Men’s College Football | Memphis takes tournament title
NEW YORK - John Calipari didn’t call out Chris Douglas-Roberts by name after a poor night in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. But the Memphis coach did single out the guy wearing No. 14.
“I think he got the message,” he said.
Douglas-Roberts answered with a career-high 33 points and the No. 3 Tigers, after racing to a big early lead, held on to beat Connecticut 81-70 Friday night in the championship game of the tournament benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
“He was so lackadaisical” against Oklahoma, Calipari said of Douglas-Roberts. “But it’s so early in the season.”
Freshman sensation Derrick Rose added a career-high 24 points for the Tigers (4-0), who opened an early 15-point lead but found themselves trailing by one at the half. Rose looked every bit the first-year player running the point, though, turning the ball over five times without an assist.
“I called a timeout and went right at him,” said Calipari, who threatened to bench Rose if he put up another circus shot. “But he’s going to be a pretty good player - pretty good right now.”
Douglas-Roberts, the tournament’s most valuable player, broke open a close game during a decisive second-half run, making two free throws with the score knotted at 60 and less than nine minutes to play. That set off a 16-5 spurt capped by his jumper with 3:55 left, putting the game out of reach.
“Obviously Rose is a great, great young player,” Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. “And if Douglas-Roberts isn’t a first-team All-American, somebody is making a serious mistake.”
A.J. Price scored 23 to lead Connecticut (3-1), often playing much bigger than his 6-foot-2 frame.
Price routinely threw himself among the Memphis forwards, slicing through the lane to help the Huskies rally in the first half and stay close after the break.
“We showed a lot of character coming back,” Calhoun said.
Other Top 25 games
At No. 7 Tennessee 89,
Prairie View A&M 75
Tyler Smith scored 15 points, Chris Lofton added 14 and the Vols (3-0) beat the Panthers (1-2) in the second round of the StubHub Legends Classic.
Ramar Smith added 10 points for Tennessee, which advanced to the semifinal round against West Virginia on Friday.
At No. 16 Texas 73, UC Davis 42
A.J. Abrams scored 21 points and the Longhorns (2-0) cruised past the Aggies (1-2).
Providence 67, No. 18 Arkansas 51
Brian McKenzie had 18 points, leading the Friars (2-0) over the Razorbacks (2-1) at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.
Patrick Beverley led Arkansas with 14 points.