Caleb Grill, Iowa State topples No. 1 North Carolina 70-65
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Caleb Grill hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points and Iowa State rallied in the final five minutes to stun No. 1 North Carolina 70-65 on Friday in the semifinals of the Phil Knight Invitational. Iowa State (5-0) picked up just its third win over a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The Cyclones are 3-22 against No. 1 teams, with the other wins coming against Kansas in 1957 and Oklahoma in 2016. The Cyclones can now add North Carolina (5-1) to the list. Jaren Holmes added 22 points and the Cyclones. RJ Davis led North Carolina with 15 points, Armando Bacot added 14 and Caleb Love scored 12.
Big 1st half leads No. 6 Gonzaga past Portland State, 102-78
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Malachi Smith led six players in double figures with a season-high 23 points, and No. 6 Gonzaga used a big first half to cruise past Portland State 102-78 in the opening round of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. The Bulldogs led by as many as 27 in the first half, led 55-31 at halftime and withstood a sloppy second half. Smith was the Southern Conference player of the year last season at Chattanooga, but had yet to have a big scoring game in his debut with the Zags. That finally happened against the Vikings. Jorell Saterfield led Portland State with 21 points and Cameron Parker added 16.
No. 8 Duke locks down late, holds off Xavier 71-64
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jeremy Roach scored a season-high 21 points, Mark Mitchell added 16 and No. 8 Duke withstood Xavier’s second-half comeback for a 71-64 win in the semifinals of the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. The Blue Devils advanced to the championship game thanks to the play of their standout guard and another strong defensive effort. Roach came one point shy of matching his career high, and the Blue Devils rebounded after an unexpectedly tight victory over Oregon State in the opening round of the event. Xavier was held to two points over the final five minutes. Souley Boum scored 23 points for the Musketeers.
Portland beats Villanova 83-71 in Phil Knight Invitational
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Moses Wood scored 16 points and Portland beat Villanova 83-71 in the Phil Knight Invitational. Villanova (2-4) has lost three straight games, including an overtime loss to Iowa State on Thursday to drop below .500 for the first time since March 7, 2012. Vasilije Vucinic’s layup with 4:16 remaining in the first half gave Portland the lead for good. The Pilots had an eight-point lead at halftime and scored the first 10 points of the second half. Caleb Daniels finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats.