Arizona's Ben Davis took charge down the stretch, spoiling a brilliant individual show by Georgetown's Allen Iverson and leading the Wildcats to a 91-81 victory and the Preseason NIT championship Friday night.
In the consolation opener before a crowd of 12,949, No. 25 Georgia Tech got 26 points from freshman Stephon Marbury to defeat No. 16 Michigan 77-61.After No. 5 Georgetown, down by as many as 17 points in the first half, battled back to finally tie the score at 63 with just under 10 minutes to play, Davis scored seven straight points to put No. 19 Arizona back in front.
He grabbed two key rebounds and made a steal during the crucial stretch that turned the game for the Wildcats (4-0).
Davis' hot hand touched off an 18-6 run for Arizona. He then punctuated the decisive stretch with a block at the basket of a shot by Iverson.
It was Iverson who nearly turned the game for Georgetown. He was all over the court, swiping at the ball, triggering fast breaks, firing up baskets. He finished with a game-high 40 points.
Davis hit 17 to lead Arizona, which shot 61 percent from the floor. Miles Simon had 17 and Joseph Blair 15.
No. 1 Kentucky 96
No. 14 Maryland 84
At Springfield, Mass., top-ranked Kentucky had a rough start and wasn't all that smooth near the finish, but the Wildcats opened the season with a victory over No. 14 Maryland in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.
The start didn't look much better for the Wildcats, who trailed 20-9 5:10 into the game. Then came the familiar swarming defense that ended the Terrapins' easy baskets on length-of-the-court passes. Another strong run to start the second half, again triggered by defense, got Kentucky a 55-38 lead with 14:46 left.
Maryland, which was last 0-1 in 1985, wasn't done. The Terrapins closed to 86-80 with 2:15 to play as Kentucky went over five minutes with one field goal. The Wildcats had enough left to again pull away, though, as Tony Delk scored eight of their final 10 points over the last 1:12.
Mark Pope, selected the game's MVP, led Kentucky with 26 points, while Delk had 21.
Maryland was led by Johnny Rhodes' 30 points.
No. 10 Iowa 101
No. 6 Connecticut 95 OT
At Anchorage, Alaska, Kenyon Murray scored three key points in the last minute of overtime and the Iowa Hawkeyes beat back a determined Connecticut comeback for a win in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Iowa's Chris Kingsbury scored 27 points in the second half and overtime and made five 3-pointers to pace No. 10 Iowa. He scored 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
But it was Murray who made the timeliest shots, first tying the game at the end of regulation then putting it out of reach at the end.
Iowa (2-0) went ahead for good on a Andre Woolridge alley-oop pass to Ryan Bowen with a minute left in overtime. Murray then made a free throw with 40 seconds left and a layup 20 seconds later to make it 99-95. Two Kingsbury free throws iced it for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa plays the winner of the Indiana-Duke late matchup in the tournament championship Saturday. The Huskies play the loser for third place.
No. 13 Louisville 90, American U. 86
At Bayamon, Puerto Rico, De Juan Wheat made a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left as No. 13 Louisville held on to beat American University of Puerto Rico at the Puerto Rico Shootout.
Led by Joel Curbelo's school-record 47 points - the most ever against Louisville - American kept up with the Cardinals throughout the game. With Louisville leading 87-86 and 1:06 left, American's Miguel Davila missed two free throws.
Alvin Sims turned the ball over, but the Cardinals recovered the ball with less than a minute to go and ran a set play for Wheat, who sank his shot.
Wheat finished the game with 20 points while Dantzler had a career-high 19 points for the Cardinals.
No. 17 Virginia 84, Tenn.-Martin 65
At Charlottesville, Va., Scott Johnson had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Norman Nolan added 10 points and 11 rebounds as No. 17 Virginia beat Tennessee-Martin.
Though Virginia had six players in double figures, the Cavaliers shot only 43 percent (33 of 77) from the field and 63 percent (12 of 19) from the free-throw line in the season-opener for both teams.