NICEVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Lamonte Turner made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give No. 17 Tennessee a 72-69 victory over No. 20 VCU in the Emerald Coast Classic third-place game on Saturday.
Turner’s big shot spoiled a dramatic comeback by the Rams, who trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half.
John Fulkerson led Tennessee (6-1) with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jordan Bowden added 14 points and Turner scored 12 for the Vols.
Marcus Santos-Silva led VCU (6-2) with 22 points and De’Riante Jenkins had 15.
Jenkins hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 69-69 with 5 seconds left. Tennessee called timeout and inbounded the ball from the frontcourt with 1.7 seconds remaining. Turner launched the winning shot from the right corner.
NO. 21 COLORADO 59, SACRAMENTO STATE 45
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Tyler Bey pulled down 17 rebounds and scored 11 points, including a reverse layup off a sensational spin on his way to the basket in the closing minutes as Colorado fended off scrappy Sacramento State.
The Buffaloes improved to 6-0 for the second time in three seasons, but it wasn’t easy. The Hornets (4-1) were within striking distance at 45-40 after the only basket of the night by their leading scorer, Joshua Patton.
Evan Battey added 11 points and McKinley Wright IV scored 10 for Colorado, which closed the game on a 14-5 run, the Buffs’ only dominant stretch of the night.
Ethan Esposito’s 12 points led the Hornets, who only got four points from Patton, 14.5 below his average, on 1-for-8 shooting.
NO. 25 XAVIER 87, LIPSCOMB 62
CINCINNATI (AP) - Tyrique Jones had his fourth double-double of the season, Paul Scruggs scored 15 points, and Xavier recovered from its first loss by beating Lipscomb.
The Musketeers (7-1) were coming off 70-65 loss to Florida in the championship game of the Charleston Classic.
Jones finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, leading a surge late in the first half that put Xavier in control. Naji Marshall scored nine consecutive points for Xavier in the second half and finished with 13 as the Musketeers piled up a season high in points.
Lipscomb (2-5) was led by freshman point guard KJ Johnson, who had a season-high 25 points. Ahsan Asadullah added 18 points and nine rebounds.
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