Boozer, Williams Save No. 2 Duke

Carlos Boozer and Jason Williams simply would not let No. 2 Duke lose to unheralded Temple in the championship game of the Preseason NIT at New York.

The two sophomores kept the Blue Devils close and Duke finally prevailed Friday night, defeating the tenacious Owls, 63-61.

Williams hit the three-point shot that gave Duke the lead for good with 2:05 to play. Boozer had 13 of his 26 points down the stretch and was named the tournament MVP.

Duke (4-0) won its first Preseason NIT championship since the inaugural event in 1985-86. Temple (3-1) was making its first appearance in the tourney’s title game.

No. 4 Michigan State 89, Cornell 56--Andre Hutson and Charlie Bell combined for 29 points to lead the Spartans (2-0) past Cornell (0-2) in the Spartan Classic semifinals at East Lansing, Mich.

No. 5 Stanford 83, Memphis 60--Jason Collins scored a career-high 19 points and Casey Jacobsen had 22 as the Cardinal (3-0) defeated the Tigers (1-2) in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Shootout at Bayamon. Stanford will play Georgia in the championship game today.

Georgia 65, No. 13 Utah 60--D.A. Layne scored 21 points and the Bulldogs (2-2) overcame a nine-point deficit to defeat the Utes (2-1) in the other semifinal of the Puerto Rico Shootout.

No. 19 Oklahoma 84, Montana State 76--Aaron McGhee scored 32 points and Hollis Price added 23 as the Sooners (3-0) hung on to turn back the Bobcats (1-2) in the opening round of the Big Island Invitational Tournament at Hilo, Hawaii.

No. 21 DePaul 80, Florida State 74--Bobby Simmons scored 20 points and Imari Sawyer had 18 points and 10 assists as the Blue Demons (2-1) defeated the Seminoles (0-3) in a Great Alaska Shootout consolation game at Anchorage.

No. 25 Virginia 64, Virginia Tech 48--Keith Friel scored 15 points, all on three-point baskets, to lead the Cavaliers (3-0) past the Hokies (1-2) at Blacksburg, Va.

SOUTHLAND

Lemi Williams banked in an eight-foot leaner from the right side of the key with three seconds remaining to preserve a 76-74 victory for Long Beach State over San Francisco in the opener of the Big Island Invitational Tournament at Hilo, Hawaii.

The 49ers (2-1) will face Oregon State, a 60-37 winner over Appalachian State, in a semifinal game today at 4:30 p.m. PDT.

WOMEN

Svetlana Abrosimova scored 11 of her 23 points during a decisive early run as No. 1 Connecticut coasted to a 100-54 victory over Washington at Seattle. . . . Alicia Ratay scored the go-ahead basket with 1:32 left and followed it with a key defensive play as No. 5 Notre Dame rallied for a 75-73 victory over No. 6 Georgia in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Challenge at Madison, Wis. . . . Tamika Catchings, despite playing only 16 minutes because of first-half foul trouble and a second-half hand injury, scored 20 points to lead No. 2 Tennessee (2-0) to an 86-58 victory over Clemson in the opening round of the Maui Invitational at Lahaina, Hawaii. . . . Katrisa O’Neal scored 24 points to lead No. 13 Texas Tech (2-0) to a 79-71 victory over No. 9 Penn State (2-2) in the first round of the Paradise Jam Classic at St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. . . . Jackie Stiles made all 13 of her free-throw attempts and scored 42 points to lead No. 17 Southwest Missouri State (2-0) to a 85-75 victory over No. 10 LSU (2-2) at the Paradise Jam Classic. . . .Tamara Moore and Jessie Stomski each scored 23 points and Nina Smith had a career-high 20 to lead No. 19 Wisconsin (2-2) to a 97-77 victory over No. 12 Oklahoma for third place in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison, Wis. . . . Kourtney Shreve scored 15 points and Ndidi Unaka came off the bench to add 12 to spark No. 14 Oregon to an 80-56 victory against Portland at Eugene, Ore.

Lauren St. Clair scored seven of her 18 points in the final 39 seconds of overtime to lead No. 18 Stanford (2-1) to a 79-72 victory over St. Joseph’s (1-1) at Palo Alto. . . . Shavonna Hunter had 16 points, including two three-point baskets that started and ended her team’s biggest run of the second half to lead No. 21 Illinois (2-0) to a 73-56 victory over Alcorn State (0-3) in the first game of the Maui Invitational. . . . Tasha Hamilton had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Lori Nero added 20 points to lead No. 20 Auburn (3-0) to a 70-55 victory over IUPUI (0-3) in the first round of the Kroger Thanksgiving Classic at Auburn, Ala. . . . Tynesha Lewis scored 14 points to lead No. 22 North Carolina State (2-1) to a 68-39 victory over Northern Illinois (1-2) in the first round of the Rainbow Wahine Classic at Honolulu.