Solo Ball scored 15 points to lead a balanced attack as No. 5 UConn held on for a 74-61 nonconference victory over No. 13 Illinois on Friday in New York.
Malachi Smith contributed 14 points and nine assists off the bench while Alex Karaban added 12 points for the Huskies (6-1), who limited the Fighting Illini to 31.7% shooting and led by 21 midway through the second half.
Five-star UConn freshman forward Braylon Mullins, recovered from an ankle injury, made his collegiate debut and contributed two points in 10 minutes.
Kylan Boswell scored a game-high 25 points to pace Illinois (6-2), which missed 15 consecutive field-goal attempts and 13 straight 3-point tries during an extended stretch bridging the halves. Tomislav Ivisic contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 1 Purdue 109, Eastern Illinois 62
Daniel Jacobsen produced a career-high 24 points with nine rebounds and six blocks in 18 minutes off the bench as the Boilers prepped for their Big Ten opener with the thorough nonconference win over the Panthers in West Lafayette, Ind.
Jacobsen made all eight of his field-goal attempts for Purdue (7-0) to lead an offense that shot 63.1% from the field. Fletcher Loyer scored 15 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range, Trey Kaufman-Renn notched 14 points and Braden Smith handed out 10 assists.
Meechie White scored 23 points to pace the Panthers (2-5), who owned brief leads at 12-9 and 14-12. Eastern Illinois was outrebounded 37-17 and committed 17 turnovers.
No. 9 BYU 83, Dayton 79
Richie Saunders scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds to help the Cougars earn a win over the Flyers in the ESPN Events Invitational championship game at Kissimmee, Fla.
Robert Wright III added 23 points and six assists while freshman AJ Dybantsa scored 18 for the Cougars (6-1), who overcame a 10-point first-half deficit.
Javon Bennett led Dayton (6-2) with 22 points. Bryce Heard followed with a career-high 16 points off the bench and Amael L’Etang scored 13.
No. 10 Florida 90, Providence 78
Xaivian Lee scored a game-high 20 points and Urban Klavzar came off the bench to toss in 18 to lead the Gators past the Friars in the Rady Children’s Invitational consolation game in San Diego.
Florida (5-2) made a season-high 12 3-pointers on 33 attempts. Lee and Boogie Fland each made a team-high four 3-pointers. Fland finished with 17 points. The Gators received 16 points, 12 rebounds and five assists from Thomas Haugh, and a 13-point, 10-rebound performance from Rueben Chinyelu.
Ryan Mela (17 points) and Jaylin Sellers (14) were the leading scorers for Providence (4-4).
No. 24 Vanderbilt 96, Saint Mary’s 71
Duke Miles concluded a week to remember with a 25-point outing and the Commodores used a dominant first half to defeat the Gaels in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Miles, who won the same tournament with Oklahoma last season, paced the Commodores with 28 points in the opener against Western Kentucky and 20 in the semifinals against VCU. Jalen Washington added 19 points on Friday for Vanderbilt (8-0), which never trailed.
Paulius Murauskas guided Saint Mary’s (8-1) with 24 points and Mikey Lewis scored 19. The Gaels committed 16 turnovers that turned into 20 points for the Commodores.
