Labaron Philon Jr. produced another strong performance with 25 points, as No. 15 Alabama took control late in the first half and withstood a comeback attempt by No. 5 St. John’s in an impressive 103-96 victory in New York Saturday afternoon.
Philon made 10 of 17 shots and had help from two players returning from injury. Aden Holloway added 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting after sitting out the season opener with a wrist injury, and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. finished with 17 after also missing the season opener with a finger injury.
Zuby Ejiofor scored 20 of his 27 points in the first half, but the Red Storm (1-1) had a 12-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden stopped. St John’s went on a 17-6 run, and Joson Sanon’s corner three-pointer put the team ahead 81-80 with 8:13 left.
However, the Crimson Tide (2-0) were able to regain the lead and effectively iced the game with a 9-0 run to take a 100-88 lead with 1:44 left.
No. 2 Houston 65, Towson 48
Kingston Flemings had 20 points and Chris Cenac Jr. finished with 13 rebounds as the Cougars beat the visiting Tigers.
Houston (2-0) held off Towson after allowing a 14-point first-half lead to slip down to three in the second half. Flemings made 8 of 10 from the field for the Cougars, who struggled offensively, making only 26 of 62 (41.9%) shots collectively and 8 of 32 from 3-point range. Joseph Tugler added 15 points and eight rebounds, and Milos Uzan finished with 11 points and six assists.
Towson (1-1) was led by Jack Doumbia Jr.’s 16 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Tejada had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Dylan Williamson finished with 13 points. The Tigers committed 18 turnovers that led to 22 points for Houston.
No. 6 Duke 95, Western Carolina 54
Cameron Boozer poured in 25 points as the Blue Devils rolled in their home opener against the Catamounts in Durham, N.C.
Twin brother Cayden Boozer came off the bench for 14 points, while Patrick Ngongba II and reserve Maliq Brown both scored 10 points for the Blue Devils (2-0), who won their 44th consecutive home opener. Duke opened up a 25-6 run less than 11 minutes into the game thanks to a 17-0 run.
Julien Soumaoro’s 14 points led Western Carolina (0-2), which committed 14 turnovers and shot 4-for-26 on 3-point attempts. Marcus Kell had 11 points and Abdulai Fanta Kabba added 10.
No. 8 BYU 98, Holy Cross 53
The Cougars shot 61.9% from the field, including 7-of-10 performances by AJ Dybantsa, Robert Wright III and Richie Saunders, in a runaway victory over the Crusaders in their home opener at Provo, Utah.
BYU (2-0) outscored Holy Cross 62-28 in the paint, making 84.2% of its shots inside the arc. Saunders finished with a game-high 20 points, Dybantsa had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Wright finished with 15 points.
Holy Cross (0-2) was led by Tyler Boston’s 12 points. It trailed by over 30 points for the entirety of the second half.
No. 22 Michigan State 69, No. 14 Arkansas 66
Freshman Cameron Ward had 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench as the Spartans held off the Razorbacks in East Lansing, Mich.
Coen Carr supplied 15 points and seven rebounds for Michigan State, while Jaxon Kohler added 10 points with seven rebounds.
Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas had 16 points apiece for Arkansas. D.J. Wagner tossed in 13 points.
No. 18 Tennessee 95, Northern Kentucky 56
Freshman Nate Ament scored a game-high 23 points to help lead the Volunteers to an easy victory over the visiting Norse.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 20 points, while J.P. Estrella chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee (2-0), which shot 52.3% (34-for-65) from the field and outrebounded Northern Kentucky 47-25. Felix Okpara matched Estrella with a game-high 11 rebounds in the win. The Volunteers finished the game on a 14-0 run.
Kael Robinson and Donovan Oday led the Norse (1-1) with 14 points each, while Dan Gherezgher added nine points for Northern Kentucky, which made just nine of its 30 (30%) 3-point attempts and shot just 38.5% (5-for-13) from the free throw line.
No. 21 Gonzaga 83, Oklahoma 68
Graham Ike logged a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double and the Bulldogs led by double figures for the final 27:29 of their win over the Sooners in Spokane, Wash.
Tyon Grant-Foster came off the bench to add 14 points for Gonzaga (2-0), which punched the ball inside at will to create a 58-20 advantage in points in the paint. Braden Huff scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while reserve Jalen Warley contributed 13 points.
Xzayvier Brown paced Oklahoma (1-1) with 21 points but also committed five of its 16 turnovers. Nijel Pack added 18 points and Derrion Reid scored 11 for Oklahoma but the team couldn’t consistently hit shots. The Sooners made only 23 of 58 from the field (39.7%) and were 6 of 26 on 3-pointers (23.1%).
