HOUSTON (AP) — Kingston Flemings scored 20 points, Joseph Tugler added 15 points and eight rebounds and No. 2 Houston defeated Towson 65-48 on Saturday.
Flemings finished 8 of 10 from the field, and Tugler shot 7 of 14. while Houston (2-0) shot 42%. Milos Uzan had 11 points and six assists for the Cougars, who forced 18 turnovers and converted them into 22 points.
Jack Doumbia had 16 points and seven rebounds, Dylan Williamson added 13 points and Tyler Tejada finished with 11 points and eight rebounds for Towson (1-1).
NO. 6 DUKE 95, WESTERN CAROLINA 54
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Cameron Boozer had 25 points in his first regular-season home game as Duke beat Western Carolina.
The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward added eight rebounds, five assists and a block in 23 minutes for the Blue Devils (2-0), who opened the season Tuesday with a home-state win against Texas in Charlotte for the first-ever Dick Vitale Invitational. The preseason Atlantic Coast Conference favorite had no trouble against a team picked to finish seventh in the Southern Conference, pushing its lead to double figures just 7 minutes in and leading by 24 at halftime.
His brother, fellow freshman Cayden, had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists as one of four Blue Devils to score in double figures. Patrick Ngongba II and Maliq Brown each added 10 points.
NO. 15 ALABAMA 103, NO. 5 ST. JOHN’S 96
NEW YORK (AP) — Labaron Philon scored 25 points and Alabama passed an early season non-conference test with a victory over fifth-ranked St. John’s.
Philon helped Alabama clinch the win with a deep 3-pointer for a 98-88 lead with two minutes remaining. He shot 10 of 17 from the field in his second straight strong performance as Alabama took control late in the first half, withstood a comeback and executed in the final minutes.
Aden Holloway added 21 points after sitting out the season opener with a wrist injury as the Crimson Tide (2-0) shot 48.1%. Taylor Bowen Bol and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. contributed 17 points each for Alabama, which impressively started a run of four straight games against ranked teams. They will face top-ranked Purdue, Illinois and Gonzaga after Saturday.
NO. 18 TENNESSEE 95, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 56
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nate Ament scored 23 points to lead Tennessee to a victory over Northern Kentucky.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 20 points and J.P. Estrella came off the bench to finish with 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Volunteers (2-0). Felix Okpara had 11 rebounds.
Donovan Oday and Kael Robinson each scored 14 points for the Norse (1-1).
Ament, a 6-foot-10 freshman, was 9 for 10 from the free throw line. He also had eight rebounds and five assists.
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The Associated Press
