Mays scores 19 as LSU tops Memphis
BATON ROUGE, La. – Skylar Mays scored 19 points, transfer Kavell BigbyWilliams 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.
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-theback bounce pass from the right wing.
Bigby-Williams, a transfer from Oregon, never scored more than 11 in a game for the Ducks, and is expected to be relied upon primarily for defense this season. He made all seven of his shots, all from close range, including an emphatic dunk that gave LSU a 10-point lead with seven minutes remaining.
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 collegiate game.
Jeremiah Martin scored 15 points and Kyvon Davenport had 10 for Memphis (1-1), which remained within single digits for most of the game.
No. 5 Tennessee 66, Georgia Tech 53: Grant Williams scored 22 points and Tennessee used its stingy defense to beat cold-shooting Georgia Tech.
Tennessee (3-0) was playing one day after moving up a spot in the Top 25 to earn its first top-five ranking since the 2007-08 season. After the Yellow Jackets made the game’s first basket, Tennessee scored the next seven points and stayed in control the rest of the way.
Georgia Tech (1-1) shot just 27.6 percent from the field – its lowest mark since Josh Pastner took over as coach in 2016. The Yellow Jackets had nearly twice as many fouls (30) as baskets (16).
The Yellow Jackets missed 15 straight shots during one stretch, including their first 11 attempts of the second half. They didn’t make their first second-half basket until Jose Alvarado sank a 3-pointer with 12:12 left.
Pac-12
Colorado 100, Drake 71: Namon Wright scored a career-high 25 points and McKinley Wright IV added 17, helping Colorado pull away in the second half to beat Drake.
Tyler Bey had nine points and 14 rebounds as the Buffaloes (1-0) moved to 9-0 in home openers under coach Tad Boyle. McKinley Wright picked up where he left off in the assist department with six. He broke Chauncey Billups’ freshman record for assists a season ago with 175.
Colorado shrugged off a sluggish start to lead by 11 at halftime. The team used a quick spurt to turn the game into a rout.
Nick Norton led Drake (1-1) with 18 points.