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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, November 26, 2009

Gonzaga captures Maui title


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Cincinnati’s Steve Toyloy, left, and Gonzaga’s Robert Sacre get into a shoving match early in the second half.

Photos by EUGENE TANNER | Associated Press

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Colorado’s Marcus Relphorde (5) grabs a rebound away from Chaminade’s Cartier Carter during yesterday’s seventh-place game of the Maui Invitational. Colorado won, 73-58.

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LAHAINA, Hawai'i — Thanks to several big plays by 7-footer Robert Sacre, Gonzaga finally left Maui with a championship.

Sacre scored 14 points and the Bulldogs won the Maui Invitational for the first time in three tries, beating Cincinnati, 61-59, in overtime last night at the Lahaina Civic Center.

"Obviously, this is the pinnacle and the creme de la creme of all the preseason tournaments. This is the kingpin and any other analogy you'd like to use. That's why it's so special," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "When you look up and you see all those teams that have won this thing, and what they've accomplished maybe after they won this thing, it makes you feel great for your guys."

With the Bearcats clinging to a 55-53 lead with 43 seconds left, co-tournament MVP Steven Gray — who shared the honor with senior Matt Bouldin — held the ball as long as the shot clock would allow before feeding Sacre in the paint for a one-handed floater with 16 seconds left.

Sacre then came up even bigger — and higher — on the defensive end, hustling back down the court to defend Cincinnati's final play, run without a timeout.

After playing a little too far up with Lance Stephenson draining the final seconds at the top of the arc, Sacre eventually dropped back to cover Yancy Gates, who charged along the right baseline and caught Stephenson's alley-oop pass with just seconds remaining, attempting to flush it home for the championship.

Sacre, though, timed his jump perfectly and swatted the ball out of Gates' hands, sending the game to overtime.

It was Gonzaga's first championship on Maui after losing to Connecticut, 65-63, in the 2005 title game and finishing fourth in 2002.

Wisconsin 78, No. 21 Maryland 69: Jason Bohannon scored 20 points, Jon Leuer added 16 and the Badgers (4-1), trailing 7-0, used a 16-2 run to take a 16-9 lead with 11:59 left and stretched it to 37-27 at halftime in beating the Terrapins (4-2) for third place.

No. 24 Vanderbilt 84, Arizona 72: A.J. Ogilvy had 20 points and seven rebounds, Jermaine Beal added 18 points and five assists, and the Commodores (4-1) rallied from a 41-36 halftime deficit to beat the Wildcats (3-2) for fifth place.

Colorado 73, Chaminade 58: Marcus Relphorde and Alec Burks each scored 13 points and the Buffaloes (4-2) made 8 of 11 3-pointers in the second half and used a 13-2 run late in the second half to fend off the host and Division II Silverswords (0-3) for seventh place.

RANKED MEN

NO. 1 KANSAS 89, OAKLAND (MICH.) 59: Marcus Morris and Xavier Henry each scored 19 points, leading the host Jayhawks (4-0) to an easy victory over the Golden Grizzlies (2-3) that stretched the nation's longest home court winning streak to 44.

No. 5 Kentucky 73, Stanford 65: Freshman John Wall scored a season-best 23 points, and the Wildcats (6-0) closed overtime with an eight-point run to beat the Cardinal (3-3) in the championship game of the Cancun Challenge at Cancun, Mexico.

No. 7 Duke 64, Arizona State 53: Jon Scheyer had 16 points and six assists as the Blue Devils (5-0) beat the Sun Devils (4-1) in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at New York. The Blue Devils will face No. 13 Connecticut in the championship game tomorrow at Madison Square Garden.

WAC TEAMS

Louisiana Tech 86, Arkansas-Little Rock 66: Magnum Rolle scored 23 points to lead two teammates with at least 20 points as the host Bulldogs (3-1), playing at home for the first time this season, rolled to a 50-33 halftime lead in beating the Trojans (1-3).

HAWAI'I DIVISION II

HAWAI'I-HILO 91, WESTERN NEW MEXICO: Justin Smith scored 30 points to lead three teammates in double figures as the host Vulcans (1-2) held off the Mustangs (1-2). Kevin Bruce added 15, Brandon James 14 and Bryan Ngo 12 for UHH, which led 49-37 at halftime.