NASSAU, Bahamas -- David Joplin scored a career-high 29 points and made six three-pointers, Chase Ross had 14 points and five steals, and No. 15 Marquette beat Georgia 80-69 on Saturday.
Joplin scored five consecutive Marquette points to begin a 12-3 run that Stevie Mitchell capped by banking in a shot with 1:33 remaining for a 78-66 lead. Mitchell made a steal at the other end to help seal it.
Ben Gold scored a career-high 14 points and Kam Jones had 10 points and seven assists for Marquette (6-0). Jones was coming off the program's third triple-double in more than 100 seasons when he had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in 36 minutes against No. 6 Purdue on Tuesday. Gold's previous high was 12 points at UConn on Feb. 7, 2023, while Joplin's was 28 at DePaul on Jan. 28, 2023.
Blue Cain scored 17 points and Tyrin Lawrence added 15 for Georgia (5-1). Dakota Leffew had 11 and Silas Demary Jr. 10. The Bulldogs turned it over 18 times, leading to 27 points by Marquette.
Marquette scored 11 consecutive points early in the second half and held Georgia to five points in seven minutes to take a 55-40 lead. The Bulldogs started the second half by missing 6 of 8 shots.
NO. 6 PURDUE 80,
MARSHALL 45
WEST LAYFAYETTE, Ind. -- Trey Kaufman-Renn had 18 points and Myles Colvin and Camden Heide each scored 13 to lead No. 6 Purdue to a rout of Marshall.
Colvin and Heide were making their first starts of the season for Purdue (5-1). Braden Smith, who was averaging 14.6 points, was scoreless on an 0-for-4 shooting day. Smith had a team-high nine assists.
Nate Martin led Marshall (3-2) with nine points, playing 24 minutes before fouling out with several minutes left in the game.
The Boilermakers shot 55% in the first half to take a 39-24 halftime lead. However, Purdue made only one field goal in the final nine minutes of the first half.
Purdue picked up the intensity in the second half, leading by as many as 41 points. The Boilermakers shot 50% for the game and held the Thundering Herd to 30%.
The Boilermakers held a 23-4 edge in points off turnovers and a 36-14 lead off points in the paint.
NO. 18 CINCINNATI 81,
GEORGIA TECH 58
ATLANTA -- Dillon Mitchell had 14 points and 11 rebounds and No. 18 Cincinnati beat Georgia Tech.
Jizzle James and Cole Hickman also scored 14 points apiece for the Bearcats (5-0), who passed the first true test of the young season against their first major conference opponent in the Yellow Jackets of the ACC.
Naithan George made 3 three-pointers while scoring 13 points for Georgia Tech (2-3). Duncan Powell added 10 points, while leading scorer Baye Ndogo finished with just five points.
NO. 25 ILLINOIS 87,
MD-EASTERN SHORE 40
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Will Riley scored his 19 points in the second half and No. 25 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore.
Kylan Boswell added 13 points, Tomislav Ivisic had 11 and Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Illini (4-1), who shot 25% (10 for 40) from three-point range but committed just nine turnovers.
Tre White grabbed 11 rebounds and Kasparas Jakucionis seven for Illinois, which outrebounded the Hawks 59-38.
Jalen Ware scored 10 points and Christopher Flippin had 10 rebounds for Maryland Eastern Shore (2-6), which had its lowest point total of the season. The team's previous low came in 102-63 loss to Vanderbilt on Nov. 4.
Illinois is unbeaten in four home games. Maryland Eastern Shore is winless in six road games.
TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 6 NOTRE DAME 74,
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 61
LOS ANGELES -- Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points and No. 6 Notre Dame defeated JuJu Watkins and third-ranked Southern California in a marquee matchup on the West Coast.
Watkins and the Trojans (4-1) fell behind early and were down 21 points in the fourth quarter. She had 24 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Hidalgo came out shooting well, hitting 5 of 8 from the floor in the first quarter and had 16 points at the break. She added 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Hidalgo's backcourt mate, Olivia Miles, added 20 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for the Fighting Irish (5-0).
NO. 16 NORTH CAROLINA 63,
BALL STATE 52
NASSAU, Bahamas -- Lanie Grant scored a career-high 15 points, Alyssa Ustby had a double-double and No. 16 North Carolina beat Ball State in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
North Carolina (4-1) scored the last nine points of the first quarter for a 19-10 advantage and led the rest of the way. Madelyn Bischoff's three-pointer pulled Ball State to 39-34 with 7:31 left in the third, but the Cardinals didn't get closer.
Grant, a 5-8 freshman from Midlothian, Va., who skipped her final year of high school, was 3 of 6 from the floor and made 6 of 7 free throws. Ustby and Trayanna Crisp added 12 points apiece for the Tar Heels. Ustby grabbed 11 rebounds and her board with 6:58 left was the 1,000th of her career.
Bischoff made five three-pointers and scored 19 points to lead Ball State (4-1). Marie Kiefer didn't attempt a field goal in the second half but was 5 of 6 from the floor in the first half and finished with 13 points.
NO. 18 BAYLOR 101,
SOUTHERN MISS 55
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -- Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 19 points, Yaya Felder had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and No. 18 Baylor coasted to a win over Southern Mississippi to open the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Jada Walker added 17 points and eight assists for the Bears (4-1), who play Indiana in the semifinals on Sunday. Bella Fontleroy scored 15 pionts and Sarah Andrews also had 14 for Baylor.
Je'Mya Evans and Melyia Grayson both had 12 points for the Lady Eagles (2-3).
Southern Miss made 8 of 13 shots in the first quarter and trailed just 25-18 despite being outrebounded 15-3. That caught up to the Lady Eagles in the second quarter when the Bears outscored them 27-8 for a 52-26 halftime lead.
Baylor made 10 of 17 shots in the second quarter with six three-pointers, three each by Fontleroy and Andrews. Southern Miss was 3 of 9 with seven turnovers.
The halftime rebounding stats were 22-9 for Baylor, 14-3 on the offensive end and 18-2 in second-chance points.
Baylor made 15 of 34 three-pointers and shot 57% overall and finished with a 42-22 rebounding advantage.
COLLEGE WOMEN
SAM HOUSTON ST. 67,
UAPB 48
Sam Houston State (4-2) got 19 points from Aysia Ward-Strong and rode a strong defensive performance to breeze by the Golden Lions at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas.
Ward-Strong added 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks for the Bearkats, who led the entire game and didn't let UAPB (2-4) climb any closer than 16 points in the second half. Sam Houston also got 14 points and 13 rebounds from Deborah Ogayemi and 10 points apiece from Kaila Kelley and Fanta Kone.
The Bearkats scored 21 points off 26 turnovers and corralled 48 rebounds -- 21 on the offensive end -- to help offset 25 of 64 (39.1%) shooting.
Janiyah Tucker had 16 points and 9 rebounds, and Jailah Pelly tallied 10 points and 2 blocks for the Golden Lions. UAPB shot 19 of 57 (33.3%) and missed all six of its three-point attempts.
In this photo provided by Bahamas Visual Services, Marquette forward Royce Parham (13) drives against Georgia guard Tyrin Lawrence during an NCAA college basketball game in Nassau, Bahamas Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Bahamas Visual Services via AP)
In this photo provided by Bahamas Visual Services, Marquette coach Shaka Smart yells as Marquette forward Ben Gold passes during an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia in Nassau, Bahamas Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (Bahamas Visual Services via AP)