John Blackwell scored 20 of his career-high 30 points in the second half and graduate transfer John Tonje added 19 as No. 19 Wisconsin rallied to hold off stubborn UT Rio Grande Valley 87-84 on Monday night in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin (5-0), which trailed 52-48 at the half, went without a field goal over the game’s final 4:23 and scored its last 11 points from the free-throw line. The Badgers, who entered Monday No. 1 in the nation in free-throw percentage (90 percent), finished 27-for-32 from the line.
DK Thorn hit a deep 3-pointer with just over a minute left to pull the Vaqueros within 85-84. Max Klesmit missed a jumper on Wisconsin’s next possession, but UTRGV’s Hasan Abdul Hakim missed a hurried jumper in the lane with time running out. Blackwell hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds left to make it 87-84.
Abdul Hakim had 19 points and K.T. Raimey supplied 13 for the Vaqueros (3-3), who had won three straight.
No. 3 Gonzaga 80, San Diego State 67
Graham Ike recorded 23 points and nine rebounds to help the Bulldogs post a nonconference road victory over the Aztecs in a battle of two of the nation’s most successful programs over the past five seasons.
Ryan Nembhard added 19 points and 10 assists for the Bulldogs (4-0), who never trailed.
Nick Boyd recorded 23 points and nine rebounds and BJ Davis added 15 points for the Aztecs (2-1). Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Gonzaga leads the nation in winning percentage (.879, 152-21) and San Diego State (.795, 136-35) is third.
No. 4 Auburn 102, North Alabama 69
Johni Broome scored 17 of his 30 points in the final 7:35 of the first half to lead the Tigers to a victory over the visiting Lions.
In 26 minutes, Broome made 13 of 17 shots from the field and collected 17 rebounds for his second double-double this season for the Tigers (4-0). Denver Jones added 13 points and nine of Auburn’s 25 assists.
Jacari Lane scored 16 points to lead North Alabama (3-2), which fell to 0-5 all-time against ranked opponents since moving to Division I in 2018. Daniel Ortiz and Will Soucie scored 15 points apiece as the Lions shot 42.2 percent overall.
No. 5 Iowa State 87, IU Indianapolis 52
Curtis Jones scored 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting as the Cyclones cruised to a win over the Jaguars in Ames, Iowa.
Tamin Lipsey scored 17 points and recorded a team-high five steals for Iowa State (3-0), which remained untested in its nonconference slate. Joshua Jefferson registered 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Keshon Gilbert contributed 11 points and eight assists.
Paul Zilinskas scored 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting to lead IU Indianapolis (2-3). Jarvis Walker finished with eight points and five rebounds.
No. 20 Arkansas 91, Pacific 72
Adou Thiero tallied 23 points, including six dunks, as the Razorbacks defeated the pesky Tigers in Fayetteville, Ark.
In its fourth game under new coach John Calipari, Arkansas (3-1) led by as many as 16 points in the first half but saw Pacific (3-3) get within a basket twice in the second. Thiero made 8 of 10 shots from the field and 6 of 7 free-throw attempts. He added six rebounds and four steals.
The Razorbacks shot 59.6 percent (31 of 52) from the field and 42.9 percent (9 of 21) from long range while playing with just seven players. Arkansas limited Pacific to 24-for-60 shooting (40 percent) from the field and 12-for-35 shooting (34.3 percent) from 3-point range.
