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Support still lacking, but Dogs end skid

— 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 10-point lead, its biggest of the game, on Mann’s putback dunk with 3:24 remaining.

Mann, a freshman guard, and Cannon, a sophomore center, started their first games and Brandon Morris his second. Perhaps Mann can show some offensive consistency to help Caldwell-Pope shoulder the load, but new starter John Cannon went 0 for 3 from the field and had just one rebound in 13 minutes.

Morris finished with two points, on free throws. A third starter, Donte’ Williams, went scoreless, too.

Caldwell-Pope, at 17.4 points, is the only Bulldog averaging at least 10 points. He also leads the team in rebounding and steals.

“I mean we have scorers on the team,” Mann said. “We’re just trying to help him out and do the best we can do to help the team win.”

Nobody scored more than nine points for Mercer (6-6). The Bears, who had won two consecutive and three of four, were led by Anthony White Jr.’s nine and Daniel Coursey’s eight.

TENNESSEE 78,

PRESBYTERIAN 62

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jarnell Stokes scored 18 points and was one of five Tennessee players to reach at least 10 points in the Volunteers’ victory over Presbyterian.

Trae Golden added 16 points for Tennessee (6-3). Skylar McBee and Jordan McRae had 12 points each, and D’Montre Edwards added 11 points. McRae was making his first start of the season in place of Kenny Hall, who sat out the game with a hamstring injury.

Khalid Mutakabbir scored 18 points for Presbyterian (2-9), all in the second half.

TEXAS A&M 66,

TAMU-CORPUS CHRISTI 54

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Fabyon Harris scored 17 points and combined with Elston Turner to go 7 of 11 on three-pointers as Texas A&M eased past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Harris was 3 of 4 on three-pointers, and Turner, who scored 14 points, was 4 of 7 from behind the arc. The Aggies (8-2) never trailed, leading 39-25 at halftime. Will Nelson led the Islanders (1-7) with 17 points.

AUBURN 81, TENNESSEE TECH 62

AUBURN, Ala. — Jordan Price scored 12 points and pulled within distance of threatening the NCAA record for consecutive made three-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 on three-pointers, making him 11 for 11 in his past three games. The NCAA record for consecutive made three-pointers is 15, set by Northwestern’s Todd Leslie in 1990. Chris Denson finished with 20 points and Josh Wallace had 11 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. Jud Dillard led Tennessee Tech with 22 points and added seven rebounds, while junior forward Dennis Ogbe had 14 points and seven rebounds.

TOP 25 MEN

NO. 4 ARIZONA 89, ORAL ROBERTS 64

TUCSON, Ariz. — Mark Lyons scored 17 points, Grant Jerrett added 15 and No. 4 Arizona rolled over Oral Roberts. Brandon Ashley added 14 points for Arizona (9-0), off to its best start since opening 12-0 in 1987-88.

Oral Roberts (5-5) shot 38 percent and leading scorer Warren Niles was frustrated most of the night, turning it over eight times and scoring most of his 22 points after the game was out of reach.

Shawn Glover added 18 points for Oral Roberts.

NO. 7 OHIO STATE 65,

WINTHROP 55

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deshaun Thomas scored 21 points — missing nine consecutive shots at one point and making five in a row at another — to lead No. 7 Ohio State past Winthrop.

It was the last tuneup for the Buckeyes (9-1) before Saturday’s rematch with No. 9 Kansas. The Jayhawks beat them twice last year, once at Allen Fieldhouse and then in the Final Four.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 14 points for the Buckeyes, who have won four in a row, all at home, since a 73-68 defeat at No. 2 Duke on Nov. 28 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge — a game the Buckeyes led most of the way.

Thomas added nine rebounds and a career-high four assists.

Derrick Henry scored 12 points to lead Winthrop (4-5).

NO. 9 KANSAS 87, RICHMOND 59

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Jeff Withey had 17 points and 13 rebounds, Ben McLemore added 14 points and Kansas used another big first-half run to put away Richmond.

Travis Releford and Naadir Tharpe each added 11 points, and Elijah Johnson had seven assists for the Jayhawks (9-1), who have won eight consecutive and pushed their home winning streak to 28 games, tied for the sixth-longest in school history.

Derrick Williams had 14 points and Cedrick Lindsay finished with 12 for the Spiders (9-3).

NO. 20 MICHIGAN ST. 64, BOWLING GREEN 53

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Gary Harris and Denzel Valentine scored 12 points each to lead Michigan State to a victory over Bowling Green.

Branden Dawson added 10 points for the Spartans (10-2).

Michigan State held Bowling Green (5-5) to just two points over a six-minute stretch in the second half to take control.

The Spartans went on a 14-2 run highlighted by Dawson’s dunk after a steal, drawing a big cheer from the many Michigan State fans filling the Bowling Green arena.

Chauncey Orr led Bowling Green with 16 points.

NO. 25 N.C. STATE 88, STANFORD 79

RALEIGH, N.C. — Lorenzo Brown scored 18 of his season-high 24 points after halftime to help North Carolina State pull away and beat Stanford.

Scott Wood scored 15 of his 17 in the first half for the Wolfpack (8-2), who earned their fourth consecutive victory and avenged a road loss last year in which the Wolfpack blew a 12-point lead in the second half.

Richard Howell finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolfpack.

Dwight Powell scored 23 points for the Cardinal (7-4), but Stanford gave up

its highest point total of the season.

Sports, Pages 25 on 12/19/2012

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