Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. ó Craig Austrie and freshman Kemba Walker scored 21 points each and No. 2 Connecticut ran away from Hartford 99-56 on Monday in the Huskies’ 63rd consecutive win against an in-state opponent.
Walker, who started in place of injured A.J. Price, had five rebounds. Jerome Dyson added 18 points, and Jeff Adrien had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
The Huskies (2-0) could not shake the Hawks for more than a half. Hartford went on a 10-2 run to get within 43-42. But UConn started a 33-5 run a short time later. It scored 54 of the game’s final 66 points.
No. 6 Pitt 82, Miami (Ohio) 53PITTSBURGH ó Jermaine Dixon hit two 3-pointers while scoring eight points during the Panthers’ 16-2 run to start the second half.
Levance Fields had 12 points and a career-high 12 assists. Sam Young and Dixon scored 14 points each for Pittsburgh (2-0).
Pitt took a 9-0 lead in the opening minutes, saw its lead trimmed to as few as three points late in the first half, then opened up a 51-32 lead.
No. 11 Purdue 87, E. Mich. 58WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ó Robbie Hummel scored 18 points for the Boilermakers in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
E’Twaun Moore had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for Purdue (2-0).
No. 12 Okla. 94, Miss. V. St. 53NORMAN, Okla. ó Blake Griffin had 20 points, 19 rebounds and six steals to lead Oklahoma in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Oklahoma (2-0) will play No. 21 Davidson (2-0) tonight at 9:30 p.m.
“It will be a great game for us in November to get that kind of competition,” Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel said. “You get to find out where you are, right now.”
Griffin went 8-for-9 from the field ó including five dunks ó while posting his 12th career double-double and second of the season.
His 19 rebounds were one better than his previous career high set three nights earlier in a win over American.
The Delta Devils (0-3) were playing their third game in as many states in four nights, all against major conference opponents.
No. 16 Marq. 106, Chi. St. 87MILWAUKEE ó Wesley Matthews scored 26 points and Lazar Hayward added 21 for Marquette. David Holston had 33 points for Chicago State.
No. 22 G’town 71, J’ville 62WASHINGTON ó Greg Monroe had 14 points and seven rebounds in his debut.
New starting guard Chris Wright had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Hoyas (1-0).
No. 23 ‘Nova 107, Fordham 68VILLANOVA, Pa. ó Dante Cunningham scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher each scored 17 points for Villanova (2-0).
Cunningham scored 19 points in the first half, nearly matching his previous best of 21, to help the Wildcats pull away to their 17th straight win at home.