No. 19 Gonzaga holds on to beat Pepperdine 89-82 behind Battle’s 21 points

Khalif Battle scored 21 points, Braden Huff added 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting and No. 19 Gonzaga beat Pepperdine 89-82 on Monday night in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams. Huff converted a three-point play that gave the Bulldogs the lead for good 7:10 into the first half, and Gonzaga (10-4) led 50-32 at the intermission. Freshman Jaxon Olvera scored a season-high 27 points on 12-of-21 shooting for Pepperdine (6-9).

No. 17 Mississippi State pulls away for 87-73 victory over Bethune-Cookman

Riley Kugel scored 22 points and Josh Hubbard added 16 to lead No. 17 Mississippi State to an 87-73 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Monday night. Mississippi State (12-1) struggled to put away Bethune-Cookman (3-10) until reeling off a 16-4 run midway through the second half. Kugel was 10 of 13 from the floor and had four rebounds before fouling out late.

Nate Calmese, Tomas Thrastarson propel Washington State past Loyola Marymount 73-59

Nate Calmese had 20 points, freshman Tomas Thrastarson scored a season-high 17 in his first start and Washington State beat Loyola Marymount 73-59 at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Monday night. Calmese made 9 of 17 shots and both of his free throws for the Cougars (12-3, 2-0 West Coast Conference). Thrastarson buried 6 of 8 shots — 4 of 5 from 3-point range — and grabbed six rebounds.

Essegian hits 6 3s, scores 20 points, Nebraska rolls past Southern 77-43

Reserve Connor Essegian matched his career-high with six 3-pointers and scored 20 points and Nebraska dominated the first half in a 77-43 win over Southern on Monday night. Brice Williams, who averaged 24 points in the Cornhuskers' last four games, added 11 points and surpassed 1,500 for his career. Jayce DePron scored 13 points for Southern (5-8).

Caleb Love his 5 3s, scores 33 as Arizona beats TCU 90-81 in Big 12 opener

Caleb Love hit five 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 33 points, Henri Veesaar added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Arizona beat TCU 90-81 on Monday night in the Big 12 opener for both teams. Love made 11 of 17 from the field, hit 6 of 6 from the free-throw line and had seven rebounds and seven assists. Jaden Bradley added 10 points and six assists for Arizona (7-5).

Thiero and Fland each score 22 as No. 23 Arkansas beats Oakland 92-62 after strong 2nd half

Adou Thiero and Boogie Fland each scored 22 points and No. 23 Arkansas put away Oakland 92-62 in its final non-conference game Monday night. Thiero made 8 of 12 shots and had six rebounds and six assists for the Razorbacks, who shot 60.3% overall. Fland, who had 21 points in the second half, hit five 3-pointers and finished with six assists, and Karter Knox scored in double figures for the third straight game with 17.

Tyler Nickel, Devin McGlockton lead Vanderbilt to 100-56 romp over New Orleans

Tyler Nickel made five 3-pointers and scored 19, Devin McGlockton posted a double-double and Vanderbilt rolled to a 100-56 victory over New Orleans on Monday night, closing out nonconference play on a six-game win streak. Nickel made 7 of 14 shots for the Commodores (12-1), who improved to 8-0 at home. McGlockton totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.