Booth helps No. 9 Villanova beat Quinnipiac 86-53
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Brandon Clarke had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots as No. 3 Gonzaga beat Texas Southern 104-67 on Saturday night.
Josh Perkins added 19 points and 11 assists for Gonzaga (2-0), which had little trouble handling the Tigers. Rui Hachimura added 17 points in 20 minutes after battling foul trouble for most of the first half.
Trayvon Reed had 14 points and 16 rebounds for Texas Southern (1-1).
The Tigers kept the game close early, but lost control toward the end of the first half.
Clarke's defense threw the Tiger offense out of rhythm and Gonzaga used a 16-3 in the second quarter to build a 46-24 halftime lead.
No. 9 VILLANOVA 86, QUINNIPIAC 53
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phil Booth scored a career-high 23 points, and Villanova routed Quinnipiac.
Booth made three of Villanova's 12 3-pointers. The Wildcats (2-0) shot 47.1 percent (32 for 68) from the floor.
Villanova led by as many as 37. The Wildcats (2-0) outrebounded the Bobcats 50-29, including 20 offensive rebounds that led to 26 second-chance points.
Collin Gillespie went 4 for 6 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points at the Wells Fargo Center. Senior forward Eric Paschall had 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, added eight rebounds and three assists.
Quinnipiac (0-1), coached by former Villanova assistant Baker Dunleavy, made just 34 percent of its shots. Cameron Young scored 18 points for the Bobcats.
NO. 16 SYRACUSE 84, MOREHEAD STATE 70
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Tyus Battle scored 23 points and Elijah Hughes had 21, leading Syracuse to the victory.
Oshae Brissett added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Syracuse (2-0), which opened the season with a 66-34 victory over Eastern Washington on Tuesday night. Paschal Chukwu also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Next up for the Orange is a matchup with former Big East rival Connecticut on Thursday night.
Jordan Walker led Morehead State (1-2) with 24 points, including 19 in the second half. Lamontray Harris had 14 and Malek Green finished with 12.
NO. 19 MICHIGAN 56, HOLY CROSS 37
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Charles Matthews scored 20 points and Ignas Brazdeikis added 19, helping Michigan to the win.
Brazdeikis scored 15 in the first 4:49 of the second half as part of a 32-8 run that gave Michigan a commanding lead.
Reserve forward Connor Niego scored 13 points for Holy Cross (1-1), all on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half, including 3 for 3 on 3-pointers. He did not score in the second half, missing two shots.
Jacob Grandison scored 12 points for the Crusaders, who led by as many as nine points in the first half and six at halftime.
NO. 24 PURDUE 84, BALL STATE 75
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Carsen Edwards scored 23 points on 8-for-22 shooting, and Purdue pulled away for the victory.
Edwards struggled with his shooting stroke at times, but managed to contribute in a variety of ways. The junior guard also had five rebounds, five assists and blocked a shot.
Matt Haarms had 16 points for Purdue (2-0) despite batting foul trouble. Evan Boudreaux added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Nojel Eastern finished with 12 points and nine boards.
Tayler Persons led Ball State with 19 points and eight rebounds. But he was shut down after Purdue coach Matt Painter put Eastern on him in the second half.
The Cardinals (1-1) also got 13 points from K.J. Walton.