NU rolls to 4th in row
Bobby Kelly scored a career-high 23 points to lead five Northeastern players in double figures in a 102-81 win over Cal State Northridge in the opening round of the Golden Bear Classic last night in Berkeley, Calif.
Jose Juan Barea added 19 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds for the Huskies, who are 4-0 for the first time since 1980-81, when then-coach Jim Calhoun guided the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Shawn James had 14 points and three blocked shots, tying Reggie Lewis as the school's career leader in blocks.
Northeastern, which set a tournament record for points scored, will play California in the title game tonight. The Golden Bears (2-1) defeated winless Northern Colorado, 83-59, in the other semifinal.
Mike Efevberha scored 23 points for Northridge (2-1), which opened the season with wins over USC and Tulsa.
Cincinnati 77, Holy Cross 55 -- James White scored 19 points, helping the host Bearcats (3-0) pull away in the second half to down the Crusaders (2-2). Kevin Hamilton (13 points) became the 41st Crusader to top 1,000 career points.
Harvard 75, Sacred Heart 72 -- Drew Housman led four players in double figures with 16 points as the visiting Crimson (3-0) held off several Pioneers rallies to take the nonconference victory.
Dartmouth 66, UC Davis 61 -- Mike Lang made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points and Leon Pattman added 13 points to lead the host Big Green (1-1) over the visiting Aggies.
Duke 70, Memphis 67 -- Shelden Williams matched his career high with 30 points, including the winning tip-in with 32 seconds left, lifting the No. 1 Blue Devils (5-0) over the No. 11 Tigers in the NIT Season Tip-Off title game in New York.
Memphis (3-1) dropped to 0-7 all-time against teams ranked No. 1, but it was the first time coach John Calipari lost to a top-ranked team. He was 3-0 against No. 1 teams during his tenure at Massachusetts.
Kentucky 81, Liberty 51 -- Sophomore forward Bobby Perry, making his second career start, scored a career-high 22 points to lead the No. 7 Wildcats (4-1) to a rout of the visiting Flames.
Florida 74, Florida St. 66 -- Taurean Green scored 15 points, all from the free throw line, and the No. 14 Gators (5-0) overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the visiting Seminoles.
Illinois 55, Wichita St. 54 -- Warren Carter's layup as time expired boosted the No. 15
UCLA 57, Drexel 56 -- Jordan Farmar made the second of two free throws with 0.8 seconds to play to lift the No. 16 Bruins (4-1) over the Dragons in the third-place game of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Syracuse 96, Siena 77 -- Gerry McNamara hit six 3-pointers and scored a season-high 22 points, and the No. 17 Orange (4-2) beat the visiting Saints.
Wake Forest 91, Appalachian St. 78 -- Trent Strickland had 25 points to lead the No. 24 Demon Deacons (5-1) past the visiting Mountaineers.
Washington 112, Loyola Marymount 65 -- Brandon Roy scored 19 points and Ryan Appleby added 18, all on 3-pointers, leading the No. 25 Huskies (6-0) over the Lions for their 28th straight home win.
Harbor Invitational -- Tony Barros scored 17 points and host UMass-Boston routed Eastern Nazarene, 90-58, to advance to the championship. In the other semi, Michael Lush scored 28 points and Lesley held off Framingham State, 94-88.
