Las Vegas, NV – Wisconsin topped St. Mary’s 61-55 to win the 2021 Maui Invitational tournament. Johnny Davis continued hie excellent play, leading the Badgers with 20 points. Davis was named the tournament MVP. Tyler Wahl added 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five rebounds to help Wisconsin to the win. Alex Ducas led the Gaels with 13 points and Daniel Fotu had another strong game with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
St. Mary’s led early, taking a 31-25 lead into the break. Then they expanded their lead to ten points (37-27) early in the second half before Wisconsin mounted their comeback. Davis scored eight straight points for the Badgers, the last three coming on a 3 that gave them a two-point lead with 5:12 remaining. St. Mary’s kept it close, closing with one, (54-53) on a Ducas three-pointer with 1:47 left. Wahl then came up big at the end hitting a jumper, blocking a shot, coming up with the rebound and making two free throws to clinch the contest.
The game stats were fairly even with the only glaring difference being St. Mary’s 16 turnovers compared to eight for Wisconsin. The resulted in a 13-7 edge for Wisconsin in points off turnovers.
The third-place game was no contest as Oregon continued their offensive woes in a 78-49 loss to Houston. The Cougars, who play excellent defense and are strong on the boards, are a very bad match-up for a team that appears to be very confused and reluctant on offense. 6-8 Fabian White Jr. led the Cougars with 15 points, including 3-of-5 from deep, and seven rebounds. Marcus Sasser added 14 points and Jamal Shead dished out six assists and some great defense.
Houston put the game away at the start with a 13-3 lead that gradually expanded their lead to 35-14 after White Jr. scored eight straight points including two three-pointers. Oregon’s offensive first half was brutal, shooting 30 percent and committing 11 turnovers. Their starting backcourt of Will Richardson and De’Vion Harmon combined for two points over 34 minutes on 0-of-6 shooting. Houston led 41-19 at the half and then proceeded to score the first 12 points of the second half. The Ducks offense looked a bit better after that but they still couldn’t keep up with the Cougars.
Oregon committed 19 turnovers in the game which Houston used to generate a 29-11 edge in points off turnovers. They had an 11-4 edge in offensive rebounds which at one point was 10-1. Houston also dominated in the paint with a smaller team, outscoring the Ducks there 40-22. Eric Williams Jr. was the only Oregon player remotely effective on offense, scoring 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
In the consolation games, Butler topped Chaminade 84-51 to take seventh place and Texas A&M outscored Notre Dame by 16 points in the second half in a 73-67 win to claim fifth place.
Johnny Davis was joined on the All-Tournament team by Wisconsin teammate Tyler Wahl, Daniel Fotu and Logan Johnson (St. Mary’s) and Fabian White Jr. (Houston).
This article was written by Carl Berman, Managing Partner of NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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