No. 25 Texas A&M edges No. 10 Gonzaga, 62-61, in Battle 4 Atlantis

Texas A&M knew it would need to play tough underneath the basket to compete with the size of No. 10 Gonzaga.

The Aggies did that to earn a place in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game in Paradise Island, Bahamas.

Danuel House scored 19 points, and No. 25 Texas A&M edged Gonzaga, 62-61, on Thursday.

“I was really proud of our guys defensively down the stretch. Our goal was to hold their big three guys to 30 points or less and we were able to do that,” Coach Billy Kennedy said. “The best thing about our team is we didn’t panic. Emotionally I thought we were locked in the whole game.”

The Aggies took the lead on House’s free throw with just over a minute to play, and Bulldogs’ Silas Melson missed a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer with House contesting the shot.

“Any time we have a tough game it’s teaching us all how to be poised, how to play under control and how to execute so we can give ourselves a chance to win a game,” House said.

Tonny Trocha-Morelos added 14 points for Texas A&M (6-0).

Gonzaga (3-1) led for much of the game but missed some key free throws down the stretch. After making six three-pointers in the first half, the Bulldogs connected on just three in the second.

Kyle Wiltjer led Gonzaga with 18 points. Josh Perkins added 15.

No. 3 Michigan State 99, Boston College 68: Denzel Valentine had a triple-double of 29 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Spartans beat the Eagles in an opening-round game at the DirecTV Wooden Legacy in Fullerton, giving Coach Tom Izzo his 500th career victory.

Valentine helped the Spartans expand their 13-point halftime lead to 27 midway through the second half. His second triple-double of the season was the first in the event’s nine-year history.

Valentine’s six three-pointers were one off his career high, and his points total was a career best.

Arizona 75, Santa Clara 73: Gabe York scored seven of his 11 points in overtime, and the Wildcats escaped with a victory over the winless Broncos in the opening round of the Wooden Legacy tournament.

Ryan Anderson led the Wildcats (5-0) with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Mark Tollefsen added 13 points before fouling out in overtime, and Kaleb Tarczewski had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Jared Brownridge scored a career-high 44 points for the Broncos (0-6), hitting seven three-pointers and making all 15 of his free throws. He surpassed James Harden’s tournament record of 40 points set with Arizona State.

Monmouth 70, No. 17 Notre Dame 68: Justin Robinson scored 22 points, including two free throws with 3.6 seconds left, and the Hawks upset the Fighting Irish in the first round of the AdvoCare Invitational.

Robinson was fouled driving to the basket and calmly made the decisive shots from the foul line. Demetrius Jackson’s midcourt jumper at the buzzer was well off the mark.

Monmouth (3-1) also got 15 points from Micah Seaborn.

Jackson had 20 points for Notre Dame (3-1).

Syracuse 79, No. 18 Connecticut 76: Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney each had 17 points and the Orange beat the Huskies to advance to the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Tyler Lydon added 16 points off the bench. Gbinije also had seven assists.