Wake Forest Gets by Arizona

Top-ranked Wake Forest defeated No. 18 Arizona, 63-60, Friday night in the championship game of the Preseason NIT, ending an 11-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden for Arizona Coach Lute Olson. The run started in 1973, when he was coaching at Long Beach State.

Justin Gray, overshadowed in his backcourt by sophomore sensation Chris Paul, was the only player who scored for the Demon Deacons (5-0) during the first 10 minutes of the second half. He finished with 21 points.

When his teammates started to make shots, the Demon Deacons went on a 13-2 run to take a 59-51 lead with 5:28 left. The Wildcats (4-1) moved within 61-60 with 1:26 left on a three-point basket by Hassan Adams.

Gray missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 24 seconds left. Arizona had one timeout left but Olson didn’t call it. Mustafa Shakur dribbled the ball at the top of the key and started his move with seven seconds left. His jump shot from about eight feet was short.

Eric Williams made two free throws for Wake Forest with 1.2 seconds left and Arizona’s chance to tie ended when Adams’ turnaround three-point attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

The loss ended Arizona’s 15-game winning streak in the tournament. The Wildcats won the last three times they participated -- 1990, 1995 and 1999.

Gray, who also had 21 points in the semifinal win over Providence, was selected tournament MVP.

Paul, the leading vote-getter on AP’s preseason All-American team, had four points on two-for-11 shooting as he was hounded all game by Shakur. Paul had four assists, three during the Demon Deacons’ run that gave them the lead in the second half.

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No. 3 Georgia Tech 79, Arkansas Little Rock 54 -- The Yellow Jackets (3-0) started the game at Atlanta with a 23-2 run and cruised past the Trojans (1-2), who missed 10 of their first 11 shots and shot only 29% in the first half.

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No. 8 Kentucky 77, Georgia State 59 -- The Wildcats (3-0) opened the second half at Lexington, Ky., with a 24-3 run over the first six minutes to extend their lead to 36 points. The Panthers (1-2) got no closer than 18 points after that. The Panthers didn’t attempt a free throw in the first half and attempted only four in the game.

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No. 13 Maryland 84, No. 25 Memphis 61 -- The Terrapins (3-0), who led, 37-29, at halftime, scored the first seven points of the second half en route to taking a 28-point lead with 10 minutes to play at Springfield, Mass. Most of the Terrapins’ baskets in that stretch came on layups and fastbreaks. The Tigers are 4-2.

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No. 17 North Carolina State 99, Campbell 44 -- The Wolfpack (4-0) led, 41-22, at halftime and took any remaining drama out of the game at Raleigh, N.C., by scoring the first 13 points after the break to take a 32-point lead. the Fighting Camels (1-2) have lost 24 of 25 games against Atlantic Coast Conference teams.

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No. 19 Alabama 78, Minnesota 72 -- Earnest Shelton scored nine of the Crimson Tide’s last 15 points to hold off the Golden Gophers (2-1), who pulled to within two at 70-68 with a minute left in the semifinals of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage. Alabama (3-0) made eight free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

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No. 21 Notre Dame 54, Charleston Southern 38 -- The 38 points were the second-fewest allowed at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind., which opened for the 1968-69 season. The low was in a 50-35 Notre Dame win over Rice on Jan. 23, 1984. The Irish (3-0) held the Buccaneers (1-2) to 27% shooting in the second half and 33% for the game.

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No. 22 Washington 96, Oklahoma 91 -- Nate Robinson scored 19 points and had eight assists, leading the Huskies (3-0) past the Sooners (2-1) in the semifinals of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage.

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OTHER GAMES

Nevada Las Vegas 86, Oregon State 61 -- Odartey Blankson scored a game-high 25 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the Rebels (1-1) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

UNLV, which led, 37-25, at halftime, never trailed in the second half and won going away, building their largest lead at the end.

The Beavers (2-2) were out-rebounded, 46-32, and shot only 37.9% from the field.

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Tennessee State 75, Cal State Northridge 72 -- Bruce Price scored six points in the final minute of overtime to lift the Tigers (1-3) past the Matadors (0-3) at the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational. The Matadors’ Bakari Altheimer made a three-point basket with 31 seconds left to tie the score at 62-62 and force overtime. The Matadors play Jackson State in the final round today.