Duke Stakes Claim to No. 1

No. 3 Duke had to hold off top-ranked Arizona down the stretch Wednesday night for a 95-87 victory in the championship game of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.

The Blue Devils (5-0) appeared to be coasting to an easy win, leading by as many as 24 points early in the second half. But the defending national champions refused to buckle.

The Wildcats (3-1) battled back to 84-78 on two free throws by Miles Simon with 1:47 left, but a jumper by Trajan Langdon and eight-of-12 shooting from the free throw line gave Duke the victory.

Down 51-34 at halftime, Arizona had runs of 13-3 and 23-10 and Simon had five points in each rally.

Freshman guard William Avery led Duke with 21 points, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range, and Roshown McLeod added 18. Simon finished with 25 points.

No. 2 Kansas 90, Arizona State 88--The Jayhawks (5-0) barely extended their eight-year November winning streak to 20 games, surviving a major scare from the Sun Devils (3-1) before prevailing in overtime at the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at New York.

It took a three-point basket by Billy Thomas--a shot that bounced high off the rim and in--with 11 seconds left in the extra period to keep alive Kansas’ streak of not having lost a game in November since Nov. 23, 1990.

No. 6 Purdue 92, Alabama-Birmingham 64--Chad Austin and Brad Miller each scored 19 points to lead the Boilermakers (4-0) past the Blazers (2-2) in the opening round of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage.

Florida St. 67, No. 11 Connecticut 60--LaMarr Greer missed seven of his first eight shots from the field, but his three-point basket with 1:21 to play propelled the Seminoles (4-0) Florida State to victory over the Huskies (4-1) in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at New York.

No. 12 Fresno St. 90, LSU 65--Rafer Alston and Daymond Forney scored 14 points each at Fresno as the Bulldogs (3-0) had six players score in double figures. Willie Anderson led the Tigers (2-1) with 20 points.