Balanced LSU downs Memphis; Texas Tech runs record to 3-0
Skylar Mays’ soaring, one-handed, frenzy-inciting jam on a determined drive down the lane made it clear he won’t always be overshadowed by the highly regarded recruits that have made LSU basketball relevant again in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Mays scored 19 points, transfer Kavell Bigby-Williams added a career-high 14, and No. 22 LSU held off a relentless effort by first-year coach Penny Hardaway’s Memphis squad, 85-76 on Tuesday night.
“It felt good, mainly because it could get the other guys going. I felt like it was a spark,” Mays said of his first-half dunk. “I told the guys, that’s about it for the year. That’s all I’ve got in me. I’m getting old, man — third year in.”
Each of LSU’s three freshmen starters — Naz Reid, Ja’Vonte Smart and Emmitt Williams — scored 11 points. Williams also grabbed 10 rebounds for the Tigers (3-0), who trailed briefly with about 13 minutes to go before surging ahead for good with a pivotal 12-1 run that included back-to-back 3s by Mays and Reid. Smart set up Reid’s 3 with a behind-the-back bounce pass from the right wing.
“It just showed we have a lot of guys that can come about and make plays any given night, so that makes us a really dangerous team,” said Mays, who was a freshman on LSU’s 2016-17 squad that went 10-21 overall and 2-16 in Southeastern Conference play.
Memphis freshman Tyler Harris, who missed all six of his shots and didn’t score in his debut, was 6 of 13 on 3s and finished with 20 points in his second game.
(5) Tennessee 66, Georgia Tech 53: Grant Williams scored 22 points and the Volunteers (3-0) forced the Yellow Jackets (1-1) into a poor shooting night in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Georgia Tech made just 16 of 58 shots (27.6 percent), including 3 o f 19 (15.8) on its 3-point attempts.
Texas Tech 59, SE Louisiana 40: In Lubbock, Jarrett Culver scored 21 points, Norense Odiase grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds and Texas Tech shrugged off Southeastern Louisiana.
Culver, a contributor from Tech’s first NCAA Elite Eight team last season, scored six points in the final 1:58 before halftime to give the Red Raiders (3-0) a 32-19 lead.
Moses Greenwood scored 13 points and freshman sharpshooter Parker Edwards added 11 points off the bench for Southeastern (1-3), which had a miserable shooting night. The Lions shot 26 percent (12 of 46) overall and 17 percent (5 of 29) from 3-point territory.
Those shooting woes kept Southeastern from ever throwing too much of a scare into Tech, which dominated the rebound battle 38-25. The Red Raiders haven’t trailed this season.
Texas State 97, Hardin-Simmons 52: Eric Terry led six players in double figures with 17 points and Texas State rolled over Division IIImember Hardin-Simmons in San Marcos
Terry nailed all four of his shots from the floor and hit 9 of 10 from the free-throw line for the Bobcats (2-0). Tre Nottingham added 13 points and four assists, Jaylen Shead scored 11 and Alex Peacock grabbed 12 boards as Texas State outrebounded the Cowboys 5630. Shelby Adams finished with 11 points, Quentin Scott scored 11 with seven rebounds and Alonzo Sule scored 11.
Seven Quinn paced Hardin-Simmons with 19 points.
SEC making Nashville home:The Southeastern Conference has decided Music City is the place to keep its basketball tournament for years to come, extending its deal with an option that could keep the event in Nashville through 2035.
The league announced the agreement Tuesday to play the tournament in Nashville through 2030 with an option for a five-year extension. The only exception is 2022, when the SEC women’s tournament will be played in Nashville and the men are in Tampa.
Women
Stringer gets 1,000th win: Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer joined an exclusive club, reaching 1,000 wins.
Stringer became the fifth Division I women’s basketball coach to achieve the milestone and sixth woman overall when the Scarlet Knights beat Central Connecticut State 73-44 on Tuesday night in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The Hall of Fame coach joined Pat Summitt, Geno Auriemma, Tara VanDerveer and Sylvia Hatchell in the 1,000-victory club. Division II coach Barbara Stevens also has won over 1,000 games. The 70year-old Stringer is the first African-American coach to reach the milestone.
(13) Iowa 104, Western Kentucky 67: Megan Gustafson scored 29 points, making all 13 of her shots, Makenzie Meyer made five 3-pointers and scored a careerhigh 21 points and Iowa beat Western Kentucky in Bowling Green.
Gustafson became the second player in program history to surpass 1,000 career rebounds with six boards in the first half. She scored 12 straight Iowa points spanning the third-quarter break.
(16) Missouri 65, Missouri State 61: Sophie Cunningham and Grace Berg each scored 12 points and Missouri beat Missouri State in Columbia, Missouri.
Akira Levy added 11 points for Missouri (2-0), which is coming off its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance — going 24-8 for its most wins since 1983-84. Cunningham, who scored 30-plus in her two previous games, was held to 4-of-10 shooting, missing all four of her 3-point attempts.
(23) California 70, BYU 52: Asha Thomas scored 17 points, Kristine Anigwe had 16 points and 12 rebounds and California used a big fourth quarter to beat BYU in Provo, Utah.