Arizona, Kentucky Set Up Rematch

Mike Bibby scored 22 points, 15 on three-point shots, and had seven assists Monday as the top-ranked Wildcats rolled to a 99-69 opening-round victory over Boston College in the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii.

Arizona, the defending NCAA champion, got 17 points from Michael Dickerson, who was three of four from three-point range, and four other Wildcats were in double figures.

Arizona will meet No. 8 Kentucky, a 70-55 winner over George Washington, in today’s semifinals. That’s a rematch of last season’s NCAA championship game, won in overtime by Arizona.

“BC did a great job in the first half in coming at us,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said of the 45-38 halftime margin. “But our guys did a good job of adjusting and putting on good pressure.”

The Wildcats shot 62% (39 of 66) and finished with a 38-28 rebound advantage. Bibby was six of 11 from the field, Dickerson was six of 10 and Bennett Davison, who had seven rebounds, was five of six.

No. 3 Duke 106, Chaminade 70--Freshman Elton Brand scored 23 points and highlighted two first-half runs as Duke overpowered Chaminade in the Maui Invitational.

The Blue Devils (3-0) dominated every phase of the game, converting 34 of 70 field goals, pulling down 53 rebounds--to 31 for the Silverswords--and forcing 21 turnovers.

No. 8 Kentucky 70, George Washington 55--Despite shooting 36% (22 of 61), Kentucky (2-0) advanced to the Maui semifinals.

Kentucky got 16 points from Wayne Turner, with Jeff Sheppard the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10 points.

No. 9 Xavier 118, Northeast Louisiana 61--The Musketeers (3-0) forced a school-record 38 turnovers and had eight players score during a 19-0 run as they rolled at Cincinnati.

Darnell Williams scored 21 points, giving Xavier a different leading scorer in each of the three games.

No. 11 Connecticut 72, Coppin State 50--Richard Hamilton scored 20 points and had seven rebounds and five assists to lead the Huskies over the Golden Eagles at Hartford, Conn.

Hamilton was joined in scoring double figures by Kevin Freeman with 14 points. The Huskies play Florida State on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.

The Huskies (4-0) never trailed and the score was tied only once, at 6-6. Successive three-point goals by Hamilton and Ricky Moore gave Connecticut the lead for good.

No. 17 Mississippi 81, Arkansas Pine Bluff 36--Jason Smith had 14 points and 11 rebounds as Mississippi, with its highest ranking ever and playing only two nights after beating Temple, dominated Arkansas Pine Bluff at Oxford, Miss.

The Rebels jumped to a 27-12 lead midway through the first half, and Pine Bluff (1-3) didn’t score again until nearly three minutes into the second half.

Mississippi, which has won 24 of its last 25 home games, opened its season Wednesday with an 88-56 victory over Louisiana Tech.

Appalachian State 66, No. 25 North Carolina Charlotte 60--Tyson Patterson scored 23 points and Appalachian State held on down the stretch at Boone, N.C., for the 49ers’ second loss in as many games.

Kareem Livingston added 18 points and eight rebounds as the Mountaineers (3-0) scored their first victory over a ranked opponent since 1993, when they defeated No. 23 Nebraska.

Sean Colson, the 49er point guard who sat out the team’s opener--a loss to Miami last weekend--for breaking a team rule, scored 12 points in the second half and helped the 49ers close to 60-57 with 1:30 left.

But the Mountaineers sealed the victory at home by going six of eight from the foul line in the final 1:22.

OTHER GAMES

Wake Forest stayed focused from the start, defeating Liberty, 81-47, at Winston-Salem, N.C., for its 22nd consecutive nonconference victory. . . . Tyron Lee made a three-point shot with 1:52 left to break a tie and added a free throw with seven seconds to play as Missouri defeated DePaul, 45-42, in the Maui Invitational . . . Jerod Ward scored 21 points and Maceo Baston helped Michigan avert another upset by rallying to defeat Towson, 75-72, at Towson, Md.