St. Thomas, VI (Sports Network) - Trevon Hughes dropped a game-high 22 points as the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers cruised to a 64-49 victory over the San Diego Toreros in the semifinal round of the Paradise Jam at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center.
Keaton Nankivil added 10 points in the win, and Marcus Landry had a solid all- around effort with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Badgers (4-0), who face No. 2 Connecticut in the championship round on Monday.
Brandon Johnson logged 19 points and Gyno Pomare scored 10 for San Diego (2-2), which dropped Valparaiso in the opening round of the tournament.
Wisconsin needed overtime to top Iona in its first-round matchup but made their free throws down the stretch to end any threat of that happening a second time.
Leading 48-40 with five minutes left, the Badgers drained 10 straight free throws, which included a three-point play by Tim Jarmusz, to easily pull out the win.
The Toreros shot a lowly 31.0 percent from the field in the first half but took 11 more shots than Wisconsin to trail just 26-20 at the break.
A pair of free throws by Chris Lewis brought San Diego within 34-31 with 14 minutes left in the game.
But six straight points from the Badgers followed by back-to-back Landry field goals several minutes later pumped up the lead to 10.
