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Butler forward Avery Jukes, center, is sandwiched between Davidson defenders Dan Nelms, left, and Will Archambault in the second half in Indianapolis on Saturday. Jukes was fouled by Archambault on the play. No. 11 Butler won the game, 73-62.
AP photo
INDIANAPOLIS — Gordon Hayward scored 17 points and Willie Veasley added 15 to lead No. 11 Butler to a 73-62 win over Davidson on Saturday.
The Bulldogs (1-0) rallied twice from 10-point deficits in the first half, then used a late run to seal it.
Davidson (0-1) was led by Ben Allison with 13 points.
Though Butler protected its highest preseason ranking in school history, it certainly didn’t play its usual style. In the first half, the Bulldogs were in foul trouble, committed seven turnovers and were just 7 of 22 from the field after 16 1/2 minutes.
Davidson took advantage, building a 31-21 lead.
The Bulldogs closed the half on a 16-4 run and opened the second half with five straight points to make it 42-35.
Davidson rallied, taking a 58-56 lead with 9:37 to go. But that’s when Butler answered with a decisive 12-0 spurt.
No. 17 Oklahoma 95, Mount St. Mary’s 71
NORMAN, Okla. — Steven Pledger scored 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting and No. 17 Oklahoma’s much-heralded freshman class lifted the Sooners to a victory over Mount St. Mary’s in the teams’ season opener.
Another freshman, Keith “Tiny” Gallon, had 18 points and 15 rebounds, while sophomore Willie Warren added 15 points and a career-high 11 assists for his first double-double for Oklahoma, which has won 23 of its last 25 season openers.
The win was the 1,499th in Oklahoma’s history, the 29th-highest total in NCAA Division I.
Mount St. Mary’s is 3-19 in season openers since joining Division I. The Mountaineers, the preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference, dropped to 1-14 all-time against ranked foes. Jeremy Goode, the conference’s preseason player of the year, led Mount St. Mary’s with 18 points but had eight of his team’s 15 turnovers.
No. 21 Dayton 90, Creighton 80
DAYTON, Ohio — Chris Johnson had a double-double, and Chris Wright led a second-half surge that carried No. 21 Dayton to a victory over Creighton in an opening matchup of teams that won 27 games apiece last season.
Dayton, ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1967, overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half and regrouped, pulling away in the closing minutes. The Flyers won their 21st in a row on their home floor, tying the school record.
Johnson scored 18 points and had a career-high 15 rebounds. Wright scored 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting, and snapped the Flyers out of their lethargy in the second half with emphatic plays around the basket.
Creighton hasn’t beaten a ranked team on the road since it upset Larry Bird’s Indiana State team on Jan. 28, 1978.
P’Allen Stinnett scored 18 points to lead the Bluejays.
Temple 76, Delaware 56
NEWARK, Del. — Ryan Brooks scored 23 points and sparked a key first-half run in Temple’s win over Delaware.
Down 5-0, the Owls went on a 28-4 run capped by two Brooks’ free throws with 8:50 left in the first half. Brooks, who also had nine rebounds, scored 11 points during the run.
Juan Fernandez added 14 points and Lavoy Allen grabbed 15 rebounds for Temple, which shot 50 percent from the field (25 of 50).
WOMEN
No. 1 Connecticut 105, Northeastern 35
STORRS, Conn. — Tina Charles scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as top-ranked Connecticut began the defense of its sixth national title with a rout of Northeastern.
Charles, who pulled down her 1,000th career rebound in the first half, was one of six Huskies in double figures.
UConn, which went 39-0 last season, scored the games first 28 points and was never challenged. The Huskies led 69-15 at the half — the most points they’ve scored in any half of any game.
Maya Moore finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tiffany Hayes had 14 points; Kalana Greene had 13 and Caroline Doty and Meghan Gardler each added 10
Rachael Pecota led Northeastern with 10 points.