CORVALLIS — Ahmad Starks scored a career-high 33 points and Oregon State defeated New Mexico State 71-62 in a regional game of the 2K Sports Classic on Sunday night.
Joe Burton added 13 points for the Beavers, who improved to 2-0.
It was the opener for the Aggies, who went 26-10 last season and won the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship for a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Tyrone Watson and Daniel Mullings had 14 points apiece for New Mexico State, which trailed by as many as 14 points after leading by six early in the first half.
The Aggies took a 17-12 lead on Watson’s jumper before Tshilidzi Nephawe added a free throw.
But Starks hit a 3-pointer and a layup that touched off a 9-2 run to put the Beavers in front 21-20 after Burton’s layup. Eric Moreland’s layup extended Oregon State’s lead to 30-22, while the Aggies struggled to make shots.
Starks’ layup made it 50-36 with 14 minutes left. The Aggies pulled within 68-61 on Renaldo Dixon’s dunk with 1:37 remaining, then Bandja Sy made a pair of free throws to narrow it further, but it was as close as they would come.
Also on Sunday:
No. 2 Louisville 79
Manhattan 51
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Russ Smith scored 23 points and Peyton Siva added 10 points and 10 assists as Louisville pulled away from Manhattan for a season-opening victory.
No. 4 Ohio State 82
Albany 60
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deshaun Thomas scored 13 of his 19 points in a 17-2 run to end the half, leading Ohio State to a victory over Albany.
No. 9 Syracuse 62
No. 20 San Diego State 49
SAN DIEGO — C.J. Fair and Michael Carter-Williams each scored 16 points and Syracuse blew past San Diego State on the flight deck of the decommissioned USS Midway.
No. 10 Florida 84
Alabama State 35
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Kenny Boynton scored 22 points and Florida cruised past Alabama State.
No. 11 North Carolina 80
Florida Atlantic 56
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — James Michael McAdoo had 19 points and 11 rebounds to help North Carolina beat Florida Atlantic.
No. 12 Arizona 82
Charleston Southern 73
TUCSON, Ariz. — Mark Lyons scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half of his debut for Arizona and the Wildcats escaped with a season-opening victory over Charleston Southern.
No. 19 Baylor 78
Jackson State 47
WACO, Texas — Pierre Jackson had 25 points and seven assists for Baylor, and the Bears rolled to a victory over Jackson State.
No. 23 Wisconsin 87
Southeastern Louisiana 47
MADISON, Wis. — Junior Ben Brust had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Wisconsin scored the first 19 points in a rout of Southeastern Louisiana.
No. 24 Cincinnati 80
Tennessee-Martin 57
CINCINNATI — Cashmere Wright scored 16 points and Sean Kilpatrick added 14 as Cincinnati cruised to a win over Tennessee-Martin.
Washington 85
Loyola Maryland 63
SEATTLE — Chris Wilcox scored 22 points, Abdul Gaddy had 17 and Scott Suggs 15 to lead Washington to a season-opening win over Loyola Maryland.
California 78
Cal State Bakersfield 65
BERKELEY, Calif. — Allan Crabbe scored 27 points, Justin Cobbs added 22 and California opened its season with a win over Cal State Bakersfield.
