Huskies Exploit Their Size

Deon Luton scored 14 points in the first half and Todd MacCulloch had all 13 of his over the final 20 minutes Sunday to lead No. 16 Washington to the Big Island Invitational championship with a 76-60 victory over Georgia Tech at Hilo, Hawaii.

The work of Luton and backup forward Chris Walcott made it easy for the Huskies (4-0), who opened a 19-point lead en route to a 40-28 halftime edge.

Then, with Georgia Tech’s 6-foot-11 Alvin Jones fouling out less than five minutes into the second half, MacCulloch took over, muscling inside for his points. The 7-foot, 280-pound center had been held scoreless in nine minutes in the first half.

Washington’s biggest lead was 16 points and the Yellow Jackets (4-1) could get no closer than nine points thereafter.

Luton finished with 16 points, MacCulloch finished with 13 and nine rebounds, and Donald Watts, who effectively guarded Georgia Tech’s Tony Akins, added 15 points. Watts also had three steals and four assists.

For Georgia Tech, Jason Floyd finished with 22 points with Akins getting 13. However, Akins had a three-for-15 night from the floor and also committed nine turnovers.

No. 14 Purdue 62, E. Illinois 49--Greg McQuay led the Boilermakers (6-1) with 19 points and nine rebounds and Brian Cardinal added 10 points as Gene Keady won for the 400th time as Purdue’s coach.

Keady is 438-188 in his career and 400-169 at Purdue.

Marc Polite scored 16 points for the Panthers (3-1), who kept the game close in the first half and held a 28-27 lead on his three-point basket early in the second half. Keith Hibbler grabbed 11 rebounds for Eastern Illinois.

The Boilermakers, who overcame an 18-point second-half deficit Friday night to defeat St. John’s for third place in the Preseason NIT, played sluggishly for most of the game. But the Panthers managed only five points in the final eight minutes while Purdue went on a 9-0 run.

OTHERS

North Carolina Charlotte 76, George Washington 68--Galen Young scored 18 points as the 49ers jumped out early in the second half and made free throws down the stretch at Charlotte, N.C.

Diego Guevara also scored 17 points as the 49ers (3-1) blocked 10 shots to hand George Washington (2-1) its first loss of the year.

Georgia 78, Texas 77--Center Robb Dryden, making only his second start of the season, scored a career-high 22 points and the Bulldogs (4-1) held off a Longhorn rally at Austin, Texas.

With the loss, Texas (0-4) is off to its worst start since losing its first six games in 1974-75.

Kansas State 78, Georgia State 71--Anton Reese set a Georgia State record with nine three-pointers and scored a game-high 38 points. But the effort wasn’t enough to keep the Wildcats (5-2) from beating the Panthers (1-3) at Manhattan, Kan.