Duke holds off Kentucky 75-68

ATLANTA: Seth Curry scored 23 points and No. 9 Duke held off a furious comeback by No. 3 Kentucky, beating the defending national champions 75-68 Tuesday night in the first matchup between the storied programs since 2001.
Duke (2-0) appeared to be in control, even with Mason Plumlee on the bench in foul trouble. The Blue Devils ripped off a 13-3 run, capped by Rasheed Sulaimon’s 3-pointer that made it 58-44 with 9 1/2 minutes remaining.
But Kentucky (1-1) wasn’t done, rallying like the defending champ even though this is essentially a whole new team. The Wildcats outscored Duke 17-6 over the next six minutes and actually had a chance to tie it.
Julius Mays missed a 3-pointer with the Blue Devils clinging to a 64-61 lead.
Curry made sure youthful Kentucky didn’t get any closer. He schooled freshman guard Archie Goodwin on a drive that essentially clinched the win.
UCLA 80 UC Irvine 79, OT: In Los Angeles, Jordan Adams scored 26 points, making all 16 of his free throws, and No. 13 UCLA edged UC Irvine in overtime in regional play of the Legends Classic.
Will Davis II missed two free throws with 2 seconds left in regulation that would have sealed the upset for the Anteaters (1-1), who fell to 10-35 all-time against Pac-12 teams.
Daman Starring tied the game on a 3-pointer and Michael Wilder’s three gave the Anteaters a 79-78 lead with 22 seconds to go in the extra session. But Larry Drew II’s layup with 17 seconds kept the Bruins (2-0) perfect at new Pauley Pavilion.
David Wear added 13 points and nine rebounds, and his twin brother Travis had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bruins. They will host James Madison on Thursday night in their second regional game before moving on to the championship rounds.
Furman 90 Southern Wesleyan 71: In Greenville, S.C. Larry Wideman knocked down a game-high four 3-pointers en route to 18 points and Furman beat Southern Wesleyan.
Colin Reddick posted 16 points and six rebounds while Charlie Reddick and Bryant Irwin tallied 14 points apiece.
Southern Wesleyan jumped ahead 5-4 behind a Kenny Joyner dunk but would not see the lead again as Furman reeled off eight straight to go ahead 12-5.
Furman pushed its lead to 24-9 with 11:36 left in the first half and led 43-30 at halftime.
The Paladins shot 56.7 percent (17 of 30) in the first half.
Southern Wesleyan outscored Furman 36-32 in the paint but the Paladins made 9 of 20 shots from 3-point range and scored 32 points off 20 turnovers.
Richard Gibson led Southern Wesleyan with 16 and Nikola Lambic (12 points, 10 rebounds) recorded a double-double.
Belmont 88 Maryville (Missouri) 49: In Nashville, Tennessee, Ian Clark scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting — including 4 of 4 from beyond the arc — and Belmont took care of business in a romping over Division II Maryville (Missouri).
Both teams were scoreless through the game’s first 2:50 before Clark drained a 3-pointer, sparking a 16-4 run.
Belmont (2-0) outrebounded the Saints 32-25, forced Maryville to a 23 to 9 turnover-to-assist ratio and won the points off turnovers battle 25-8.
Kerron Johnson had 16 points for Belmont, Trevor Noack had 14 and Craig Bradshaw had 11 off the bench.
Maryville (2-0), playing its fourth game in as many nights, shot just 32.6 percent (14 of 43) from the field compared to a robust 56.6 percent (30 of 53) for the Bruins (2-0)
Gerald Shaw led the Saints with 12 points. Maryville counted the game as an exhibition.
Charlotte 66 Georgia Southern 53: In Charlotte, N.C., Chris Braswell came back from a one-game suspension to score 21 points and grab 12 rebounds as Charlotte defeated Georgia Southern.
The 49ers (2-0), who led by three after a back-and-forth first half, held the Eagles scoreless for the first 5:46 of the second half, and built a 50-36 lead with 11:57 remaining.
Charlotte dominated Georgia Southern on the boards 40-19, including 21-8 in the second half.
Braswell, who had 16 points in the first half, and teammate DeMario Mayfield both missed the season opener for violating team rules, but Mayfield’s suspension was for two games.
Pierria Henry added 13 points for the 49ers while JT Thompson, a transfer from Virginia Tech who missed the opener because of an injury, played 15 minutes and chipped in four points.
Eric Ferguson and Cleon Roberts led the Eagles (0-2) with 11 points each, and Ferguson also had 10 rebounds.
California 79 Pepperdine 62: In Berkeley, California, Allan Crabbe scored 24 of his career-high 33 points in the second half, and California overcame another rough rebounding game to beat Pepperdine.
The Golden Bears (2-0) never trailed but didn’t pull away from the pesky Waves until a 14-4 run after halftime in the second meeting ever between the two teams. Crabbe, Cal’s leading scorer and rebounder a year ago, had seven points in that stretch.
Justin Cobbs added 23 points, five assists and five rebounds for the Bears. In both games this season, Crabbe and Cobbs have led Cal in scoring while no other player has reached double figures.
Stacy Davis had 13 points and seven rebounds while Lorne Jackson added 10 points for Pepperdine (0-2).