No. 4 Kentucky cruises past unranked Rider
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The Associated Press - Published: November 22, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Freshman John Wall had 21 points and 11 assists as No. 4 Kentucky dominated Rider 92-63 on Saturday in the Cancun Challenge.
Patrick Patterson added 19 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for the Wildcats (4-0). The team hardly looked like the one coach John Calipari called the "worst" defensive team he's seen in 20 years after wins over Miami (Ohio) and Sam Houston State earlier in the week.
Kentucky held Rider (2-2) to 31 percent shooting, blocked 10 shots and forced the Broncs into 20 turnovers.
Ryan Thompson led Rider with 16 points, but the Broncs couldn't find the shooting stroke that helped them win at Mississippi State last week. Rider made just 4-of-17 3-pointers and was never really in it after Wall took over midway through the first half.
No. 9 Duke 104, Radford 67
DURHAM, N.C. — Freshman Andre Dawkins scored a season-high 20 points and Duke matched a school record with 18 3-pointers in a romp against Radford.
Nolan Smith added 20 points and Jon Scheyer had 18 for the Blue Devils (4-0). They overwhelmed Radford during a first half in which they shot 50 percent, matched the school record with 13 3s in a half and put this one away with a huge run.
After that, the only question was whether they'd launch enough 3s to reach the school record set in 2000 and matched against Monmouth in the first round of the 2001 NCAA tournament. They finished 18 for 32 from long range and shot 48.6 percent overall.
Artsiom Parakhouski had 23 points and 14 rebounds in his third straight 20-point game for the Highlanders (2-1).
Virginia Commonwealth 82, No. 17 Oklahoma 69
RICHMOND, Va. — Jay Gavin scored 20 points, Larry Sanders 17 and Virginia Commonwealth never trailed in an upset of Oklahoma on Saturday night.
The victory spoiled the return of Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel, who used to coach the Rams.
Leading by one early on, the Rams (2-1) used a 20-8 spurt to take control of the game. VCU hit six straight 3-pointers during the run, including two by Gavin.
Oklahoma cut its deficit to 31-22 with 8:08 left before going without a field goal for just over 6 minutes. VCU extended its advantage to 40-23 with 4:35 left on two free throws by T.J. Gwynn.
The Sooners cut the lead to 10 at the half, but could get no closer in the second half.
Tony Crocker led the Sooners with 19 points and Tiny Gallon added 15.
No. 19 Georgetown 63,
Savannah State 44
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Jason Clark scored a career-high 14 points and four Hoyas were in double figures as Georgetown rolled to a victory against overmatched Savannah State.
Greg Monroe added 13 points for Georgetown (3-0), Austin Freeman had 12 and Chris Wright 11 in a game that gave the Hoyas a much-needed breather after they squeaked past Temple 46-45 on Tuesday.
Darius Baugh scored 10 points to lead Savannah State (2-2), which hit only 13 of 48 field goal attempts.
No. 20 Louisville 69,
East Tennessee State 56
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Edgar Sosa scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half and Louisville beat East Tennessee State.
The Cardinals won despite shooting just 36.4 percent, including just 6 of 30 from beyond the 3-point line. Louisville used an 18-0 run in the first half to turn a three-point deficit into a 25-10 lead.
Sosa was one of the few Louisville players to shoot well in the first half. He only missed one of his five shots, including hitting three 3-pointers. The rest of the Cardinals were just 8-for-26 before the break.
Samardo Samuels added 14 points and 11 rebounds for Louisville (2-0).
Justin Tubbs led the Buccaneers (1-3) with 18 points.
No. 23 Illinois 94,
Presbyterian 48
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Freshman D.J. Richardson scored 15 points, hitting four 3-pointers, to help Illinois overcome a sluggish start and beat Presbyterian in the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Illini's offense stalled early on against the Blue Hose's zone defense. With the game tied at 21, Illinois (3-0) closed the half with a 20-7 run to take a 13-point halftime lead.
After turning the ball over eight times in the first half, the Illini surrendered the ball only once during the second half.
The game marked the first meeting between the two teams. All 13 Illini scored at least two points.
Jake Troyli led Presbyterian (0-3) with 15 points.
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