Mississippi State rallied back from a 13-point deficit in the first half for an 84-79 victory over SMU on Friday night in Dallas.

KeShawn Murphy led the Bulldogs with 16 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals, although he fouled out with just over two minutes left in the game. RJ Melendez added 15 points and Josh Hubbard finished with 14 as Mississippi State improved to 5-0.

SMU (4-2) was led by Kario Oquendo’s 13 points. Boopie Miller, Matt Cross and Samet Yigitoglu all finished with 12 points. Cross had a game-high nine rebounds and Yigitoglu added three blocks.

SMU built a 23-10 lead in the first 10-plus minutes. But Mississippi State battled back.

The Bulldogs opened the second half on a 7-2 run, tying the game at 40-40 on a layup by Cameron Matthews with 18:32 left. They took their first lead of the night at 45-44 on a layup by Hubbard with 15:40 left. It was a back-and-forth game after that.

Mississippi State eventually took control with the game tied 66-66 with just under six minutes left. The Bulldogs grabbed a 71-66 lead with a layup by Matthews and a 3-pointer by Murphy.

Mississippi State never surrendered the lead in the final minutes, although SMU stayed within striking distance.

Down the stretch, with the Bulldogs leading by one point, they extended it to 78-75 lead on a dunk by Riley Kugel on the baseline with 42 seconds left. Matthews drove to the lane on the play before dishing it to Kugel.

For the game, SMU shot 51.1 percent from the field compared to Mississippi State’s 41.2 percent. The Bulldogs had the deeper bench, outscoring the Mustangs 54-27. SMU committed almost twice as many turnovers as the Bulldogs (13-7).

Friday marked the first matchup between the programs. SMU will travel to Mississippi State next season.

–Field Level Media

David N’Guessan scored 17 points to lead Kansas State to an 83-71 victory over George Washington in the first round of the Paradise Jam at St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday night.

K-State jumped out to a big first-half lead before George Washington made it close in the second half.

The Wildcats will play in the tournament semifinals Sunday against Liberty, which defeated Louisiana 89-69 on Friday.

The Revolutionaries will face Louisiana in a consolation-round game Saturday.

The Wildcats outrebounded George Washington 42-28, and shot 51.8 percent from the field.

The Wildcats (4-1) had five players in double figures. Joining N’Guessan were Dug McDaniel (13 points), Max Jones (12), Brendan Hausen (11) and Achor Achor (10). N’Guessan and Coleman Hawkins each had nine rebounds.

George Washington (4-1) was led by Virgin Islands native Jacoi Hutchinson with 19 points. Rafael Castro added 12 points, and Gerald Drumgoole Jr. and Christian Jones had 10 each.

K-State had trouble shaking GWU early in the second half. The Revolutionaries outscored the Wildcats 18-9 to start the half and trim the deficit to 55-45. Christian Jones’ 3-pointer, followed by a long-range make by Drumgoole and a layup by Jones midway through the half cut it to 59-55.

But the Wildcats answered with a 7-2 run, stopping the spurt by George Washington. The Wildcats extended the lead to double digits with just under six minutes remaining and the Revolutionaries never got closer the rest of the way.

The Wildcats started quickly and never trailed. They grabbed a double-digit lead at 20-9 on a corner 3-pointer by Max Jones with 11:14 left in the half. They led by 15 at 24-9 and grabbed their largest lead of the half at 46-27 heading into the locker room.

K-State was led by N’Guessan with nine first-half points. He was one of eight Wildcats with at least three points in the half.

The Revolutionaries were led by Hutchinson with 10 points. George Washington leading scorer Darren Buchanan Jr., who came in averaging 17.3 points per game, was held to five points in the first half and nine for the game.

–Field Level Media

Juwan Gary scored 16 points with seven rebounds and helped make Ryan Kalkbrenner a non-factor on offense as visiting Nebraska upset No. 14 Creighton 74-63 on Friday in Omaha, Neb.

Brice Williams also finished with 16 points for Nebraska (4-1). Connor Essegian had a season-high 15 points, Berke Buyuktuncel added 12 points and nine boards and Rollie Worster scored 11.

In the paint, Nebraska’s frontcourt smothered Kalkbrenner, the Bluejays’ star center who is considered one of the best players in college basketball. He was held to 0-for-1 field-goal shooting in 39 minutes.

The 7-foot-1 senior was held without a made field goal for the first time since Feb. 8, 2022, against Butler. He finished with four points on 4-of-8 free-throw shooting and had 11 rebounds.

With the inside locked down, Creighton (4-1) took 42 of its 52 shots from 3-point range. Pop Isaacs led the Bluejays with 25 points, including 5-of-12 shooting from deep.

Making matters worse for Creighton, guard Steven Ashworth went down in pain late in the second half and had to be helped off the court, unable to put any weight on his right foot. Ashworth scored 16 points and had seven turnovers.

The Cornhuskers opened the game with a 3-pointer from Gary and never trailed the Bluejays. They broke out to a 31-13 lead thanks to an 11-0 run while Creighton went 0-for-6 from the floor with four turnovers in the same span.

Jackson McAndrew hit a 3-pointer and Kalkbrenner added three free throws as Creighton crept within nine points, but Williams hit a jumper in the final seconds to give Nebraska a 35-24 halftime edge.

Early in the second half, Jamiya Neal (10 points for Creighton) stole a lazy Nebraska pass at midcourt and took it in for a dunk, but the home crowd’s optimism was short-lived. The Bluejays got as close as seven points with 15 minutes to play, but Essegian hit three straight shot attempts for Nebraska to reestablish the double-digit margin.

Creighton still had a chance when McAndrew made another triple to cut it to 59-49 with 6:19 to go. The Huskers held the Bluejays to 0-for-8 shooting for the next 5:18 as Nebraska put the game away.

Nebraska outshot Creighton 42.1 percent to 32.7 percent from the field and committed 10 fewer turnovers (seven to 17).

–Field Level Media

Jalen Leach scored 21 points to help Northwestern post a 68-50 win over Pepperdine on Friday night at Evanston, Ill.

Nick Martinelli added 20, while Brooks Barnhizer added 13 for Northwestern (5-1). Leach was 7 of 12 from the field and perfect from the free throw line on six attempts.

Jaxon Olvera scored 11 points and Taj Au-Duke added 10 for Pepperdine (1-4). The Waves shot 28.6 percent from the field and 15 percent (3 of 20) from beyond the arc.

With 15:24 left in the contest, the Wildcats (5-1) had hit four of their last five shots to increase their lead to as many as 23. Northwestern never looked back, shooting 42.1 percent from the field and adding 18 free throws out of 21 attempts.

Northwestern held highly touted Waves guard Stefan Todorovic to six points. He finished 2 of 10 from the field and missed all four 3-point shots. Todorovic’s struggles were coupled with the Wildcats” 11 forced turnovers, which led to a 13 points to help break the game open.

Despite not scoring for less than five minutes in the latter part of the second half, the Wildcats ended their drought with back-to-back free throws from Leach.

Northwestern never trailed, entering the halftime break with a 31-19 lead. The Wildcats were productive on the glass despite only shooting 2-for-11 from beyond the 3-point arc. In defensive rebounds, the Wildcats edged the Waves 32-28.

Pepperdine finished the game by making two of its final 10 field goal attempts despite getting to the free-throw line 18 times and converting on 13 attempts.

Northwestern completed its homestand a perfect 4-0, and its attention now shifts toward Thanksgiving week and participating in the Arizona Tip-Off before conference play begins next month.

Northwestern’s victory against Pepperdine was its first in program history. Two decades earlier, the team had lost two previous meetings.

-Field Level Media

Joseph Tugler scored 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting off the bench while Emanuel Sharp made all five of his three-point attempts, leading No. 7 Houston to a wire-to-wire 80-44 victory over visiting Hofstra on Friday night.

Sharp finished with 16 points and is now 11-of-15 from 3-point range this season. Terrance Arceneaux scored 12 points for the Cougars (3-1) on 5-of-7 shooting, while Milos Uzan added four points, five rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Houston shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and made half of its 24 3-point attempts.

The Cougars went on a 19-0 run spanning over seven minutes at the end of the first half to take a 48-18 lead into halftime. Sharpe hit one of his 3-pointers during the run, while Arceneaux added five points. TJ Gadsen’s 3-pointer with four seconds left in the half ended Hofstra’s 7:07 scoring drought.

Houston pushed its lead to as many as 44 points in the second half, using an extended 26-6 run to surge ahead 80-36 with 4:20 left. Mylik Wilson punctuated the run with a pair of threes for his only six points of the game.

Cruz Davis paced a helpless offensive effort from Hofstra (4-2), leading Pride with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Cruz was the only Hofstra player who reached double figures. Jaquan Sanders scored eight points and KiJan Robinson added seven. Beyond those three, the Pride only got 11 combined points from the rest of their team.

Hofstra shot just 30.8 percent (16-of-52) against a Houston defense that forced 15 turnovers and blocked six shots. The Cougars outscored the Pride 17-5 in points off turnovers and held a 44-10 advantage in bench points.

Hofstra outrebounded Houston 32-29, but the Pride trailed by double digits for the game’s final 31:19 en route to their second straight loss.

–Field Level Media

Sophomore guard Mason Falslev scored a career-high-tying 25 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds while leading Utah State to a 77-69 victory over Iowa on Friday during the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo.

Falslev scored 16 points in the second half as Utah State (5-0) overcame a four-point halftime deficit. Ian Martinez added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Aggies, who outrebounded the Hawkeyes 47-31.

Sophomore point guard Brock Harding paced Iowa (5-1) with a career-high 19 points to go with five assists and four steals. Owen Freeman notched 18 points and 11 rebounds and leading scorer Payton Sandfort posted 14 points but made just 1 of 13 3-point attempts. Iowa finished 5 of 26 (19.2 percent) from 3-point range.

Utah State entered the game with the nation’s best scoring offense (104 points per game) and Iowa wasn’t far behind (86.6 ppg), but both teams came out determined to show their defensive chops.

The Aggies’ aggressive matchup zone forced the Hawkeyes into missing their first nine 3-point attempts in the opening seven minutes. Iowa’s three-quarter-court pressure forced Utah State to throw multiple passes out of boards, and both teams challenged the other’s dunks and layups and swatted five shots apiece in the first half.

Utah State built two early five-point leads thanks to Tucker Anderson’s 3-pointer and fastbreak layup. However, Iowa carried a 37-33 lead into halftime as Freeman scored all 10 of his points in the paint.

Neither team could build more than a six-point lead in the second half until the final minutes. When Sandfort broke free for a dunk at the 12:52 mark, he gave Iowa a 53-49 edge.

Martinez responded by driving the baseline and dunking over 6-foot-8 freshman Cooper Koch. That triggered a crucial 9-0 Aggies run as Martinez sandwiched a 20-footer and a 3-pointer around two Falslev free throws to give Utah State a 58-53 lead with 10 minutes to play.

Martinez picked up his fourth foul with 8:42 left and took a seat with the Aggies clinging to a 58-55 edge. After Utah State gave up back-to-back layups to Harding and Freeman to see its lead shrink to 63-61, Martinez returned with 4:17 to go.

Utah State pushed its lead to 68-61 with three minutes to go as Karson Templin made a layup and Falslev swished a 3-pointer with the shot clock running out. Iowa could get no closer than 4 the rest of the way.

–Field Level Media

Caleb Grill scored 25 points and made five steals as Missouri routed Pacific 91-56 Friday night in Columbia, Mo.

Tamar Bates added 11 points and Trent Pierce scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in just 14 minutes for Missouri (4-1).

Coach Dennis Gates used 12 players and 11 of them scored as Missouri got 57 points off of its bench. Grill sank seven 3-pointers.

Elias Ralph led Pacific (3-4) with 19 points. Seth Jones added 15.

Pacific missed just of 29 shots from 3-point range and got outscored 17-6 at the free-throw line.

Pacific raced to a 9-4 lead with its half-court offense freeing up cutters to the basket. Ralph scored three times at the rim during that run.

With Marques Warrick hitting two free throws and a 3-point jumper, Missouri used a 7-0 run for its first lead at 11-9.

Missouri picked up its offensive pace by forcing live-ball turnovers with its 1-3-1 zone defense and then scoring in transition. It pushed its lead to 27-15 with 3-pointers by Grill and Josh Gray.

Grill hit consecutive 3-pointers, then converted his steal into a fast break basket to put Missouri up 40-24.

Pacific countered with a 5-0 run with Jones hitting a 3-pointer, but Missouri closed the half with a 14-2 surge to take a 54-31 lead into the break,

In the first half, Missouri hit 10 of 19 shots from 3-point range, outscored Pacific 13-0 in transition and built a 31-7 edge in bench points. Pacific turned the ball over seven times in the first 20 minutes.

Grill and Mark Mitchell hit 3-point jumpers to keep Missouri rolling into the second half with a 9-2 push for a 63-33 lead.

Pacific could get no closer than 26 points during the rest of the game.

–Field Level Media

Nick Dorn scored 24 points and hit the go-ahead basket with 94 seconds left as Elon executed down the stretch in an 84-77 victory over Notre Dame on Friday night in South Bend, Ind.

The Phoenix (3-2) earned their second straight win and never allowed Notre Dame to surge ahead in coach Billy Taylor’s return to his alma mater. Elon earned the win by outscoring the Fighting Irish 10-2 over the final 1:34.

Dorn made 8 of 10 shots and answered a tip-in by Notre Dame’s Kebba Njie with a layup to put the Phoenix up 76-75.

The Phoenix took a 78-75 lead on a basket by Issac Harrell with 63 seconds left. TJ Simpkins converted a tip-in for a five-point lead with 26 seconds remaining, and following a turnover by Notre Dame’s Braeden Shrewsberry, Simpkins sank two free throws to seal it with 10 seconds to go.

TK Simpkins scored 17 points and six assists, and twin brother TJ Simpkins contributed 16 points for Elon. Sam Sherry chipped in 13 and blocked Markus Burton at the rim with 50 seconds left.

The Phoenix shot 57.1 percent from the floor and outrebounded Notre Dame 35-24.

Burton led the Fighting Irish (4-1) with 25 points but missed two layups in the final 50 seconds. Shrewsberry added 22 for Notre Dame, which shot 36.7 percent in the second half and 47.5 percent overall.

After overcoming a seven-point deficit, Notre Dame held a 46-41 lead by halftime. The Fighting Irish took a 53-45 edge on a floater by Shrewsberry with 17:34 left but Elon countered with a 13-3 run and took a 58-56 lead on a lob dunk by TJ Simpkins with 13:15 left.

Elon held a 70-67 lead after two foul shots by Sherry with 5:46 left and led 72-70 on another basket by Sherry less than a minute later. The Fighting Irish took a 73-72 lead on a Davis free throw with 4:22 but managed just four points the rest of the way.

–Field Level Media

Marcus Hill scored 19 points as host North Carolina State pulled away from visiting William & Mary to win 84-61 on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C.

Hill shot 7-for-13 from the floor and also had four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win.

NC State (5-0) also got 12 points apiece from Jayden Taylor and Dontrez Styles, as well as 10 points and nine rebounds from Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. Off the bench, Ben Middlebrooks added a stat-stuffing effort of 11 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists.

For the Tribe (3-4), Noah Collier scored a game-high 25 points while Gabe Dorsey added 13 points and four rebounds.

The Tribe jumped out to a four-point lead early on following a sequence where Collier threw down a dunk, Dorsey swished a 3-pointer, and then Collier tipped back in one of his teammate’s missed layups. NC State quickly rallied though, breaking off a 20-3 run, capped off by Huntley-Hatfield knocking down a shot from outside the arc and then dunking on the next possession.

NC State led by as much as 25 points.

Leading by 19 entering the second half, the Wolfpack saw their advantage shrink to just seven points with 5:29 to play after an 18-6 run by William & Mary. NC State answered again though, closing the game on a 22-6 run — a stretch that featured a highlight-worthy two-handed dunk in transition and smooth 3-pointer from Styles, who finished with nine points.

NC State forced the Tribe into 21 turnovers and created 29 points off those extra possessions. The Wolfpack also outscored William & Mary 36-9 on fast breaks and 46-28 in the paint.

Next up for undefeated NC State — which has yet to face a power conference opponent this season — is a Final Four rematch with No. 6 Purdue on Thanksgiving in San Diego.

–Field Level Media

Koby Brea scored 22 points as No. 9 Kentucky used a potent fastbreak attack and impressive 3-point shooting to remain undefeated with a 108-59 rout of visiting Jackson State on Friday at the BBN Invitational in Lexington, Ky.

The Wildcats (5-0) scored 43 fastbreak points and hit a season-best 17 3-pointers on 39 attempts (43.6 percent) en route to their third 100-point game this season. Kentucky outscored Jackson State 44-32 in the paint and threw down 11 dunks to the Tigers’ two.

Brea shot 8-of-11 from the floor and drilled 5 of 8 3-pointers for the Wildcats, who also got 21 points and three steals from Otega Oweh. Jaxson Robinson tallied 14 points, including four threes, while Lamont Butler chipped in 11 points and five assists.

Jackson State (0-6) led for just 16 seconds in the early going and trailed by double digits for the game’s final 31:53. The Tigers battled on the backboard, getting outrebounded by one, 41-40.

Marcus Watson Jr. paced the visitors with 12 points and freshman Dorian McMillian added 11 points. JSU connected on just 23 of 69 shots (33.3 percent) and finished just 4-of-21 (19 percent) from 3-point range.

Jackson State grabbed a 5-3 advantage before Robinson answered with his second 3-pointer.

Robinson added a third trey to help Kentucky open an 18-7 lead with 14:55 left in the opening half. Jackson State pulled to within 18-12, but the Wildcats then ran off a 15-2 run to stretch their advantage to 33-14 with 9:03 left in the first half.

Kentucky extended the first-half lead to 26 and held a 54-30 edge at halftime. Jackson State never pulled closer than 23 points for the remainder of the game. The Wildcats’ lead peaked at 51 (108-57) in the final minute after a 12-0 run before Watson made the last basket of the game.

Kentucky hosts Western Kentucky on Tuesday, while Jackson State visits Lipscomb on Sunday.

The Wildcats beat Lipscomb 97-68 on Tuesday and the Tigers fell to Western Kentucky 79-62 on Wednesday.

–Field Level Media