K-State hits late FTs to upset No. 16 Cincy

MANHATTAN, Kan. >> Coleman Hawkins had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Dug McDaniel added 17 points and Kansas State led No. 16 Cincinnati nearly wire-to-wire in a 70-67 victory Monday night to open the 20-game Big 12 conference grind.

David N’Guessan also had 13 points, and C.J. Jones made four free throws in the final 20 seconds, helping the Wildcats (7-5, 1-0) snap a three-game losing streak that concluded their bitterly disappointing nonconference slate.

Kansas State led the Bearcats (10-2, 0-1) for all but 24 seconds, but was left clinging to a 65-63 lead after Aziz Bandaogo’s dunk with 27 seconds to go. Hawkins was fouled and made the first of two free throws with 23 seconds remaining, but Max Jones was there to tap the miss to C.J. Jones, who was fouled and made two free throws to extend the lead.

Bandaogo scored again with 8.9 seconds left, but C.J. Jones made the last of his two foul shots to put the game away.

Dan Skillings Jr. led Cincinnati with 18 points. Dillon Mitchell had 15 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 2 Auburn 87, Monmouth 58>> Johni Broome had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Dylan Cardwell had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Auburn overcame a slow start for a home win.

After an eight-day break between games, Auburn (12-1) struggled early and trailed Monmouth (2-11) for nearly seven minutes in the first half.

No. 14 Houston 60, Oklahoma State 47>> J’Wan Roberts had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Houston past Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams in Stillwater, Okla.

L.J. Cryer added 18 points and Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan contributed 12 points and six rebounds for the Cougars (9-3), who began defense of their conference title by limited the Cowboys to 18 points in the first half on 6-of-27 shooting. Brandon Newman led Oklahoma State (8-4) with 12 points.

No. 17 Mississippi State 87, Bethune-Cookman 73>> Riley Kugel scored 22 points and Josh Hubbard added 16 to lead Mississippi State to a victory over Bethune-Cookman in Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State (12-1) struggled to put away Bethune-Cookman (3-10) until reeling off a 16-4 run midway through the second half.

No. 18 Michigan St. 80, Western Michigan 62>> Jaden Akins scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half, helping Michigan State build a double-digit lead en route to a commanding home win. The Spartans (11-2) have won six in a row and nine of 10.

No. 23 Arkansas 92, Oakland 62>> Adou Thiero and Boogie Fland each scored 22 points and Arkansas scored a rout in its final non-conference game in Fayetteville, Ark.

Arkansas (11-2) led 42-39 at halftime before scoring 50 second-half points on 63.3% shooting.

No. 25 Ole Miss rolls ahead of SEC play

OXFORD, Miss.>> Starr Jacobs scored 14 points and No. 25 Mississippi cruised to a 93-41 win over Alcorn State in the Rebels’ final tuneup before starting SEC play.

Sira Thienou and Tameiya Sadler both added 13 points for Ole Miss (10-3), which shot 67% with just three 3-pointers.