Morgan helps Indiana get by Notre Dame in overtime
INDIANAPOLIS » Indiana forward Juwan Morgan spent all week preparing for a showdown with Notre Dame star Bonzie Colson.
Turns out, all Morgan needed was one frantic flurry to take down the preseason All-American.
Morgan scored the final eight points in regulation and eight more in overtime, including a go-ahead dunk with 8.6 seconds left, and Indiana rallied past No. 18 Notre Dame 80-77 Saturday.
“From the time I knew we were going to play Notre Dame, I knew he was going to come in here and put up a great fight,” Morgan said. “Then all the coaches were telling me this week, ‘It’s like going to be your job. You’ve got to take the challenge and do something with it.”’
Morgan responded with the best game of his career. The junior went 13 of 17 from the field, grabbed 11 rebounds and scored a career-high 34 points by making one play after another over the frantic final 8½ minutes.
Notre Dame (8-3) never found an answer. Colson nearly forced a second overtime on a half-court heave, but it rimmed out.
“I think what he (Morgan) is figuring out is the more he gets down there and gets to the foul line and he’s offensive rebounding, the better he plays,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said. “Even today, I wish he would have taken one 3-pointer.”
Morgan’s performance lifted Miller to the biggest win of his first season with the Hoosiers (6-5) in his first appearance at the Crossroads Classic, an annual doubleheader between Indiana’s four highest profile teams.
Colson led the Fighting Irish with a season-high 29 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. But when the game got tight, Morgan threw all the scoring punches. (2) MICHIGAN STATE 86, OAKLAND 73 » Cassius Winston scored 19 points, and Michigan State (10-1) went on a 12-2 run late in the second half to hold off Oakland (6-5).
Kendrick Nunn scored 32 points for the upset-minded Golden Grizzlies, who stayed right with the talented Spartans until the final minutes. Michigan State improved to 16-0 against Oakland, but only after the type of test the Spartans can expect again from underdogs down the road. OKLAHOMA 91, (3) WICHITA STATE 83 » Freshman Trae Young had 29 points and 10 assists, lifting Oklahoma (8-1) to the win.
The nation’s leading scorer, Young had 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first 9 minutes, pushing the Sooners (8-1) to a lead they would never relinquish.
Darral Willis led the Shockers (82) with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Landry Shamet had 17 points. (6) MIAMI 59, GEORGE WASHINGTON 50» Dewan Huell scored 15 points and Lonnie Walker IV had 13, helping unbeaten Miami (9-0) to the road win.
The Hurricanes ripped off 13 of the game’s first 15 points on their way to a 21-point lead. Jair Bolden had 13 points for the Colonials (56), who shot 18.5 percent (5 for 27) from the field in the first half and finished at 30.2 percent overall. ( 8) KENTUCKY 93, VIRGINIA TECH 86» Kevin Knox scored 21 points, and Kentucky (9-1) outlasted Virginia Tech (8-2)for its most significant victory this season.
Kentucky made a season-high 11 3-pointers in its seventh straight win. Hamidou Diallo had 20 points for the Wildcats, and Quade Green added 17 points while wearing shaded protective glasses after injuring his eye last week against Monmouth. (10) XAVIER 68, EAST TENNESSEE STATE 66 » Trevon Bluiett’s jumper with 6.3 seconds left completed Xavier’s rally from a 22-point second-half deficit.
The Musketeers (10-1) overcame their worst shooting performance of the season, making clutch shots at the end to pull it out. ETSU (64) led 51-29 with 14:24 to go, but couldn’t hold off the Musketeers. RUTGERS 71, (15) SETON HALL 65 » Corey Sanders scored eight of his season-high 22 points during Rutgers’ game-ending 17-2 run, leading the Scarlet Knights (10-3) to their biggest victory since Steve Pikiell became coach last year.
Freshman Geo Baker added 17 and Deshawn Freeman had 12 points and 16 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights beat a ranked team for the first time since defeating No. 4 Wisconsin in January 2015.
Myles Powell had 18 points for the Pirates (9-2), who had won five in a row. (16) VIRGINIA 80, DAVIDSON 60. » Nigel Johnson scored 22 points and Devon Hall had a career-high 20, helping Virginia (9-1) to the victory. (17) PURDUE 82, BUTLER 67 » Carsen Edwards scored 18 points, Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas had 15 apiece, and Purdue (11-2) got its second win in the seven-year history of the Crossroads Classic.
Kelan Martin had 17 points the Bulldogs (8-3). for OKLAHOMA STATE 71, (19) FLORIDA STATE » Mitchell Solomon scored on a tip-in with 6 seconds left and then took a game-clinching charge at the other end of the court, and Oklahoma State (8-2) knocked Florida State (9-1) from the unbeaten ranks. CLEMSON 71, (22) FLORIDA 69 » Marcquise Reed threw a 75-foot pass to Elijah Thomas for a dunk that put Clemson (9-1) ahead to stay with 37 seconds left, and the Tigers rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat Florida (6-4)