Mario Bennett did what was expected inside and the rest of the Arizona State Sun Devils took care of things from the outside Wednesday night in beating No. 7 Maryland 97-90 in the championship game of the Maui Invitational.
Bennett more than held his own against Maryland center Joe Smith and the tempo was even quicker than expected as both teams used the trap and forced things in the open court.What was the surprise, and the difference, for the Sun Devils (3-0) was a late 3-point barrage - four from three players in a 2:23 span - as the Sun Devils took a 79-70 lead with 3:33 to play. They only made one more field goal the rest of the way as Maryland (2-1) repeatedly put them on the foul line. The Devils made 16 of 26 in the final three minutes and the Terrapins got no closer than four points, the last time at 90-86 with 1:10 to play.
"We did a great of reading things once Maryland started double-and triple-teaming Mario inside," Arizona State coach Bill Frieder said. "We got wide-open shots but we hit them. And it wasn't just one we hit, but another and another, and that broke it open for us.
Isaac Burton led Arizona State with 23 points, Bennett had 20, Ron Riley 19, Marcel Capers 13 and Jeremy Veal had 10.
Exree Hipp had 25 points for Maryland, Smith had 23 and Johnny Rhodes 19.
New Mexico State 81, Memphis 78
In New York, Thomas Wyatt and Troy Brewer led a furious comeback in the final minutes Wednesday night, rallying New Mexico State to victory over Memphis in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.
New Mexico State fell behind after the first four minutes and trailed by as many as 13 points as 6-11 Lorenzen Wright and 6-10 David Vaughn controlled the inside.
No. 23 Ohio U. 82
George Washington 76
In New York, Geno Ford, the smallest man on the court at 5-8, nailed two 3-pointers and then dropped in five free throws down the stretch as No. 23 Ohio University defeated George Washington in the Preseason NIT Wednesday night.
Ohio U. plays New Mexico State in Friday night's championship game. The Aggies staged a furious comeback, scoring 16 of the last 17 points, to defeat Memphis 81-78 in Wednesday's opener. George Washington plays Memphis in Friday's consolation game.