NEW YORK – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Connecticut won its second overtime game in three days. Xavier grabbed a one-point win and DePaul remained the BIG EAST’s only unbeaten team. Georgetown almost made it a 4-0 sweep, but the Hoyas lost a tight one on the West Coast.
UConn beat VCU 70-63 in overtime in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. R.J. Cole scored a game-high 26 points. Isaiah Whaley, who was held out of Thursday’s game after fainting after Wednesday’s opening-round contest, sent the game into overtime with a late 3-pointer. His 3-point basket opened the scoring in the extra period and the gave the Huskies (6-1) the lead for good. Whaley finished with 16 points.
Xavier (5-0), playing without starters Colby Jones, Jerome Hunter and Dieonte Miles due to illness, used a career scoring night by Nate Johnson to edge Virginia Tech 59-58 in the third-place game of the NIT Tip-Off. Johnson poured in 30 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. He played all 40 minutes, made 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, and did not commit a turnover.
DePaul improved to 5-0 under new coach Tony Stubblefield with a 77-68 win against Northern Kentucky at Wintrust Arena in the Blue Demons’ second game of the Blue Demon Classic. Javon Freeman-Liberty, who had a double-double by halftime, finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Ongenda added 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The 5-0 start under a new coach is the first at DePaul since Joey Meyer began 6-0 in 1984-85.
Georgetown (2-3) scored 48 points in the second half, but could not complete the recovery from a 13-point deficit in a 77-74 loss to Saint Joseph’s in the third-place game of the Wooden Legacy. Kaiden Rice scored 19 of his team-high 25 points after intermission. Timothy Ighoefe grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds and blocked three shots.
The holiday weekend continues on Saturday with four games – all home contests for league teams and all on FS2. At noon ET, Providence hosts Saint Peter’s. St. John’s meets NJIT at Carnesecca Arena at 4 p.m. followed by SIU-Edwardsville at Creighton at 6 p.m. and Northern Illinois at Marquette at 8 p.m.