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Cavs' matchup zone baffles Kentucky

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Most coaches admit they don't like to play a lot of zone defense. Virginia's Pete Gillen isn't in that group right now.

Devin Smith hit three 3-pointers in the final six minutes, one more than Kentucky managed in the game against the Cavaliers' matchup zone, and Virginia beat the 15th-ranked Wildcats 75-61 Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational.

"We played it once last year against Georgetown for 38, 39 minutes," Gillen said of the zone defense. "I'm not a zone coach, but sometimes you have to put your ego in your pocket. We kept it basic, changed a couple of things."

Smith, a 6-foot-5 junior college transfer, made 2 of 7 3-pointers in the first two games but made 3 of 4 in the last six minutes of this one.

"Luckily, every time I was open I hit the shot," he said.

Virginia plays No. 19 Indiana in tonight's championship.

The Cavaliers' matchup zone caused all kinds of problems for Kentucky, which made 2 of 22 3-pointers and missed its first 17.

"We had some good looks, but I think we settled for outside shots," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "Virginia did a good job going to the zone and then you miss a couple and get tight and the basket gets smaller."

Keith Bogans hit Kentucky's first 3 with 8:18 left to bring the Wildcats within 51-48, but Todd Billet answered with a 3 for Virginia, 8-of-25 on 3s.

Brandon Stockton hit Kentucky's other 3 with 7:05 left to make it 56-53, but after Elton Brown scored low for Virginia, Smith scored the Cavaliers' next nine points on long-range shots.

AUBURN 100, GEORGIA ST. 71: Marquis Daniels had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists as the host Tigers gave coach Cliff Ellis his 500th career victory.

Ellis, whose Clemson team denied Georgia State coach Lefty Driesell his 500th victory in 1985 when Driesell was at Maryland, ranks 34th among Division I coaches.

VANDY 96, GEORGIA SO. 60: Matt Freije scored 22, and the host Commodores shot 63 percent from the floor, including 67 percent in the first half.

ORAL ROBERTS 76, ARKANSAS 64: Luke Spencer-Gardner had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the host Golden Eagles.

C-USA

NO. 13 MARQUETTE 97, E. ILLINOIS 74: Dwyane Wade scored 28 on 13-of-15 shooting for the Golden Eagles.

Robert Jackson scored 18 of his 22 after halftime and added nine rebounds as Marquette extended its home winning streak to 19, its longest in seven seasons. Wade made all 11 of his first-half shots and his lone free throw.

NO. 21 UC 80, FAMU 53: Three-point specialist Field Williams regained his touch, scoring 22 as the host Bearcats survived another round of poor shooting.

Cincinnati shot 42 percent from the field, a figure inflated by a bunch of easy baskets after the backups took over in the closing minutes. It went more than nine minutes without a basket Saturday and shot 27.9 percent against Tennessee Tech.

SW MO. ST. 72, SAINT LOUIS 64 (OT): Shelton Colwell had 17 points and 13 rebounds as the visiting Bears overcame a second-half cold stretch and pulled away in overtime.

The Billikens squandered a 10-point second-half lead, forced the extra period on two free throws by Marque Perry with 20 seconds left, then went 1-for-8 in overtime.

Top 25

NO. 19 INDIANA 76, NO. 20 GONZAGA 75: The Hoosiers lost all but one point of a 17-point lead over the final 3:02 but held on in the Maui Invitational. Indiana advances to the championship game for the third time since 1990.

State

MIAMI 78, TEXAS A&M 72: Antoine Wright scored 25 for the visiting Aggies but missed three shots in the final minute as the Hurricanes held on. James Jones led Miami with 14 points and eight rebounds.

IONA 98, B-CC 79: Steve Burtt Jr. scored 15 to lead six players in double figures for the host Gaels. Iona opened with 11 straight points and held Bethune-Cookman scoreless for 5:11.

FIU 78, FLA. GULF COAST 50: Forward Eulis Baez recorded his first double double with a game-high 28 points and 15 rebounds for the host Golden Panthers.

TAMPA 71, WINONA ST. 69: Achille Ngounou had 22 points, and freshman guard Marty Harrington hit a layup with less than eight seconds left to lift the host Spartans.

AIR FORCE 72, STETSON 43: Tim Keller had 18 points, including four 3-pointers, for the host Falcons, who made 15 of 28 3s (54 percent).

Nation

BC 80, BOSTON 61: Troy Bell recovered from a poor opener to score 29 for the host Eagles. Bell, who shot 2-of-14 for eight points in a loss to St. Joseph's, hit 8 of 12 shots after missing his first two.

ST. JOHN'S 68, STONY BROOK 57: Marcus Hatten came off the bench to score 19 after he was kept out of the starting lineup for reporting late for a pregame meeting for the host Red Storm.

CREIGHTON 80, NOTRE DAME 75: Kyle Korver hit seven 3-pointers and scored 24 as the Bluejays won the championship of the Guardians Classic in Kansas City, Mo.

IOWA 50, DRAKE 49: Jared Reiner made two free throws with 52.4 seconds left for the game's final points as the visiting Hawkeyes held on.

UTAH 69, UMASS 53: Nick Jacobsen scored 14 of his 21 over the final 11 minutes for the Utes in the consolation round of the Maui Invitational. Utah plays for fifth place today against Arizona State.

RHODE ISLAND 73, USC 71 (OT): Dustin Hellenga made a baseline jump shot with 2.2 seconds left for the host Rams, and a Trojans' 3-pointer at the buzzer was waved off after a replay review. Rhode Island's Lazare Adingono made a layup with 31 seconds left to tie it at 67 and force overtime.

ASU 101, CHAMINADE 72: Freshman Ike Diogu scored 19 and the Sun Devils held the Silverwords to two points over the final eight minutes.

OREGON ST. 81, SEATTLE 38: Philip Ricci had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the host Beavers.

W.KY.: Forward Todor Pandov is out for the season after tearing ligaments in his left knee during the opener.

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