Michigan knocks off another top-10 opponent in No. 8 Gonzaga

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Isaiah Livers scored 21 points and Michigan again overwhelmed a highly ranked opponent with its flowing offense to beat No. 8 Gonzaga 82-64 on Friday in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Jon Teske added 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolverines, who beat sixth-ranked North Carolina on Thursday and finished a memorable three-game run to the title by giving first-year coach Juwan Howard another marquee victory.

This one had a similar feeling to the UNC win, too, with Michigan’s offense kicking into a hot-shooting gear midway through the second half to take control and build a huge lead.

Michigan (7-0) led just 38-36 when the shots started falling from just about everywhere: a 3-pointer from Zavier Simpson, two drives from freshman Franz Wagner, a 3 from Livers and two more from David DeJulius.

It was a burst of 10 straight scoring possessions that put the Wolverines up 62-43 by the midway point of the second half.

Gonzaga (8-1) never got the lead below double figures again.

Killian Tillie scored 20 points for the battered Bulldogs.

NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 78, NO. 11 OREGON 74

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) — Cole Anthony hit a driving layup and four key free throws in the final 64 seconds to help North Carolina hold off Oregon in the third-place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

The freshman point guard had a baseline drive past Will Richardson with the Tar Heels protecting a one-point lead. He then hit four straight free throws to protect the lead in a game that went down to the final seconds.

Senior Brandon Robinson followed with the final free throws with 0.8 seconds left to seal it, giving the Tar Heels (6-1) a needed bounce-back effort after Thursday’s loss to Michigan.

Anthony finished with 19 points despite sitting for a chunk of the second half after picking up his fourth foul. to help guide the Tar Heels to the finish, though it was fellow freshman Armando Bacot with a strong overall performance that led the way.

Bacot had 23 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for UNC.

Payton Pritchard had 19 points to lead Oregon (6-2).

NO. 2 LOUISVILLE 71, WESTERN KENTUCKY 54

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Nwora scored 25 points as Louisville defeated Western Kentucky to remain unbeaten and make its case for the No. 1 ranking.

There will be a new No. 1 team when The Associated Press Top 25 comes out on Monday because top-ranked Duke fell at home to Stephen F. Austin 85-83 in overtime on Tuesday.

The Cardinals last topped the AP poll on Jan. 14, 2013, and they went on to win the national championship that year.

Dwayne Sutton added 15 points as Louisville (7-0) never trailed while holding Western Kentucky to its lowest point total and shooting percentage (37%) of the season. Taveion Hollingsworth scored 16 points for Western Kentucky (6-2), which also got 14 points and nine rebounds from Charles Bassey.

NO. 5 MARYLAND 80, HARVARD 73

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Anthony Cowan Jr. scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half to help Maryland overcome another slow start to remain unbeaten, topping Harvard in the semifinals of the Orlando Invitational.

Cowan followed up on a 30-point performance in the previous day’s come-from-behind win over Temple with 10 points and an assist during a 12-4 burst that sparked a game-closing surge by the Terrapins (7-0), who have won seven straight to begin a season for the first time in three years.

Jalen Smith had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Aaron Wiggins, Darryl Morsell and Eric Ayala scored 13 apiece for Maryland, which will play Marquette or USC in Sunday’s championship game at Disney World.

Bryce Aiken led Harvard (5-3) with 30 points.

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