Arizona Wildcats win 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational basketball tournament

Arizona defeated Creighton 81-79 Wednesday to win the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, Wednesday before a packed house at the Lahaina Civic Center. 

Wildcats center Oumar Ballo scored a career-high 30 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, while guard Kerr Kriisa added 13 and dished out nine assists, according to a tournament recap.

In the first half, Arizona (No. 14) ran to a 11-point lead with :50 to go, outscoring Creighton (No. 10) 13-5 in the final eight minutes to lead at the half (39-30), the MJMI reports.

“Down 12 with 3:46 in the game, Creighton hit Arizona with a blitz of three-point made jumpers from Ryan Nembhard and Baylor Scheierman. Creighton outscored the Wildcats 12-2 over the final 3:04 and holding them scoreless in the final 2:21,” according to a tournament release.

“Leading by three points with 7.4 seconds left in the game, Arizona elected to foul Nembhard and send him to the free throw line. After connecting on the first, Nembhard purposely missed his second attempt, but the rebound was secured by the Wildcats who ran out the clock.”

This was a third win at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational for Arizona. The team also won tournament titles in 2000 and 2014. During the course of the 2022 tournament, Arizona also picked up wins against Cincinnati, and No. 17 San Diego State.

Arkansas Razorbacks Defeat San Diego State Aztecs for Third Place

No. 9 Arkansas defeated No. 17 San Diego State in a 78-74 overtime victory on Wednesday evening for the third place finish at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.

Travon Brazile led Arkansas with 20 points and nine rebounds, while teammates Ricky Council IV and Anthony Black added 19 and 15 points, respectively, according to tournament data.

Matt Bradley led the Aztecs with 23 points and seven rebounds.

Cincinnati defeats Louisville 81-62 in consolation game

Cincinnati earned the victory against Louisville in an 81-62 win on the final day of the 2022 Maui Jim Maui Invitational basketball tournament.

The Bearcats were led by David DeJulius who had a season-high 26 points in the win. Landers Nolley II also added 21 points for the Bearcats while Brandon Huntley-Hatfield led the way for Louisville with 15 points, according to a tournament recap.