No. 1 North Carolina pulls away from Portland late, 89-81
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Pete Nance scored 28 points, Caleb Love added 23 and No. 1 North Carolina survived an unexpected test from Portland to beat the Pilots 89-81 in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational. The Tar Heels needed a late 14-3 run to finally pull away from one of the tournament’s host schools. Love carried the Tar Heels in the first half with 16 points. Nance picked up the slack after halftime with 20 points and matched his career high in scoring set last season when he was playing for Northwestern. Moses Wood led Portland with 21 points.
Newton leads No. 20 UConn past Oregon at Phil Knight tourney
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Tristen Newton scored 23 points, leading No. 20 UConn to an 83-59 win over Oregon on Thursday night at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. Jordan Hawkins scored 18 points, Adama Sanogo added 12 and Joey Calcaterra came off the bench to score 11 for the unbeaten Huskies (6-0). Kel’el Ware led the Ducks (2-3) with 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench. N’faly Dante contributed 15 points.
No. 8 Duke holds off challenge from Oregon State 54-51
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Kyle Filipowski had 19 points and 14 rebounds as No. 8 Duke held off a challenge from Oregon State and pulled out a 54-51 win in the opening game of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. Ryan Young added 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench and was the only other Blue Devils (5-1) player to score in double figures. Jordan Pope led the Beavers (3-2) with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dexter Akanno hit two 3-pointers and scored 11 points.
Jones, Boum each score 22, Xavier beats Florida in Portland
PORTLAND (AP) — Colby Jones and Souley Boum each scored 22 points and Xavier beat Florida 90-83 in opening-round play of the Phil Knight Legacy. Xavier was ahead by as many as 11 points in the second half, but its lead was cut to one possession three times down the stretch, the last with 3:14 to play. Xavier was off the mark on a 3-pointer, but grabbed the offensive rebound and Adam Kunkel made a driving layup to start a run of six straight points for an 88-79 lead. Jones was 8 of 12 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and Boum made seven field goals and seven free throws. Xavier shot 56% overall, including 10 of 20 from distance.
No. 5 Iowa State cruises past Michigan State 80-49
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Stephanie Soares matched her season high with 23 points and added 11 rebounds and six blocks as No. 5 Iowa State rolled past Michigan State 80-49 in the semifinals of the Phil Knight Invitational. Emily Ryan added 17 points and eight assists, and the Cyclones cruised despite an off shooting night by leading scorer Ashley Joens, the Big 12 preseason player of the year. Joens was averaging 25.5 points, but managed just eight points. DeeDee Hagemann led Michigan State (6-1) with 14 points and Kamaria McDaniel added 11. The Spartans played without leading scorer Matilda Ekh, who was in her native Sweden due to national team commitments.
No. 8 North Carolina rallies past No. 18 Oregon 85-79
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Eva Hodgson scored 14 of her 21 points during a fourth quarter flurry of shotmaking, and No. 8 North Carolina rallied on multiple occasions in the second half and topped No. 18 Oregon 85-79 in the semifinals of the Phil Knight Invitational. Hodgson scored 10 points in a 90 second span of the fourth quarter after it looked as if the Ducks were about to pull away. Hodgson’s four-point play with 5:12 remaining gave North Carolina a 72-68 lead. Alyssa Ustby added 19 points for North Carolina. Te-Hina Paopao led Oregon with 18 points and Grace VanSlooten added 17 points and 11 rebounds.