Fletcher Loyer scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and No. 1 Purdue remained perfect with an 80-71 win over Memphis in the semifinals of the Baha Mar Championship at Nassau, Bahamas.
C.J. Cox scored a season-high 18 points while Trey Kaufman-Renn added 12 points with 11 rebounds before he fouled out as Purdue (5-0) overcame a sluggish first half to pull away in the final seven minutes. Purdue, which received 11 assists from Braden Smith, opened 5-0 for the fourth time in five seasons.
Dug McDaniel scored 18 points with six rebounds and six assists and Zach Davis added 11 points for the Tigers (1-3), who are on a three-game losing streak and saw their five-game winning streak over Big Ten opponents come to an end.
Memphis led 64-61 with 7:01 remaining following a nearly five-minute run from Purdue without a field goal. The Boilermakers then took over, going on a 12-0 run to take a 73-64 lead with 3:27 remaining.
No. 2 Houston 91, Rider 45
Kingston Flemings scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting to help the Cougars roll to a home victory over the Broncs in nonconference play.
Emanuel Sharp made three 3-pointers while totaling 15 points for the Cougars (5-0), who led by as many as 48 points. Mercy Miller scored 14 points off the bench for the Cougars. Joseph Tugler had 12 points, nine rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals for Houston. Chris Cenac Jr. had 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
Caleb Smith had 13 points for the Broncs (1-4), who committed 23 turnovers. Rider shot 30.8% from the field, including 4-of-17 from 3-point range.
No. 14 St. John’s 97, Bucknell 49
Bryce Hopkins finished with 20 points as 14th-ranked Red Storm overcame a shaky start to pull away late in the first half on the way to a 97-49 victory over the Bison in Queens, N.Y.
Hopkins scored 13 points in the first half, including nine in the final 11-plus minutes when the Red Storm (3-1) surged ahead for their third double-digit win. Reserve Ian Jackson also scored a season-high 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, Ruben Prey finished with 14 and Joson Sanon contributed 10 for St. John’s, which missed 11 of its first 14 attempts yet shot 50.6% overall.
Amon Dorries scored 12 points for Bucknell (2-4), which was unable to earn its first win over a ranked team since beating Syracuse on Nov. 22, 2005.
No. 15 Texas Tech 84, Wake Forest 83
JT Toppin scored 21 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field and Christian Anderson notched 16 as the Red Raiders edged the Demon Deacons in Baha Mar Championship semifinal in Nassau, Bahamas.
Texas Tech (4-1) will meet top-ranked Purdue in Friday’s title game. Wake Forest will face Memphis in an earlier consolation game.
Juke Harris poured in 23 of his 26 points in the second half and reserve Myles Colvin tallied 19 for the Demon Deacons (3-2), who came close to knocking off a ranked team on a neutral court for the second time this season. They fell in overtime at Michigan, 85-84 on Nov. 11.
No. 20 Tennessee 89, Tennessee State 60
Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 17 points to lead five Volunteers in double figures and Tennessee cruised past the visiting Tigers in Knoxville.
Freshman Nate Ament added 15 points, going 7 of 8 at the foul line, for Tennessee (5-0). Amaree Abram also hit for 15 as the Volunteers connected on just 43.9 % of their field goal attempts.
Aaron Nkrumah scored a game-high 19 points for the Tigers (2-3), while Travis Harper added 17 and Antoine Lorick contributed 12 points. Tennessee State was a miserable 18 of 56 from the field and 5 of 27 on 3-pointers.
