127, Averett 52: Former VMI player Cam’Ron Fletcher’s 25 points and nine rebounds paced the Pointers (2-0) in North Carolina. Timayahs Bracey led the Division III Cougars with 11 points.
No. 6 Duke 95, Western Carolina 54: Freshman Cameron Boozer had 25 points in his first regular-season home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward added eight rebounds, five assists and a block in 23 minutes for the Blue Devils (2-0), who opened the season Tuesday with a win against Texas in Charlotte in the first-ever Dick Vitale Invitational. The preseason Atlantic Coast Conference favorite had no trouble against a team picked to finish seventh in the Southern Conference, pushing its lead to double figures just 7 minutes in and leading by 24 at halftime.
Boozer’s brother, fellow freshman Cayden, had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists as one of four Blue Devils to score in double figures.
Julien Soumaoro had 14 points and four 3s to lead the Catamounts (0-2).
Syracuse 83, Delaware State 43: Donnie Freeman scored 20 points and freshman Kiyan Anthony added 19 in his first career start, leading the Orange to a home victory.
Anthony, the son of Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, got the start in place of injured JJ Starling, who is out with a lower leg injury. No timetable for Starling’s return has been announced.
Anthony made 8 of 11 shots to go with four rebounds and three assists.
No. 2 Houston 65, Towson 48: Kingston Flemings scored 20 points, Joseph Tugler added 15 points and eight rebounds and the Cougars won at home. Flemings finished 8 of 10 from the field, and Tugler shot 7 of 14. while Houston (2-0) shot 42%.
No. 18 Tennessee 95, Northern Kentucky 56: Nate Ament scored 23 points to lead Tennessee (2-0) to a home victory. Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 20 points and J.P. Estrella came off the bench to finish with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Volunteers.
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Christopher Newport 90, Wittenberg 66: Freshman Sydney Worsham scored 15 points (11 in the fourth quarter), Elizabeth Creed 13 and Hailey Kellogg 13 for the Captains as they opened the season at the Fred Raizk Memorial Tournament in Wilmington, Ohio.
CNU is ranked 20th by d3hoops.com and seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll.
After briefly trailing, CNU pulled away from the Tigers with a 15-3 second-half run.
Eastern Mennonite 83, Regent 59: EMU (1-1) won the matchup of Royals in Harrisonburg as Jeriyah Osborne scored 13 to lead the hosts’ three double-digit performers.
For Regent (0-1), freshman Kennedy Shipman scored 19 points, My’Angel Carter had 10 points and freshman Mikaylah Telfer had nine rebounds. Regent is coached by former Virginia Cavaliers and Appalachian State player Donte Minter.
Virginia Wesleyan 108, Greensboro 86: Brianna Long had 36 points and 17 rebounds as the Marlins began coach Megan Belo’s second season with a rousing start, winning at TowneBank Arena. The Marlins outscored the Pride 64-39 in the second half.
Bre Robinson had 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists for VWU, which shot a sizzling 65.1% from the field despite 36 turnovers.
Penn State Beaver 94, Apprentice 72: Despite Ronnice Barry’s 25 points and 10 apiece from Cornasia Lamberson and Jayla Stratton, the visiting Builders dropped their regular-season opener. Dajanelle Linton-Robinson had nine points and 10 rebounds.
Jaden Tesch scored 25 for the hosts.
Longwood 80, Western Kentucky 42: The Lancers (2-0) beat a Conference USA opponent for the first time since January 2005, handling the Hilltoppers (1-1) in Farmville.
Amor Harris led all players with 16 points, adding three steals and two assists, while Frances Ulysse added 14 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Radford 69, Emory & Henry 36: Anaiah Jenkins’ 11 points guided the host Highlanders (1-2) in an exhibition for the Division II Wasps.
