Caldwell-pope leads UGA past Mercer

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Mark Fox is still waiting for a second and third scorer to complement Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

Several players have a chance to fill the role, and Fox credits Caldwell-Pope with working harder to improve his efficiency on offense.

“The game slows down for him a little bit, and he can pick and choose his spots, which allows other guys to get some good looks,” Fox said. “So him being a little more selective has allowed those other guys to take advantage of their shots. That’s going to be critical for our development.”

Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points and Charles Mann added 10 to help Georgia snap a three- game losing streak with a 58-49 victory over Mercer on Tuesday.

The game began at 11:30 a.m. to accommodate approximately 4,000 students from nearby elementary schools.

“They were pretty excited,” guard Kenny Gaines said. “Yeah, I can definitely say that was the biggest audience we’ve had, and it was the most hype also.”

Georgia (3-7) took a 10point lead, its biggest of the game, on Mann’s putback dunk with 3:24 remaining.

Georgia, which ranked 297th in field-goal percentage at tipoff, shot only 43.2 percent. But the Bulldogs outrebounded the Bears by 10 and outscored them 15-2 in points off turnovers.

Mercer committed only 11 miscues, but they were costly.

■ Texas A&M 66, Texas A& M- Corpus Christi 54

At College Station, Texas, Fabyon Harris scored 17 points and combined with Elston Turner to go 7-of-11 on 3-pointers as Texas A&M eased past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Harris was 3- of- 4 on 3pointers, and Turner, who scored 14 points, was 4-of7 from behind the arc. The Aggies (8-2) never trailed, led 39-25 at halftime and didn’t let up against their brethren from the A& M university system.

Will Nelson led the Islanders (1-7) with 17 points, but A&M-Corpus Christi lost its seventh consecutive game after opening the season with a 60- 49 victory over Texas Lutheran. The Aggies, meanwhile, rebounded from a 65-54 loss to Oklahoma, a former Big 12 foe, Saturday in Oklahoma City.

While the Aggies shot 54 percent from the 3-point line — slightly better than their 53 percent overall shooting effort — the Islanders were just 2-of-18 from long range.

■ Auburn 81, Tennessee Tech 62 At Auburn, Ala., Jordan Price scored 12 points and pulled within distance of threatening the NCAA record for consecutive made 3-pointers as Auburn defeated Tennessee Tech.

The victory pulled Auburn (5-5) to .500 for the first time since a one-point loss Nov. 21 at Boston College. Tennessee Tech (6-5) has lost two of its past three games.

Price was 3- for- 3 from behind the arc, making him 11- for-11 in his past three games. Each of his 3-pointers came in the first half, and he committed a technical foul for taunting after the last. The freshman was quickly benched, but he returned shortly.

The NCAA record for consecutive made 3-pointers is 15, set by Northwestern’s Todd Leslie in 1990.

Chris Denson led the Tigers with 20 points, his third straight double- digit scoring game since returning from academic ineligibility.