Trojans fourth in Shootout

RouSean Cromwell tipped in a missed free throw with 13 seconds left and Southern California hung on to defeat Alaska-Anchorage 57-56 Saturday for fourth place in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska.

The Trojans’ strong inside game – 26 points in the paint – barely overcame the Division II Seawolves’ long-range shooting as Alaska-Anchorage (5-3) shot 9-for-14 from behind the arc.

The Trojans (2-2) led 51-49 when Alaska-Anchorage’s Kemmy Burgess hit a long jump shot, a 3-pointer and two free throws to give the Seawolves a 56-51 lead with 4:02 remaining, their last points of the game.

As time wound down, Trojan point guard Ryan Francis intercepted an Alaska-Anchorage inbound pass and was fouled. He hit the front end of a one-and-one and Cromwell tipped in the missed second shot.

The Seawolves had one last chance but Burgess missed a jumper from the wing as time expired.

The Trojans had 11 turnovers and the Seawolves 12 in the first half but both teams shot over 50 percent and Southern California led 34-33 at the half.

Gabe Pruitt led the Trojans with 17 points and Young and Lodrick Stewart had 12 each.

Oregon 84, Rice 60: In Eugene, Ore., Malik Hairston and Chamberlain Oguchi scored 14 points each to lead the Ducks (4-0) over the Owls (1-3).

Aaron Brooks added 13 points for Oregon, while Bryce Taylor scored 11 and Ivan Johnson had 10 points.

Lorenzo Williams led Rice with a game-high 19 points, while Jamaal Moore added 12.

A 15-2 run gave the Ducks a 15-4 lead at the 14:50 mark. Broooks, Taylor and Hairston all hit 3-pointers during that stretch, with Taylor also scoring on a layup.

After Rice cut the lead to 18-10 on a three-point play by Moore at 12:34, Oregon outscored the Owls 12-2 over the next four minutes to take a 30-12 advantage.

The Ducks, who led 42-25 at the break, put the game away with a second-half opening run of 17-4 to go up 59-29.

Arizona St. 86, Alcorn St. 74: In Tempe, Ariz., Kevin Kruger scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and the Sun Devils (2-0) used a late 12-0 surge to beat the Braves (0-3).

Kruger, son of UNLV coach Lon Kruger, capped the decisive run with two of his four 3-pointers, putting Arizona State ahead 74-63 with 3:17 to play. Bryson Krueger also scored 21 for Arizona State, including 8-of-8 free throws.

The Sun Devils won the game at the foul line, sinking 32-of-40 compared with Alcorn’s 14-of-17.

Delvin Thompson led Alcorn State (0-3) with 25 points, including 3-of-5 3-pointers.

A 7-0 spurt gave Alcorn State its biggest lead, 52-45, on James Kendrick’s layup with 14:93 to play. Arizona State finally got the lead at 62-61 after Krueger’s two free throw 6:51 from the finish.

Alcorn’s last lead came at 63-62 on a pair of free throws by Alleo Frazier with 6:45 remaining. The Sun Devils scored the next 12 and the Braves never got closer than six after that.

Kruger was 9 for 11 at the foul line, including three when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Allen Morill added a career-best 14 points for the Sun Devils, 10 of them on 12 free throw tries.

California 83, Northeastern 76: In Berkeley, Calif., DeVon Hardin had a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds, and the Golden Bears (3-1) beat the Huskies (4-1) to win their own Golden Bear Classic tournament for the ninth time in 13 years.

Hardin, who scored 16 points in the first half, turned in his third straight double-double and also set a career high in points for the third straight game.