Winston, Michigan State close out Maui trip by beating UCLA
LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Cassius Winston scored 20 points, Xavier Tillman had 14 and No. 3 Michigan State knocked off UCLA 75-62 in the Maui Invitational fifth-place game on Wednesday.
The Spartans (5-2) opened the tournament with a loss to Virginia Tech, but bounced back with consecutive solid performances.
Winston had a second straight strong performance after struggling in the opener and Michigan State used an 18-2 advantage in fast break points to close its Maui trip with a flourish.
Chris Smith had 13 points and Cody Riley scored 11 for UCLA (5-3).
NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 76, ALABAMA 67
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Garrison Brooks scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half and North Carolina overwhelmed Alabama on the glass in a Battle 4 Atlantis first-round game.
Freshman big man Armando Bacot had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Tar Heels (5-0), who entered the game as the nation’s No. 1 team in rebounding margin. The Tar Heels nearly doubled the Crimson Tide to finish with a 60-31 edge on the glass.
John Petty Jr. scored 23 points with seven 3-pointers for the Crimson Tide (2-3), though 15 points and five of those 3s came in the first half. Preseason all-Southeastern Conference pick Kira Lewis Jr. added 20 points.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Mamadi Diakite scored 15 points and Jay Huff had 13 as Virginia beat Maine.
The Cavaliers (7-0) played without starting guard Braxton Key, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, after the school said he had wrist surgery and will be sidelined indefinitely. They also were without Kody Stattmann, another starter, who missed his fourth consecutive game with an undisclosed illness.
Maine (2-4) kept it close for much of the game, more because Virginia had trouble scoring than anything else.
Vilgot Larsson led the Black Bears with nine points. They finished 8 for 43 from the field (18.6%) and had 21 turnovers that led to 20 Cavaliers points.
