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Colas Chips In for Florida

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From Associated Press

Bonell Colas made the most of some limited playing time at Springfield, Mass.

Florida’s senior center played only one minute in the first half after picking up two quick fouls, and he played only 10 more in the second as he was called for two more.

That was all forgotten after his layup on an inbounds pass with 7.3 seconds left -- his only points of the game -- gave No. 8 Florida a 78-77 victory over No. 4 Arizona in the Tipoff Classic on Friday night.

The 6-foot-9 Colas missed his only other shot, but he made the layup on the inbounds pass from Christian Drejer that gave the Gators (2-0) the victory.

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“That’s something we do in practice every day, special situations,” Colas said. “It was just paying attention to what the coach told me that if I was open go to the basket and I did. Christian made a great pass and I just laid it up.”

The Wildcats (1-1) had two late chances to win, but Salim Stoudamire’s jump shot from the foul line missed and Andre Iguodala missed a tip-in at the buzzer.

Matt Walsh had 27 points for the Gators, whose last lead before the final score was 49-47 with 15 minutes to play.

Arizona took a 75-73 lead on a jump shot by Hassan Adams with 3:45 to play. Stoudamire made a jump shot with 2:37 left that gave the Wildcats a 77-73 lead, but those were their final points.

Chris Rodgers led the Wildcats with 17 points.

The game, sponsored by the Basketball Hall of Fame, drew a sellout crowd of 6,800 to the Springfield Civic Center.

No. 10 Kentucky 108, Tennessee Tech 81 -- The Wildcat starters fueled a late 26-4 run to secure the victory at Lexington, Ky.

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Kentucky (2-0) led the Golden Eagles, 78-69, with 8:47 left when Coach Tubby Smith called a timeout and put his five starters back in the game. When the starters returned to the bench with 3:28 left, the Wildcats led, 104-73.

The starters -- Gerald Fitch, Cliff Hawkins, Erik Daniels, Kelenna Azubuike and Chuck Hayes -- combined to score 99 points. Fitch finished with a career-high 36.

Fitch’s previous high was 25 points, which he had last season against North Carolina. He matched that total in the first half, making 10 of 15 shots. He is the first Kentucky player to score 30 or more points in a game since Tayshaun Prince scored 41 in an NCAA tournament win over Tulsa in 2002.

The Golden Eagles (2-1) are coached by Mike Sutton, who spent nine seasons as an assistant for Smith at Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky before taking the Tennessee Tech job before last season.

No. 22 Pittsburgh 83, Albany, N.Y. 54 -- The Panthers (4-0) won their 25th consecutive home game, the fourth-longest streak in Division I. Pittsburgh led, 43-37, with 15 minutes left before going on a 13-0 run to clinch the victory.

Albany (0-2) is coming off a 7-21 season and competing in its fifth season at the Division I level.

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No. 25 North Carolina State 92, Florida A&M; 62 -- The Wolfpack (3-0) improved to 60-6 at Raleigh against nonconference opponents under eighth-year Coach Herb Sendek.

That includes a 37-4 mark in the four years since moving to the RBC Center from Reynolds Coliseum. They also improved to 19-0 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

North Carolina State had no trouble against the Rattlers (0-3), scoring 16 of the first 18 points and leading by as many as 33 in the first half. The lead grew to 40 points in the second half.

The Wolfpack shot 54%, including 10 for 24 on three-point attempts. They finished with 25 assists on 34 baskets.

OTHER GAMES

Purdue 75, Seton Hall 63 -- The Boilermakers (3-0) broke open a close game midway through the second half and closed out the victory in the semifinals of the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage by making 13 of 14 free throws.

Brian Buscher’s slam dunk started a 17-4 run that gave the Boilermakers a 58-47 lead with 6:30 left. Buscher had nine of his 10 points during the run.

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Andre Barrett had a steal and made a layup as Seton Hall (2-1) closed to within 60-54 at 4:01, but the Pirates got no closer.

Iowa State 87, Mercer 64 -- Freshman guard Curtis Stinson had 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals at Ames, Iowa, in his first college game to help the Cyclones give Coach Wayne Morgan a victory in his debut.

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