UCA men fall

Jamal Williams and Marcus Harris scored 15 points each and Sam Houston State had four players score at least 10 points in the Bearkats’ 82-76 victory over the Central Arkansas men Wednesday night at Huntsville, Texas.

BATON ROUGE — P.J. Washington scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half, and No. 17 Kentucky held off feisty LSU 74-71 on Wednesday night.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander capped his 18-point night with two free throws with 16 seconds left, and Kevin Knox had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (12-2, 2-0 SEC), who survived their first true road test this season.

Duop Reath had 24 points and 11 rebounds for LSU (94, 0-1), which missed two three-point attempts that could have tied it in the final seconds.

Tremont Waters had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but his attempt to tie the game with a late three was off-balance and way off-target. The ball deflected out of bounds off Kentucky, giving LSU 0.8 seconds to get off one more shot, but Brandon Sampson’s right corner bounced off the far rim as time expired.

Kentucky trailed 36-31 at halftime, but Washington asserted himself in the second half with an array of power moves, getting free along the baseline for three dunks in a three-minute span to help Kentucky move in front. He also got the roll and the call when he collided with Sampson under the hoop on a fast break, completing a threepoint play that gave Kentucky a 67-65 lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander also came through late, hitting a driving scoop as he was fouled to put Kentucky ahead 71-67 with 1:22 left.

Kentucky scored the game’s first seven points capped by Knox’s three, but LSU began to chip away, thanks in no small part to a defensive effort that produced 11 first-half Wildcat turnovers.

The Tigers tied it at 18-18 after Reath hit a three and layup in succession. Reath scored 13 points in the first half, when Waters scored 10.

LSU led by as many as five in the first half when Aaron Epps, who finished with 13 points, hit a left-wing three to make it 36-31, a score that stood until halftime.

The Tigers went 5 of 11 from three-point range in the first half, but missed their first eight attempts from deep in the second half, giving Kentucky more chances to use its athleticism in transition. LSU came in 7-0 when leading at halftime, but protecting a five-point halftime lead against a team like Kentucky was going to require a better performance down the stretch.

The Wildcats did not block a shot or attempt a free throw in the first half, reflecting a style of play that was too passive for Coach John Calipari’s liking. That changed in the second half, when the Wildcats scored 30 points in the paint, blocked 3 shots and attempted 13 free throws.

In other Top 25/SEC games Wednesday, Braian Angola scored 20 points and C.J. Walker added 18 as No. 24 Florida State held off No. 12 North Carolina for an 81-80 victory. Terrence Mann added 17 points and nine rebounds for Florida State (12-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Joel Berry II led the Tar Heels (12-3, 1-1) with 28 points. … Isaac Haas scored 14 points and Dakota Mathias finished with 13 to help No. 13 Purdue pull away from Rutgers 82-51. The Boilermakers (14-2, 3-0 Big Ten) have won 10 consecutive overall and 17 consecutive home games. Geo Baker had 11 points to lead the Scarlet Knights (10-6, 0-3). Mike Williams added 10. … Donte Grantham scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Marcquise Reed hit two key free throws to help No. 25 Clemson beat Boston College 74-70 in its first game in the national rankings in nearly eight years. Reed finished with 17 points for the Tigers (13-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Jerome Robinson led Boston College (10-5, 1-2) with 28 points, scoring 26 in the second half. … Graduate student Juwan Parker came off the bench to score a career-high 18 points and claim a career-high 11 rebounds to lead Georgia to a 71-60 victory over Mississippi. Yante Maten scored 15 points and Derek Ogbeide 14 for Georgia (10-3, 1-1). Breein Tyree led Ole Miss (8-6, 1-1) with 17 points.