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New York • The big lead was gone. Chris McCullough wouldn't let the game get away, too.
McCullough had 20 points, nine rebounds and a key steal with 8.4 seconds left, and No. 23 Syracuse held off Iowa 66-63 on Friday night in the 2K Classic consolation game.
"I thought at the end of the game Chris made a great steal," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "He came across in our trap and made a great play. That was the game. If he doesn't come across and get that, we don't win."
Rakeem Christmas bounced back from his foul-plagued performance Thursday with 18 points for the Orange (3-1), who led by 15 in the second half but needed some key plays from freshman McCullough, who had 13 after halftime.
"We just came out more aggressive," McCullough said. "We rebounded and played good defense at some points."
Jarrod Uthoff scored 20 points and Aaron White added 15 points and 12 rebounds for Iowa (2-2).
Christmas, Syracuse's leading scorer, was limited to eight points before fouling out in the Orange's 73-59 loss to California on Thursday.
Christmas made the first two baskets of the game and had already matched his point total from Thursday night with still 8½ minutes remaining before halftime. He had 13 at the break, leading the Orange to a 34-29 advantage.
No. 8 Florida 61, Louisiana-Monroe 56, OT • Michael Frazier II scored 16 of his 21 points after halftime, and Florida rallied to beat Louisiana-Monroe in overtime Friday in Gainesville, Florida.
Florida (2-1) trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and squandered an eight-point lead in the final 2:31 of regulation before prevailing in OT.
Frazier shot 4 of 11 from the field, including 2 of 6 from 3-point range, but made 11 of 13 free throws and had eight rebounds.
Tylor Ongwae led Louisiana-Monroe (2-1) with 19 points. Nick Coppola added 11 points, including a 3-pointer with 16.6 seconds remaining that forced overtime.
Frazier had a chance to win it in regulation, but lost the ball out of bounds with 1.5 seconds to go. He also seemed to tweak an ankle on the play.
But he returned in the extra frame and helped Florida pull it out.
No. 10 Texas 71, Cal 55 • Jonathan Holmes had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Texas shook off the absence of leading scorer Isaiah Taylor to beat California on Friday in the championship game of the 2K Classic in New York.Holmes was chosen as the tournament MVP. —
Friday's scores
No. 1 Kentucky 89, Boston University 65
No. 4 Duke 74, Temple 54
No. 7 Louisville 85, Marshall 67
No. 8 Florida 61, Louisiana-Monroe 56, OT
No. 9 Virginia 59, George Washington 42
No. 10 Texas 71, Cal 55
No. 17 UConn 75, Dayton 64
No. 19 Michigan State 87, Loyola Chicago 52
No. 23 Syracuse 66, Iowa 63
No. 25 Utah 88, UC Riverside 42