GAME OF THE NIGHT: Dayton 85, Arkansas 81 (OT)
Despite blowing a 23-point lead the Flyers managed to pick up the win in overtime to move to 10-2 on the season. Charles Cooke III led six Dayton players in double figures with 18 points, and one of the other five was senior forward Dyshawn Pierre. Suspended for the fall semester, Pierre saw his first action of the season Wednesday night and finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Moses Kingsley led the Razorbacks with 26 points and 11 rebounds, but far too often down the stretch Arkansas guards forced up shots as opposed to getting the ball to the one man Dayton couldn’t stop. Anton Beard’s three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation forced the extra period.
IMPORTANT OUTCOMES
No. 4 Maryland 70, Penn State 64: Terrapins not named Diamond Stone combined to score 31 points. Stone: 39 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the field and 19-for-25 from the foul line, and 12 rebounds. The freshman was special, and his play of late in the sixth man role is a positive sign for Mark Turgeon’s team. But has much changed from last season for Maryland when it comes to how they handle games?
No. 5 Virginia 71, Oakland 58: The Cavaliers erased a one-point halftime deficit to take care of the dangerous Golden Grizzlies in Charlottesville. Kay Felder scored 30 points but no other Oakland player scored in double figures (Felder only had three assists) as Virginia’s defense wore down Greg Kampe’s team. Anthony Gill scored 17 points and Mike Tobey, who scored a total of 20 points in the six games prior to tonight, added 16 for Virginia.
Pittsburgh 72, Syracuse 61: In the ACC opener for both it was the Panthers who made the big plays down the stretch to defend their home floor. Jamel Artis cracked the Syracuse zone on multiple occasions, finishing the game with 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Michael Young added 15 and seven rebounds for Jamie Dixon’s Panthers, who are now 11-1 on the season. Trevor Cooney and Tyler Roberson scored 15 apiece to lead the way for the Orange, who were also bludgeoned on the backboards by Pittsburgh (19 offensive rebounds, 22 second-chance points).
STARRED
Diamond Stone, Maryland: On a day in which his teammates struggled offensively Stone produced the best outing of his young career, scoring 39 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the Terrapins’ 70-64 win over Penn State.
Dererk Pardon, Northwestern: In his second game after the injury to Alex Olah led to Northwestern burning his redshirt, Pardon scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a win at Nebraska.
Grayson Allen, Duke: Allen made frequent trips to the foul line, shooting 15-for-17 on a day in which he scored a career-high 33 points in the Blue Devils’ win over Long Beach State.
Mark Donnal, Michigan: Donnal also established a new career-high in a win, scoring 26 points to go along with nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Prior to Wednesday, Donnal scored a total of 38 points this season.
Pancake Thomas, Hartford: Thomas was outstanding in the Hawks’ 82-80 double overtime loss at Rider, posting a line of 35 points, 17 rebounds and five assists.
STRUGGLED
Mike Williams, Rutgers: Williams had a rough go of it in the Scarlet Knights’ 79-72 loss to Indiana, missing all six of his shots from the field and going scoreless.
Joey King, Minnesota: The Golden Gophers’ leading scorer on the season, King scored seven points on 1-for-8 shooting in a 78-63 loss at Ohio State.
Patrick McCaw, UNLV: Since looking like a Mountain West POY candidate in early December the sophomore has struggled mightily. In a loss to Fresno State Wednesday night, McCaw scored just two points and committed five turnovers.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25
- No. 15 Duke surpassed the 100-point mark for the second straight game as they got things going late in the first half of their 103-81 win over Long Beach State. The Blue Devils scored 61 points in the second half, and Grayson Allen scored a career-high 33 points.
- No. 19 West Virginia rolled to an 88-63 win at Virginia Tech, forcing 22 Hokie turnovers and dominating the boards as well. Jevon Carter, who made his first field goal attempts scored 18 for the Mountaineers.
- No. 7 North Carolina opened ACC play with an 80-69 win over Clemson in Chapel Hill. Marcus Paige led five Tar Heels in double figures with 18 points, and Clemson’s streak of never having won at UNC continues.
- No. 24 South Carolina took care of Francis Marion, 78-56. Freshman Chris Silva finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
- No. 11 Iowa State did what was expected and took care of Coppin State, winning 104-84 in Ames. Abdel Nader scored 21 points and Georges Niang tallied 15 and nine rebounds for the Cyclones, who had six players score in double figures.
OTHER NOTABLE RESULTS
- It wasn’t pretty but Indiana managed to hold off Rutgers 79-72 in the Big Ten opener for both. The Hoosiers played without the injured James Blackmon Jr., who was ruled out with a knee injury.
- Caris LeVert accounted for 22 points, ten rebounds and six assists and Mark Donnal scored a career-high 26 as Michigan beat Illinois 78-68 in Champaign.
- Northwestern (13-1) is now off to the best start in program history after they won by nine at Nebraska. Dererk Pardon went for 28 and 12 in his second game of the season.
- Houston won its conference opener in the American, holding off USF in Tampa. Devonta Pollard scored 20 points and Rob Gray Jr. added 19 for the 11-2 Cougars.
- In a matchup of expected Patriot League contenders Army got off to a hot start and then held on to win 88-82 at Lehigh. Tanner Plomb scored 23 and dished out five assists for the Black Knights.
- Trailing by one at the half, Seton Hall put together an impressive second half on both ends of the floor as they won 83-63 at Marquette in the Big East opener for both. Desi Rodriguez scored 19 points and Khadeen Carrington tallied 17, ten rebounds, five assists and four steals.
- Evansville won its Missouri Valley opener, beating Indiana State 70-62 with D.J. Balentine (nine rebounds, five assists) and Egidijus Mockevicius (16 rebounds) scoring 22 points apiece.
- Northern Iowa also won its Valley opener, as they whipped Bradley 80-44. The Braves scored just 16 points in the second half, and Jeremy Morgan led five Panthers in double figures with 18 points.
- Little Rock moved to 11-1 with a nine-point win (69-60) at South Alabama in the Sun Belt opener for both. Josh Hagins scored 17 points for the Trojans.
- UT-Arlington, which like Little Rock picked up some solid wins in non-conference play, won its Sun Belt opener by 15 over reigning tournament champion Georgia State (85-70). Kevin Hervey finished with 17 points and eight rebounds for the Mavericks.
- Playing with just seven available scholarship players, Rhode Island picked up an 88-85 overtime win at Brown. Four McGlynn led the way with a career-high 33 points while also grabbing six rebounds.
- New Mexico ended its four-game losing streak with an 88-76 win over Nevada in the Mountain West opener for both. Elijah Brown scored 24 points and Tim Williams 20 for the Lobos, who also received 14 points and 11 rebounds from center Obij Aget.
- Fresno State went to Las Vegas and beat UNLV 69-66, with Marvelle Harris scoring 22 points and Torren Jones adding 18 while also grabbing eight rebounds.