No. 11 Butler 73, Davidson 62
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 16½ minutes.
No. 17 Oklahoma 95, Mount St. Mary’s 71
NORMAN, Okla. — Steven Pledger scored 21 points and Oklahoma’s much-heralded freshman class lifted the Sooners to a victory over Mount St. Mary’s.
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 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.
P’Allen Stinnett scored 18 points to lead the Bluejays, who haven’t beaten a ranked team on the road since they upset Larry Bird’s Indiana State team on Jan. 28, 1978.
