PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Sam Dekker scored 17 points, Nigel Hayes’ acrobatic tip-in with 20 seconds left capped his 15-point day, and No. 2 Wisconsin needed to rally in the second half to beat Georgetown 68-65 on Thursday in the
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Sam Dekker scored 17 points, Nigel Hayes’ acrobatic tip-in with 20 seconds left capped his 15-point day, and No. 2 Wisconsin needed to rally in the second half to beat Georgetown 68-65 on Thursday in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals.
The Badgers hadn’t trailed in the second half this season, but found themselves down 53-44 with 11:36 left. A 22-6 run put Wisconsin (5-0) up for good, and the Badgers could finally exhale when D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera’s 3-pointer rimmed out as time expired.
Smith-Rivera, who was 5 for 5 from beyond the arc until the game’s final shot, led all scorers with 29 for Georgetown (4-1).
Wisconsin will face Oklahoma in Friday’s title game. Georgetown, which got 10 points from Joshua Smith, will play Butler in an all-Big East matchup for third place.
Bronson Koenig tied a career best with 14 points for Wisconsin, which survived despite a six-point, 1-for-8 shooting day from standout center Frank Kaminsky.
NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 78, NO. 22 UCLA 56
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Marcus Paige had 21 points and five assists, Justin Jackson scored 12 points and North Carolina beat UCLA in the Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round.
Isaiah Hicks and J.P. Tokoto each scored 10 points for the Tar Heels (4-1), who closed the first half on a 32-11 run and put the game absolutely away with a 15-0 second-half run.
Paige had back-to-back 3-pointers to get that second run going, as North Carolina turned a nine-point edge into a 62-38 lead with 9:12 left. The Tar Heels will play No. 18 Florida on Friday in the fifth-place game.
Norman Powell had 15 points for UCLA (4-2).
NO. 18 FLORIDA 56, UAB 47
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — Michael Frazier scored 14 points, Chris Chiozza added 13 and Florida survived another rough offensive night to beat Alabama-Birmingham in the Battle 4 Atlantis consolation round.
Kasey Hill’s layup with 1:26 left — just the second 2-point basket after halftime for Florida — put the Gators (3-2) up 51-47 and they held on from there, despite shooting 34 percent from the field.
Tosin Mehinti and Robert Brown each scored 12 points for UAB (2-4).
NO. 11 KANSAS 76, RHODE ISLAND 60
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Perry Ellis scored 17 points to help Kansas beat Rhode Island in the opening round of the Orlando Classic.
Ellis had 11 points in the opening 20 minutes to help Kansas cruise to a 43-25 halftime lead.
Frank Mason III added 12 points for Kansas (3-1), which has a pair of victories since a 72-40 loss to No. 1 Kentucky on Nov. 18. E.C. Matthews scored 20 points for Rhode Island (3-1), which was coming off a 66-62 overtime victory over then-No. 21 Nebraska on Saturday. Gilvydas Biruta had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Kansas will face Tennessee in the semifinals Friday. Tennessee beat Santa Clara 64-57.
NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 77, RIDER 45
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Denzel Valentine had a career-high 19 points, Bryn Forbes added 15 and Michigan State rolled part Rider in the first round of the Orlando Classic.
Valentine hit two long-range jumpers and Forbes added a third that extended the Spartans’ advantage to 43-15 3 minutes into the second half. Another 3-pointer by Valentine made it 76-41 with 4 minutes left.
Travis Trice had eight of his 10 points to help Michigan State (4-1) go up 32-11 at the half.
Matt Lopez scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half for Rider (2-3).
