Arizona Wins Its Third Preseason NIT

No. 8-ranked Arizona used 11-0 run midway through the second half Friday night in New York to defeat No. 11 Kentucky, 63-51, and win the Preseason NIT championship for the third time in the 15 years of the event.

Arizona (4-0) shot only 39%, but Kentucky (3-1) was even worse at 35%.

Gilbert Arenas, a freshman guard from Van Nuys Grant High, made six of 10 shots and had a game-high 20 points for Arizona. Tayshaun Prince, a sophomore forward from Compton Dominguez High, had 18 points for Kentucky.

The schools played in the 1997 NCAA tournament championship game, which Arizona won in overtime, 84-79.

In the Preseason NIT third-place game, sophomore forward Lonny Baxter had 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead No. 24 Maryland (4-1) to a 72-67 victory over Notre Dame (3-2).

PUERTO RICO SHOOTOUT

Morris Peterson, a senior forward, had 21 points to lead No. 3 Michigan State (3-0) to a 59-56 victory over South Carolina (3-1) in a tournament at Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Travis Kraft missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

Michigan State will play No. 20 Texas (3-0)--a 68-64 winner over No. 18 DePaul (2-1)--in the championship game. Chris Mihm, a 7-foot senior center, had 23 points to help Texas overcome the play of DePaul’s sophomore forward Quentin Richardson, who had 27 points and 10 rebounds.

In other tournament games, junior guard Donald Hand had 26 points to lead Virginia (3-1) to a 80-64 victory over Providence (1-3)--the school at which the Cavaliers’ Pete Gillen previously coached--while senior point guard Eddie House had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona State (2-1) in a 103-63 victory over American University of Puerto Rico (0-2).

OTHER GAMES

No. 1-ranked Cincinnati (2-0) got 20 points from senior center Kenyon Martin in a 91-56 victory over Cleveland State (0-2) in the first round of the Big Island Classic in Hilo, Hawaii. Cincinnati’s next opponent is Santa Clara, a 79-70 winner in overtime against Rhode Island (0-1). The Broncos (2-0) made nine consecutive free throws in overtime.

Sophomore forward Kirk Haston scored seven of his 20 points during a 9-0 second-half run and senior guard A.J. Guyton had 22 points to lead Indiana (2-0) to a 67-59 victory over No. 5 Temple (1-1) in the Tip-Off Classic at Springfield, Mass. Junior guard Lynn Greer led Temple with 25 points.

Jason Collier, a 7-foot senior forward, had 22 points to lead Georgia Tech (3-0) to an 82-65 victory over Washington (2-1) in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage. Junior guard Michael Johnson led Washington with 22 points. Georgia Tech plays in the championship game against No. 10 Kansas, a 111-70 winner over Xavier of Ohio (2-1). Six players scored in double figures for the Jayhawks (3-0).

Ron Slay, a freshman forward who had torn cartilage removed from his right knee less than a month ago, had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 17 Tennessee (3-0) to an 86-47 victory over Long Island (0-1) at Knoxville, Tenn.

Reserve Zach Gourde had 22 points for No. 25 Gonzaga (2-0) in an 81-47 victory over Eastern Washington (0-3) at Spokane, Wash.

Oregon State (2-0) had five players score in double figures and shot 64% in a 92-57 victory over South Carolina State (0-1) in the SoCon Holiday Hoops Tournament at Greenville, S.C. Oregon State, which had its largest winning margin since a 106-66 victory over Washington in February, 1989, plays next against Wisconsin Green Bay (2-1)--a 76-64 winner over Old Dominion (1-2).

Northwestern (1-1) had its lowest scoring total in 58 years in a 48-26 loss to Evansville (3-0) in the Hoop & Quill Classic at St. Charles, Mo. Northwestern’s previous low was in a 38-20 loss to Purdue in 1940.