LAHAINA– The Kansas Jayhawks won in overtime against the Dayton Flyers in the Championship game of the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational basketball tournament. It was standing-room-only at the Lahaina Civic Center on Wednesday. The Maui Jim NCAA tourney is the premier Thanksgiving-time college basketball tournament. It is produced by ESPN.
The Flyers led at half-time 37-36, but the Jayhawks broke away in overtime for a 90-84 final.
“That was a great basketball game. Two good teams competing against each other and in a terrific atmosphere. Proud to be a part of it and certainly very fortunate that we came out on top,” said Kansas coach Bill Self.
Senior center Udoka Azubuike and sophomore guard Devon Dotson were awarded Tournament MVP awards. Both scored career highs in the championship game with 31 points by Dotson and 29 points by Azubuike.
Udoka Azubuike of the University of Kansas is hugged by teammate Tristan Enaruna after the Jayhawks beat Dayton in overtime at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational championship game at the Lahaina Civic Center.
At the post-game presser, Self was asked if it was the best performance he’s seen of Devon and Udoka play on the same day. Self said emphatically, “Yeah, yeah, I would say so. I don’t have all the stats, but they both got their career highs tonight, didn’t they? So, yeah, I would say that’s the best. I was excited. You look at different things, Dok didn’t turn the ball over. And so he was patient on the post, he didn’t dribble as much, so there were some positive things that he did that was very good. And Dot, I don’t know how he has the energy to play that fast. He’s a welcome addition too. But that’s the best 1-2 punch we have seen maybe with anybody in a while in our program.”
Spartans Defeat Bulldogs, 93-85
Michigan State advanced to the 5th/6th place game of the 2019 Maui Jim Maui Invitational tournament after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs, 93-85 on Tuesday in a close game.
The Spartans led Georgia by 21 points at the half with Cassius Winston scoring 28 points in the game. In the second half, Georgia had a big run, scoring 54 points and making it a two possession game, with Anthony Edwards scoring 37 points for the Bulldogs.
2020 Maui Jim Field
The 2020 Maui Jim Maui Invitational boasts yet another strong field, headlined by four-time Maui champion North Carolina. The Tar Heels have an impressive 18-3, record on the Valley Isle. They won the tournament championship in 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2016.
The field also includes two other former Maui champions: Indiana (2002) and Providence, which won the inaugural Maui Invitational in 1984.
Besides Providence, Davidson, Chaminade and Virginia played in the first tournament. Davidson is making its Maui return after going 0-2 in the four-team ’84 event.
Also coming to the Lahaina, for the Nov. 23-25, 2020 tournament are Alabama, Stanford, Texas and UNLV.
