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Late night snacks: Shabazz and Chaminade make the headlines

Shabazz Muhammad

UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad (15) is defended by Georgetown’s Jabril Trawick (55) in the second half of their NCAA college basketball game in the Legends Classic, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012, in New York. Georgetown won 78-70. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

AP

The first day of Maui and we had to classic moments from a tournament that always delivers a few. Shabazz Muhammad makes his UCLA debut in Brooklyn, and all the stats you can shake a stat sheet at. Here’s your daily recap.

Games of the Night

Chaminade 86, Texas 63 - This one takes it. Division II Chaminade takes down mighty Texas in a game that they controlled from the beginning. A 32-point night from De’Andre Haskins propelled the Silverswords. Great night for the hosts of the Maui Invitational.

New Mexico 66, UConn 60 - It’s a statement game for New Mexico, who has been buried under San Diego State and UNLV in terms of headlines in the Mountain West Conference this preseason. They hit all 21 of their free throws and Kendall Williams had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win to give the Lobos the Paradise Jam title.

Butler 72, Marquette 71 - It was more about the shot than the game. Junior Cadougan missed the second of two free throws, Butler’s Khyle Marshall rebounded and got it to Rotnei Clarke, who weaved his way down the court and launched a running 30-footer as the buzzer sounded that dropped and gave Butler the win. Great way to start the Maui Invitational.

Georgetown 78, UCLA 70 - Retuuuurn of Shabazz (get it?). Yea, well, anyway, Shabazz Muhammad made his collegiate debut to the tune of 15 points in the Bruins first loss of the season. He was sporadic, he was indecisive, he was a freshman in his first game of the season. He’ll be fine. It’s just good to have him on the court.

St. Louis 70, Texas A&M 49 - With all the buzzer-beaters, upsets and debuting superstars, this game was lost. The Billikens, playing in their first game since hearing the news that coach Rick Majerus would retire after taking a leave of absence from coaching for the season, ran the Aggies off the court. Dwayne Evans had 21 points for St. Louis, who shot 51-percent from the field (25-for-49).

Starred

Rotnei Clarke, Butler - It’s all about the shot. Despite a 7-for-21 shooting night, Clarke shook it off and hit a running 30-footer at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs the win over the Golden Eagles. The line itself was vintage Clarke, who never saw a shot he didn’t like. One great shot can make up for a night of bad ones.

De’Andre Haskins, Chaminade - A special shoutout to the Division II boys in this one. A former Division I player at Valparaiso, Haskins went for 32 points in the Silverswords stunner over Texas. The guy played like he deserved to be back in the high ranks and showed absolutely no fear on the court.

Kendrick Perry, Youngstown State - The Horizon League Player of the Year candidate furthered his case, pouring in 34 points on 13-of-25 shooting and eight boards in 83-80 loss to North Dakota State. The loss doesn’t make the production any less impressive, considering Perry does so much for the Penguins. He’s incredibly legit.

Bilal Dixon, Towson - The opponent is what kept Dixon from getting the “stuffing the stat sheet” honor, but nonetheless, 10 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks in 79-40 victory over Cincinnati Christian isn’t a bad day at work.

Tony Mitchell, North Texas - Looks like the Mean Green are starting to come out of their earlier funk -- including a loss to Division II Alabama-Huntsville. Franklin dropping 21 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, three steals and two assists in 80-66 win over IUPUI. Franklin’s starting to post the consistent numbers everyone thought he would from the beginning this season.

Struggled

USC - Blame it on Hawaii? From beginning to end, the Trojans just didn’t show up in a 94-64 loss to Illinois in the nightcap of the Maui Invitational. The Trojans shot 42-percent overall (22-for-50), but hit just three threes and never seemed to find a rhythm at all. The reward for losing? A date with the recently-upset Texas Longhorns on Tuesday.

Elston Turner, Texas A&M - He led the Aggies with 16 points but went 5-for-12 to get it and committed four turnovers. He’s the leader and clear-cut best player on a team that got housed by St. Louis 70-49. They’ll need better overall games from him.

Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon - The transfer from Rice learned he was eligible this season a matter of weeks ago, I’ll admit, but he hasn’t had the best start to the season in a situation he asked for. The senior went 1-for-5 for two points in 24 minutes in a 67-45 victory over Jacksonville State. To his credit, he did have eight rebounds and five steals. But he’s a scorer and the Ducks will need points from him down the road.

Stuffing the stat sheet

Travis McKie, Wake Forest - The Demon Deacons beat Mercer 74-71 tonight behind McKie’s 23 points, 15 rebounds, three steals in 37 minutes. He was also 11-for-14 from the free throw line. The junior is averaging 13.3 points and eight rebounds so far this season. He’ll need more games like that for the Deacs to make a return to any postseason tournament.

Fanbases that can take a breath

New Mexico - There’s been a number of question marks in the post for the Lobos. None of that seems to matter now. After a comeback win in Marathon Madness a week ago, the Lobos earned the Paradise Jam title with the victory over UConn. Big man Alex Kirk had 10 points and four rebounds while the guards hit the boards too, with Hugh Greenwood ripping down seven rebounds to go along with 12 points. They were a perfect 21-for-21 from the free throw line and four starters finished in double figures. New Mexico looks good early.

Fanbases that can take a seat

Texas - I’ve said it enough tonight. The Longhorns lost to Chaminade 86-73 and it didn’t even seem as close as the score. Texas has a lot of work to do to get better and as long as Myck Kabongo is out, it’s not going to make the work any easier.

David Harten is the editor of The Backboard Chronicles. You can follow him on Twitter at @David_Harten.