November 30, 2008 | AP Press

RICHMOND, VA. — David Gonzalvez led Richmond with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the Spiders’ 78-67 victory over Coppin State on Sunday night.

Richmond (4-2) shot 54.5 percent from the field for the game (30 of 55), hitting a season-high 11 three-pointers. The Eagles (1-3), who open the season with 15 games away from home, were held to 33.9 percent (21 of 62).

The Spiders shot 69.2 percent in the first half (18 of 26), including 9-of-16 three-pointers, as Gonzalvez scored 13 points and Jarhon Giddings had 12.

Richmond extended a five-point lead with a 19-8 spurt midway through the first half. The Spiders led 49-32 at halftime and by as many as 24 points in the second half.

Kevin Anderson added 14 points for Richmond.

Tywain McKee led the Eagles with 20 points while Jordan Lee contributed 15 and Brian Chestnut added 10.

November 30, 2008 | AP Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Josh Akognon scored 26 points to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 92-84 overtime victory over UNC Charlotte in the seventh-place game of the 76 Classic on Sunday.

Marcio Lassiter added 13 points and Papa Guisse grabbed a career-best 11 rebounds for the Titans (3-4), who broke a three-game losing streak and made a season-high 12 shots from 3-point range.

DiJuan Harris and Ian Andersen each scored 15 points for the 49ers (1-6), who lost their sixth consecutive game and are off to their worst start since the 1984-85 season.

Aaron Thompson made a lay-in to give Fullerton a 77-75 lead with 3:17 left in overtime. Charlie Coley had a chance to tie the score but missed two free throws with 1:31 remaining.

Akognon then converted two free throws and Lassiter made a 3-point shot to extend the Titans’ lead to 82-75 with 54.5 seconds left in overtime.

Fullerton led by as many as 12 points but failed to score in the final 4:02 of regulation, as Charlotte used a 7-0 spree to force a 73-73 tie. An’Juan Wilderness made a follow shot with 49 seconds to play to tie the score.

November 30, 2008 | AP Press

NEW YORK, NY – Kyle Swanston hit five 3-pointers and had 21 points to lead James Madison to a 73-53 victory over Fordham on Sunday, dropping the Rams to 0-5 for the first time in the 106 years of the program.

Dazzmond Thornton had 15 points and Julius Wells added 11 for the Dukes (4-2), who led by at least 15 points over the final 10 minutes of the game with the biggest lead at 22 points.

Chris Bethel had 18 points and freshman Jio Fontan added 16 points and eight assists for the Rams, who shot 17.6 percent from the field (6-of-34) in falling behind 32-15 at halftime. Fordham missed 11 of 12 of its 3-point attempts in the opening half.

Swanston finished 5-of-9 on 3s as the Dukes went 9-for-19 from beyond the arc. Fordham finished at 34.4 percent for the game overall (21-of-61), including 8-for-26 on 3s, in the first meeting between the schools.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Dante Cunningham had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 20 Villanova broke open a close game in the second half to beat Rhode Island 78-65 in the championship game of the Philly Classic on Saturday night.

Corey Fisher added 14 points, Scottie Reynolds scored 13 and Reggie Redding had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (6-0). Antonio Pena also had 10 points.

Jimmy Baron scored 23 points and Keith Cothran added 12 for Rhode Island (5-2), which had its four-game winning streak snapped. The Rams haven’t defeated Villanova since Jan. 25, 1947.

Villanova led by as many as 10 in the first half and had a 40-33 edge at the half. A short jumper by Shane Clark gave the Wildcats a 53-40 lead with 14:20 to go, and a layup by Cunningham pushed the lead to 61-46 with ten minutes on the clock.

Rhode Island got within 63-54, but the Wildcats scored eight unanswered points to push the lead to 71-54 with 4:33 remaining.

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Rob Lowery scored a career-high 21 points Saturday night and Dayton used its depth and quickness to beat No. 15 Marquette 89-75 in the final of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

The Flyers’ 6-0 start is their best since winning the first nine games in 2003-04.

Marquette (5-1) was beaten at its own fast-paced game. The Golden Eagles got a career-high 28 points from Wesley Matthews and 19 points from Dominic James.

The Flyers matched Marquette’s quickness on the perimeter by alternating guards and also got a strong performance on the inside from Chris Wright, who finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, and from freshman Chris Johnson, who had 12 points and 11 boards.

Stephen Thomas converted a three-point play and Johnson tipped in a basket as Dayton expanded a one-point halftime lead to eight early in the second. And the Flyers kept going right at Marquette. Lowery hit a 3-pointer off the dribble and Wright’s flying slam dunk gave Dayton a 54-45 lead with 13:13 to go.

Wright drove for another basket and Johnson converted a three-point play for a 59-46 lead with about 12 minutes to go. When Mickey Perry drove for yet another layup, the Flyers were up by 15 with just under 11 minutes left.

Lowery hit another jumper, just beating the shot clock, to give the Flyers a 71-53 lead with 7:34 to go.

Marquette battled back as James hit two baskets and Matthews scored and then made a pair of free throws after a steal to cut the lead to 10 with 5:33 remaining, a stretch that saw the Flyers miss three straight free throws.

David Cubillan’s 3-pointer with just over five minutes left got the Golden Eagles within eight, but Dayton hung on as London Warren sank a jumper and the Flyers found the touch from the line, making seven straight. They hit 12 of their final 16 free throws.

Lowery, a junior college transfer, had 11 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting. The Flyers led by as many as eight in the opening half and were up 33-32 at the break when Matthews missed a jumper right before the buzzer.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Point guard Rahmon Fletcher sparked an 8-0 run to start the second half as the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay beat Massachusetts 84-67 in a nonconference men?s basketball game on Saturday night.

Troy Cotton led the Phoenix (3-2) with 21 points, one of five players in double figures, and Wisconsin-Green Bay forced the sloppy Minutemen into 29 turnovers.

UMass (1-4) led 33-23 before losing its 3-point shooting touch.

The Phoenix trailed just 39-37 at halftime before Fletcher led a game-turning charge in the first 63 seconds of the second half.

He drove to set up a 3-pointer by Chop Tang, stole the ball and kicked it to Cotton for a fast-break 3-pointer, then had a steal and coast-to-coast layup to give Green Bay a 45-39 lead.

Fletcher later broke the Minutemen’s press for a layup to give the Phoenix a 51-42 lead.

Ricky Harris led UMass with 27 points.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Julius Coles sank a three-point field goal with 5.4 seconds remaining to lift Canisius to a 68-66 victory over St. Bonaventure Saturday night.

Coles scored 10 points for Canisius (2-3). Frank Turner led the Golden Griffins with 15 points. Chris Gadley and Greg Logins scored 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Elton Frazier added 11 points.

St. Bonaventure (3-3) was led by Maurice Thomas, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 5:53 remaining. St. Bonaventure’s Jonathan Hall scored 11 points.

After St. Bonaventure’s Da’Quan Cook made two foul shots with 31.2 seconds left for a 66-61 lead, Turner was fouled on the inbounds play and made one of two free throws. Canisius got the rebound, and Turner hit a 3-pointer with 23.6 seconds to play to make it 66-65.

St. Bonaventure turned the ball over on the resulting possession before Coles’ game-winning shot.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH — Derrick Brown scored a career-high 23 points Saturday, and Xavier (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) overcame cold shooting and the loss of another point guard to stay unbeaten with a 60-53 victory over Miami (Ohio).

The Musketeers improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1996-97, when they won their first 10 games. Like most of their games against Miami, this one took on a slog-it-out pace. Xavier pulled it out even though its two points guards were hurt.

Freshman Terrell Holloway suffered a stress fracture in his left foot during the Musketeers’ three wins at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off last week, culminating in their 63-58 win over Memphis. Dante Jackson appeared to pull a leg muscle in the second half Saturday and left with 6:20 to go.

Kenny Hayes scored 19 points for Miami (2-3), which has played nationally ranked teams in three of its first five games. The RedHawks also lost to UCLA 64-59 and Pittsburgh 82-53.

Miami’s extended man-to-man defense gummed up Xavier’s offense from the outset. The Musketeers missed six of their first seven shots, allowing the RedHawks to pull ahead 10-2. Miami led by as many as 11 in the first half, with Xavier off the mark from everywhere on the court. The Musketeers even missed six of their first seven free throws.

Brown made a 3-pointer and four consecutive free throws, snapping Xavier out of its funk. Brown’s free throw with 1:12 left in the half completed a 13-2 run and tied it at 24, but Michael Bramos’ 35-footer at the buzzer put Miami up 27-24 at intermission.

Last season in Oxford, Bramos made three free throws with 6 seconds left, then blocked a shot that preserved Miami’s 59-57 win. On Saturday, he scored 15 points and fouled out with 2:10 to go.

B.J. Raymond missed his first seven shots from behind the arc before connecting with 7:27 to go, putting the Musketeers ahead to stay at 41-38.

Raymond’s free throw gave Xavier a 48-42 lead with 4:58 left. Back-to-back baskets by Bramos got the lead down to one, but Brown made a pair of free throws in a six-point run that blunted the comeback. Then, Brown made two more that pushed it to 59-49 with 37 seconds to go.

Xavier went only 22-of-38 from the free-throw line and 2-of-12 from behind the 3-point arc.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

AMHERST, N.Y. — Calvin Betts led Buffalo with 18 points as the Bulls rallied for an 83-73 win over Temple Saturday.

Betts lay-up gave the Bulls a 64-62 lead with 4:41 left to play and sparked a late game-clinching 14-4 run for Buffalo.

Betts also had seven rebounds, while Greg Gamble scored 15 points. Max Boudreau scored 9 of his 11 points in the second half comeback.

Andy Robinson — who scored 13 points and grabbed four rebounds — gave Buffalo (3-2) its first lead with a slam dunk with 9:49 left after trailing by as many as 14.

Temple’s (3-2) Dionte Christmas scored a game-high 25 points and had six rebounds and five assists.

Ryan Brooks scored another 13 points for Temple, and center Sergio Olmos, making his first start after being sidelined with an ankle injury, played 27 minutes and scored 12 points.

Temple led 39-33 at halftime. The Owls shot 29-55 for the game, but went just 8-of-22 on three-point attempts.

November 29, 2008 | AP Press

DETROIT, MI – Woody Payne scored a career-best 17 points and made a critical defensive play Saturday to help Detroit beat Saint Louis, 62-57.

Detroit led 60-57 with less than five seconds to play when Payne blocked Kevin Lisch’s 3-pointer to teammate Xavier Keeling, who was fouled and made both free throws to put the game away.

Keeling finished with a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds as Detroit (2-3) won for the second time in as many home games under new coach Ray McCallum.

Tommie Liddell III scored 16 points and Lisch added 14 for the Billikens (2-3), who were outrebounded 31-24.

The Titans used a 13-3 second-half run to take the lead for good. Reserve Eulis Stephens scored all eight of his points in the second half.

Saint Louis trailed 55-44 with two minutes to play but got back into the game after Liddell scored eight straight points in 40 seconds.