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Towns, Timberwolves hold off Wembanyama, Spurs 117-110 in tournament opener for fifth straight win

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves with impressed with Victor Wembanyama, which made their victory that much more satisfying.Karl-Anthony Towns had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the Timberwolves overcame 29 points from the rookie sensation to hold off the San Antonio Spurs 117-110 on Friday night in their In-Season Tournament opener.Anthony Edwards added 28 points and Rudy Gobert had 11 points and 10 rebounds as Minnesota won its fifth straight.Wembanyama was 12 for 21 from the field and 3 for 7 on 3-pointers. The No. 1 pick, who was coming off a difficult debut at Madison Square Garden in a loss to New York on Wednesday, added nine rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.“Defensively, I think our guys were a little too aware of him,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “That’s one thing we talked about at halftime. Just go, run our offense. Just be normal. I think guys were just considering him a little too much. If he blocks a shot, he blocks a shot, but we can’t s...

Giants add former star Matt Williams to new manager Bob Melvin’s coaching staff

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Williams is returning to the San Francisco Giants as the third-base coach on new manager Bob Melvin’s staff.The team announced its coaching staff Friday. Williams spent the first 10 of his 17 major league seasons as an infielder with San Francisco, making four All-Star teams while winning three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards. He managed the Washington Nationals to a 179-145 record over the 2014-15 seasons.He won NL Manager of the Year honors in his first season as the Nationals won 96 games and the NL East before losing in the Division Series.“First off, he’s a fantastic baseball coach. But it means a great deal to me to bring him home,” Melvin said in a text message to The Associated Press. “He’s a Giant and our fans and players know that as well.”Melvin was named manager last month to replace the fired Gabe Kapler after the Giants missed the playoffs for a second straight year since winning a franchise-record 107 games and t...

Bittle propels Oregon to 75-61 victory over Montana

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Nate Bittle scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures and Oregon pulled away in the second half to beat Montana 75-61 in the Ducks’ home opener on Friday night.Bittle made half of his 14 shots with two 3-pointers for Oregon (2-0). He added eight rebounds and blocked four shots, helping the Ducks pull away from a 37-all tie at halftime. Brennan Rigsby hit three 3-pointers and scored 12. Keeshawn Barthelemy, Jermaine Couisnard and reserve Kario Oquendo all scored 11.Aanen Moody topped Montana (1-1) with 17 points. Freshman Money Williams came off the bench to score 13 and grab six rebounds. Dischon Thomas pitched in with 11 points and six boards.Jadrian Tracey’s layup gave Oregon a 52-50 lead with 12:07 remaining in the game and the Ducks never trailed again.Oregon shot 41.3% from the floor, including 7 of 23 from 3-point range. The Ducks made only 16 of 28 foul shots. The Grizzlies shot 37.9% from the floor, missed 15 of 20 shots from bey...

No. 18 Texas uses 3-pointers to pull away and beat Delaware State 86-59

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Max Abmas scored 19 points, Ithiel Horton added 18 and No. 18 Texas used a flurry of 3-pointers to pull away for an 86-59 victory over Delaware State on Friday night.The Longhorns (2-0) made seven 3-pointers in the second half, finishing the game 12 for 22.Some of those long-distance shots keyed a 27-2 push for Texas after the Longhorns led by just seven midway through the second half.Horton, who transferred this season from Central Florida, was 5 of 6 from behind the arc. He is 8 of 13 in two games as a Longhorn.Abmas made 4 of 8 3-pointers.Dillon Mitchell had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Texas.Jevin Muniz scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half for Delaware State (0-2). Brandon Stone added 14 for the Hornets.Texas struggled early in the game against Delaware State’s aggressive zone defense, committing eight turnovers in the first eight minutes, primarily with poor passing.The Longhorns then became more careful, losing the ball just four times the ...

Braden Huff scores 19 in college debut as No. 11 Gonzaga pulls away for 86-71 win over Yale

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Braden Huff scored a 19 points off the bench in his collegiate debut, helping No. 11 Gonzaga pull away from Yale for an 86-71 win on Friday night.The redshirt freshman forward sparked a big first-half run by the Zags, who fell behind by 10 points early. Huff made 7 of 10 shots and grabbed nine rebounds.Ryan Nembhard added 16 points and seven assists for Gonzaga (1-0) in his debut after transferring from Creighton and following in the footsteps of his brother, Andrew, who played for the Zags. Nolan Hickman added 15 points and the frontcourt combo of Anton Watson and Graham Ike scored 11 apiece.John Poulakidas led Yale (1-1) with 18 points. August Mahoney added 12 points despite shooting 2 of 11 from the field. Bez Mbeng added 10 points. Huff checked into the game with the Zags trailing 16-6 and promptly sparked a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. He scored 10 points in seven minutes in the first half and helped the Zags build a 47-42 lead at the...

Dallin Hall rallies BYU to victory over No. 17 San Diego State

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Dallin Hall scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to lead BYU to a 74-65 victory over No. 17 San Diego State on Friday night.Jaxson Robinson, Richie Saunders and Fousseyni Traore each finished with 12 points for the Cougars and Traore grabbed a team-high eight rebounds as BYU earned just its fifth victory over an AP Top 25 opponent in coach Mark Pope’s tenure.Jaedon LeDee led San Diego State with 21 points and seven rebounds and Reese Waters chipped in 15 points.Hall and Trevin Knell combined for three 3-pointers to fuel a 9-0 run that gave BYU a 57-50 lead with 5:30 left.Micah Parrish cut the deficit to two on back-to-back baskets, but the Aztecs were unable to draw closer. Hall made a pair of free throws and followed with a pair of baskets to help boost BYU’s lead to 66-57 with 2:34 remaining.The Cougars missed 13 of their first 17 shots as they struggled to create a consistent rhythm against a stifling Aztec defense. Once Robinson got going, however, Sa...

Dalton Knecht scores 24 points to lead No. 9 Tennessee to 80-70 victory at Wisconsin

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Dalton Knecht scored 24 points to continue his smooth transition to high-major basketball as No. 9 Tennessee defeated Wisconsin 80-70 on Friday night.Knecht led the Big Sky Conference with 20.2 points per game last season. The transfer from Northern Colorado averaged a team-best 16.3 points during Tennessee’s three-game exhibition tour of Italy this summer and had 17 points in his Volunteers debut Monday, an 80-42 blowout of Tennessee Tech.A fifth-year guard, the 6-foot-6 Knecht shot 8 of 15 from the floor and 7 for 9 on free throws Friday.Josiah-Jordan James scored 14 points, while Jonas Aidoo and Jordan Gainey each added 10 for Tennessee (2-0). AJ Storr scored 17, Steven Crowl 14, Chucky Hepburn 13 and Tyler Wahl 10 for Wisconsin (1-1).Tennessee had a 43-35 lead at the break after shooting 15 of 27 over the first 20 minutes and closing the first half on a 12-4 run. Wisconsin continually crept closer in the second half, but Tennessee answered every time.After W...

Colorado gets even, beating Grambling 95-63 after last year’s defeat

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Tristan da Silva scored 21 points and Jvonne Hadley scored 17 points and Colorado avenged last year’s loss to Grambling, belting the Tigers 95-63 on Friday night.Last year, Grambling never trailed and beat Colorado 83-74 in Louisiana for its first win against a Power Five opponent since 2017. On Friday, Colorado turned the tables, leading from start to finish in building a 22-7 advantage. The Buffaloes (2-0) led 50-20 at halftime.Reserve Julian Hammond III scored 17 points for Colorado, KJ Simpson 12 and Eddie Lampkin Jr. and Luke O’Brien 10 apiece. The Buffaloes finished shooting 35 of 63 (55.6%) including 10 of 23 (43.5%) from 3-point range.Tra’Michael Moton scored 26 points for Grambling (1-1) and reserve Terrence Lewis 13.UP NEXTColorado hosts Milwaukee on Tuesday.___ Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here ___ AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll an...

White’s 18 points lead Temple past Navy 75-68

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Jahlil White’s 18 points helped Temple defeat Navy 75-68 on Friday night.White also added 10 rebounds for the Owls (2-0). Hysier Miller scored 18 points while going 6 of 15 from the floor, including 3 for 9 from 3-point range, and 3 for 7 from the line, and added five rebounds and five steals. Matteo Picarelli was 4 of 12 shooting, including 4 for 10 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the line to finish with 17 points.Austin Benigni finished with 13 points for the Midshipmen (0-2). Donovan Draper added nine points, 12 rebounds and four steals for Navy. Kam Summers also had nine points.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

McCaffery scores 22, Sandfort adds 17 and 12 rebounds as Iowa beats Alabama State 98-67

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:55:47 GMT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Patrick McCaffery scored 22 points and Payton Sandfort added 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Iowa beat Alabama State 98-67 Friday night. Sandfort made three 3-pointers — including a four-point play — and scored 12 points in the final 2:32 of the first half as the Hawkeyes used a 9-0 run over the last 90 seconds to take a 49-37 lead into intermission. Alabama State trailed by double figures the rest of the way. Alabama State guard CJ Hines made two free throws to open the second-half scoring but Iowa scored 17 of the next 21 points to take control for good. The Hawkeyes (2-0) had 27 assists on 33 made field goals and scored 20 points off 16 Alabama State turnovers. Antonio ‘TJ’ Madlock scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half for the Hornets (0-2). Hines finished with 15 points and five assists and Jasteven Walker added 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Hines converted a three-point play that capped a 13-4 run and gave Alabama State its first lead...