Georgia Has No Trouble With LSU

Following the advice of Georgia Coach Jim Harrick, Ezra Williams let the game come to him -- and then he took it over.

Williams scored 11 of his 25 points during a momentum-changing run in the second half as Georgia defeated No. 21 Louisiana State, 89-63, on Sunday at Athens, Ga., in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

It was Georgia’s second consecutive victory over a top 25 team. The Bulldogs (9-3), who beat No. 2 Pittsburgh, 79-67, Tuesday, have won eight in a row.

“I came out in the first half and I was kind of anxious,” Williams said. “The second half, coach just stressed to just be patient and get lost in the game. That’s what I did in the second half.”

The Tigers (9-2) had won seven in a row, including an upset of then-No. 1 Arizona on Dec. 21, but they shot only 42% against Georgia.

“If we’d played our best game, we still couldn’t have beaten this team,” LSU Coach John Brady said. “Georgia was better than us.”

The Bulldogs took a 10-point lead early in the second half behind Williams and Chris Daniels. They combined for all the points during an 18-11 run and Williams made his first six shots of the half. He finally missed with about three minutes left, but by then, Georgia led by 23 points.

“I got a rebound, had a couple of assists, and after that, everything just took off,” Williams said of his hot streak.

No. 3 Duke 89, Clemson 71 -- The Blue Devils moved to 9-0 for the third consecutive season and won their 14th in a row over the Tigers (9-1) in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams at Clemson, S.C.

Duke, Connecticut and Wake Forest are the only undefeated teams remaining in Division I. Clemson was off to its best start since going 11-0 in 1995-96.

With No. 1 Alabama losing at Utah last Monday night and Pittsburgh losing at Georgia, the Blue Devils are expected to reach No. 1 in the AP poll this week for the sixth consecutive season.

J.J. Redick scored 22 points for the Blue Devils, who had a season-high 11 three-point baskets.

The game marked the re-opening of renovated Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson had won all nine of its games at its temporary home, The Civic Center of Anderson, about 12 miles south of campus.

No. 7 Texas 80, Mount St. Mary’s 64 -- The Longhorns used a strong defensive effort to pull away from the Mountaineers at Austin, Texas.

Playing only its third game in the two weeks during the holidays, Texas (9-2) struggled through a cold shooting performance but extended its winning streak to four games by playing tough defense.

The Longhorns forced Mount St. Mary’s (Md.) into 24 turnovers and turned them into 22 points. They also dominated the rebounding, 52-35, to make up for 37% shooting.

No. 15 Creighton 84, Drake 63 -- The Bulldogs went on a 13-2 run to start the second half at Omaha to pull within 55-47, but Kyle Korver made a three-pointer to start a 17-0 Bluejay run that put the game out of reach.

The Bluejays (11-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley Conference) forced three turnovers, center Brody Deren blocked two shots and Korver blocked another and Drake (5-8, 0-2) went scoreless for almost nine minutes during the decisive stretch.

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WOMEN

No. 4 Kansas State 103, Iowa 60 -- Laurie Koehn made 10 three-point baskets and finished with 33 points to lead the Wildcats in the Big 12/Big 10 challenge at Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State (13-1) took a 19-point halftime lead and never trailed. The Hawkeyes are 8-2.

No. 8 Texas Tech 76, Pacific 45 -- The Raiders (11-1) held the Tigers (3-9) scoreless for the final 5:39 at Lubbock, Texas, to extend their winning streak to 11 games.

No. 9 Arkansas 85, Montana State 37 -- The Bobcats (9-3) scored only eight points in the second half at Fayetteville, Ark., in losing to the Razorbacks (11-2).

No. 11 North Carolina 80, North Carolina State 59 -- The Tar Heels (12-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) used a 19-3 run to take control at Chapel Hill, N.C., and easily defeat the Wolfpack (6-7, 1-1).

Ohio State 70, No. 17 Texas 66 -- The Buckeyes held the Longhorns to two points in the final 1:19 after Texas used an 11-2 run to pull to within 66-64 at Columbus, Ohio.

Caity Matter and Ashley Allen each made two free throws in the last 30 seconds for Ohio State (10-2). Texas(7-4) didn’t get a shot off in the last 23 seconds.