Associated Press
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Casey Prather did what seniors are supposed to do — lead their team in a tough spot.
Prather scored 22 points, including Florida’s last eight of the game, and the 16th-ranked Gators beat No. 15 Memphis 77-75 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
“I was just trying to be smart on offense and be aggressive,” he said. “The ball just happened to find me. It could have been any of my teammates.”
Prather made two free throws with 27 seconds left to give Florida (8-2) a 77-73 lead. Shaq Goodwin made two free throws with 19 seconds left to bring Memphis (7-2) to 77-75.
Florida’s Scottie Wilbekin missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 17 seconds left giving the Tigers a chance for the tie or win.
After calling a timeout with 10.8 seconds to go, Memphis’ Joe Jackson drove to the basket but his shot was partially blocked and the clock ran out when the ball was hit by Dorian Finney-Smith toward midcourt.
It was quite a different ending on an end-game situation for the Gators from their game against Connecticut when a miss was back-tapped and Shabazz Napier of the Huskies hit a jumper at the buzzer for a 65-64 win.
“The UConn game ended on a fluky play when the ball got tipped,” Gators coach Billy Donovan. “We punched it out to not give them another opportunity.”
Finney-Smith added 14 points for the Gators and Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II both had 11.
Jackson had 17 points for Memphis, which had a six-game winning streak snapped, while Geron Johnson had 13 and Chris Crawford and David Pellom both had 12.
Jackson said the final play was designed to give him some options.
“I was going to make something happen,” he said. “I was going to find someone, shoot or get fouled. Unfortunately it just didn’t go in tonight. I knew I was going to get by him but the paint clogged up quick. They’re long and quick.”
Both teams had good shooting games despite solid defense from both teams.
Florida shot 51.9 percent from the field (28 of 54), including 7 of 16 from 3-point range, while Memphis shot 47.4 percent (27 of 57) and was 6 of 18 from beyond the arc.
Florida was able to give itself some breathing room in the second half with an 11-3 run that gave the Gators a 69-61 lead with 5:55 to go. Freshman Kasey Hill had five of the points.
The Tigers got back in a hurry with a drive by Jackson and a 3 by Crawford that made it 69-66 with 4:08 to play.
The Gators’ two losses were to No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 10 Connecticut, both on the road. They beat No. 18 Kansas 67-61 last Tuesday at home, a game in which they forced 24 turnovers.
“These games have helped us get better,” Donovan said. “I think every game is an opportunity to learn and grow and get better. It’s still very early in the season.”
The Tigers split two games with No. 7 Oklahoma State, losing 101-80 at Stillwater and winning 73-68 in the Old Spice Classic championship game.
“This was a high level game. It felt like a Sweet 16 game,” Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. “All you can ask for is to have the ball in your hand to tie or win the game and that’s what we had and it didn’t go our way but give Florida credit. We’ll grow from this and get better.”
It was the second time the schools met with Florida winning 84-83 on Dec. 18, 1976, at St. Petersburg, Fla.
No. 5 MICHIGAN STATE 78, NORTH FLORIDA 48
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Adreian Payne scored 15 of his 19 points in the first half and fifth-ranked Michigan State rolled to a victory over North Florida on Tuesday.
Branden Dawson added 12 points and Denzel Valentine scored 11 for the Spartans, who were ranked No. 1 in the country before a loss to North Carolina on Dec. 4. Michigan State (9-1) narrowly avoided an upset against Oakland last weekend before routing an overmatched North Florida team.
Jalen Nesbitt scored 11 points for the Ospreys (5-7), who have also lost big to Ohio State and Indiana this season.
Michigan State led 50-19 at halftime after shooting 71 percent and holding North Florida (5-7) to 7 of 32 from the field.
NO. 6 LOUISVILLE 90, MISSOURI STATE 60
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Montrezl Harrell had 17 points and eight rebounds, and No. 6 Louisville manhandled Missouri State.
The Cardinals (10-1) took control early and never let up against the Bears (8-2). They combined dominant rebounding and offensive accuracy during a 15-0 first-half run for a 19-4 lead in the first meeting between the schools since 2006.
Harrell was among four Cardinals with at least eight rebounds each, a combination that alone outdid MSU in Louisville’s 51-30 domination of the boards.
Senior guard Russ Smith added 11 points and eight assists, while freshman Terry Rozier had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Jarmar Gulley’s 14 points led the Bears.
NO. 7 OKLAHOMA STATE 75, DELAWARE STATE 43
STILLWATER, Okla. — Le’Bryan Nash had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead No. 7 Oklahoma State to a win over Delaware State.
Markel Brown added 14 points for the Cowboys (10-1), Stevie Clark had nine points, and Marcus Smart and Michael Cobbins finished with eight apiece.
Kendall Gray led the Hornets (2-9) with 12 points and eight rebounds. Kendal Williams added 11.
Oklahoma State led 30-16 at halftime and went on an 18-2 to start the second half to pull away from Delaware State, which fell to 0-9 against Big 12 Conference opponents.
NO. 11 WICHITA STATE 72, ALABAMA 67
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Cleanthony Early scored 26 points and Fred VanVleet made two free throws with 11 seconds left to lift No. 11 Wichita State to a victory over Alabama.
Early scored nine straight points for Wichita State (11-0) during one late stretch and the Shockers extended the program’s best start, answering every time the Crimson Tide (5-5) threatened to overtake them.
Early made 7 of 11 from the field and hit all 11 free throw attempts. The Shockers were 25 of 27 from the line.
VanVleet and Tekele Cotton each had 11 points for Wichita State, which outrebounded Alabama 38-26.
Releford led Alabama with 22 points after missing the Charleston Southern game with a hip injury.
NO. 13 OREGON 91, UC IRVINE 63
EUGENE, Ore. — Joseph Young scored 18 points, Mike Moser added 15 and No. 13 Oregon improved to 10-0 for the first time since 2006-07 with a victory over UC Irvine.
Will Davis II had 20 points for the Anteaters (6-6) and Luke Nelson added 13 points, five rebounds and six assists.
The Ducks started the 2006-07 season 13-0 and went on to win the Pac-10 and advance to the Elite Eight.
Young entered the game leading the Ducks with 19.4 points per game. He and Moser are among seven transfers on Oregon’s roster.
Chris McNealy scored 14 points for UC Irvine