Boilermakers rally for victory in Maui

NO. 2 PURDUE 73, NO. 11 GONZAGA 63 HONOLULU — Zach Edey scored 15 of his game-high 25 points in the first half and No. 2 Purdue rallied to a beat No. 11 Gonzaga 73-63 in a Maui Invitational quarterfinal game on Monday. The Boilermakers (4-0) trailed by as many as nine points late in the first half, but outscored the Bulldogs (2-1) 4328 in the second half to remain unbeaten. “The start of the second half was key for us, getting some transition baskets, getting some steals, I thought we had some active hands at that time and I think that kind of set the tone for us in the second half. The other difference, I thought, was their inability to make 3s in the second half,” Boilermakers Coach Matt Painter said. Edey, a 7-4 senior center, shot 8 for 16 from the floor and made 9 of 10 shots from the free throw line. He also grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked three shots in 33 minutes. Lance Jones and Braden Smith added 13 points apiece for Purdue, which shot 54.5% from the field (18 of 33) in the second half. Smith also notched five steals. Graham Ike led Gonzaga with 14 points and seven rebounds. Ryan Nembhard had 11 points, six assists and three steals, and Nolan Hickman added 11 points and three steals. The Bulldogs were 26-for-69 shooting (37.7%) from the field. Purdue dominated Gonzaga in points in the paint, 44-30. In other men’s Top 25 games Monday, Alex Karaban scored 20 points, including three clutch jumpers down the stretch, and No. 5 UConn turned back No. 15 Texas 81-71 to win the Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden. Cam Spencer had 16 points and Samson Johnson set career highs with 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the defending national champion Huskies (5-0), who have won 22 consecutive nonconference games — all by double digits. … Dalton Knecht scored 17 points to lead No. 7 Tennessee past Syracuse 73-56 in the Maui Invitational. Josiah-Jordan James had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Aidoo had 14 points and 11 boards for the Volunteers (4-0), who shot 50% from the floor in the second half to pull away. Knecht had 15 points by halftime and missed part of the second half with an apparent left leg injury. He returned in the closing minutes. … Tre Mitchell scored nine of his season-high 22 points in overtime as No. 16 Kentucky got past Saint Joseph’s 96-88. Mitchelll hit backto-back three-pointers to open Kentucky’s scoring in overtime, and the Wildcats outscored the Hawks 19-11 in the extra period. D.J. Wagner had a career-best 22 points for the Wildcats (4-1). … Steven Crowl had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Wisconsin beat No. 24 Virginia 65-41 in the Fort Myers (Fla.) Tip-Off. John Blackwell added 10 points for the Badgers (3-2), who had 30 points inside against Virginia’s vaunted defense. Reece Beekman had 17 points to lead the Cavaliers (4-1), who just entered the AP Top 25 earlier Monday for what may be a short stay.