Depleted Dogs battle by Bears

Central Arkansas guard Ryan Williams shoots over a Mississippi State defender during Saturday’s game at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Miss. Mississippi State won 79-72.

Central Arkansas guard Ryan Williams shoots over a Mississippi State defender during Saturday’s game at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Miss. Mississippi State won 79-72.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

— Freshman center Gavin Ware powered Mississippi State to a 79-72 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at the Mississippi Coliseum.

Ware, a 6-9, 270-pounder from Starkville, Miss., led the Bulldogs’ inside-out attack, finishing with 22 points and 13 rebounds. The Bears, meanwhile, made only 10 of 35 from three-point range, shot just 39.7 percent overall and were outrebounded 43-29.

“We started off real sluggish, offensively and defensively,’” UCA Coach Corliss Williamson said. “We tried to pick up the tempo, but our traps weren’t good, our rotations weren’t great. And that got us in a hole, down nine points at halftime.

“You can’t do that on the road, especially against an SEC school. I don’t care if they had just four players on their team, they are a seasoned bunch and they play in one of the best, if not the best, conferences, in the nation.

The Bulldogs, who were missing four players because of injuries, shot 56 percent from the field in the second half and 48.1 percent overall. Mississippi State (4-6) played just seven players, but five of those scored at least 10 points. Trivante Bloodman had 12 points, while Colin Borchert added 11 and Tyson Cunningham and Craig Sword added 10 each.

The Bears (4-5) got 26 points from senior guard Robert Crawford, who was the only UCA player with any success from the perimeter. He made 7 of 14 from three-point range and added a team-high eight rebounds. The rest of the Bears were a combined 3 for 21 on threes.

“Rob really knocked down a lot of shots for us,” Williamson said. “And I still didn’t think we found him enough. There were some opportunities where we had guys shooting threes on their own rather than looking for the hot man at the time. We were 10 of 35 and that’s too many threes.’

The Bears fell behind early and trailed 34-25 at halftime. The Bulldogs could never pull away from the Bears in the second half, but the Bears could never get closer than seven points. A late three-pointer from senior Jarvis Garner set the final score.

Garner and Jordan Harks had 11 points and four rebounds each for the Bears, who are off until Dec. 31 when they host Central Baptist College. Senior center Anthony Borden saw his first action of the season after missing the first semester because of academic ineligibility. He had a dunk in his first minute and finished with six points and two rebounds.

KENTUCKY 82, MARSHALL 54

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ryan Harrow scored a career-high 23 points and Kentucky used a 21-5 second-half run to pull away for a victory over Marshall.

Archie Goodwin (Sylvan Hills) added 18 points and Nerlens Noel 11 as the Wildcats (8-3) won their fourth consecutive before a season-high 24,271 at Rupp Arena. Kentucky also improved to 12-0 against Marshall.

Kentucky’s final tuneup before next Saturday’s showdown at fifth-ranked Louisville saw the Wildcats shoot just 42 percent (29 of 69) but benefit from even worse shooting by the Thundering Herd, who hit 29.5 percent (18 of 61). Harrow, making his second consecutive start at point guard, helped lift Kentucky from its sluggish start with 11 firsthalf points and two assists. He surpassed his previous career high of 20 two years against South Carolina Upstate while playing for North Carolina State.

Elijah Pittman had 17 points and Dennis Tinnon 14 for Marshall (7-6).

MERCER 66, ALABAMA 59

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jakob Gollon made two free throws with 1:19 left and Mercer overcame a 12-point first-half deficit to upset Alabama.

Daniel Coursey scored 20 points and Travis Smith had 17 for the Bears (7-6), who entered the game without a player averaging at least 10 points in scoring. Gollon and Langston Hall also had 10 points apiece.

Mercer trailed by 12 points with 3:30 left in the first half. But after halftime, the Bears outscored Alabama 44-32.

Trevor Releford scored 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting for the Crimson Tide (7-4), who have lost four of their past five games. Rodney Cooper 17 points and seven assists.

SOUTHERN 53, TEXAS A&M 51

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Malcolm Miller scored 17 points, including four free throws in the final 40 seconds, as Southern University of Baton Rouge rallied to defeat Texas A&M.

The Jaguars (5-6) trailed 49-44 after missing eight consecutive shots, but Javan Mitchell blocked a shot and set up Yondarius Johnson for a layup with 4:34 remaining to end a scoring drought of nearly six minutes.

Miller then hit a three-pointer with 2:38 left to forge a 49-49 tie. Texas A&M’s J’Mychal Reese answered with a jump shot, and the teams traded turnovers before Miller’s two free throws made it 51-51.

After a Texas A&M miss, Miller was fouled with 5.8 seconds left and made both ends of a 1-and-1. Reese missed a desperation shot from 23 feet at the buzzer as the Aggies (8-3) suffered their first home loss of the season.

Mitchell scored 11 points for Southern. Turner and Reese had 14 apiece for Texas A&M.

INDIANA STATE 87,

MISSISSIPPI 85, OT

HONOLULU — Manny Arop scored a game-high 27 points to lead Indiana State to an overtime victory over Mississippi in a quarterfinal game of the Diamond Head Classic.

The Sycamores (6-3) also got 16 points from Jake Odum, 12 apiece from Justin Gant and R.J. Mahurin and 10 from Dawon Cummings to advance to Friday’s semifinal round, where they will play the winner of San Francisco and No. 18 San Diego State.

Jarvis Summers made two free throws 15 seconds into overtime to give Ole Miss its first lead since it led 27-25 with about eight minutes left in the first half.

Marshall Henderson led Ole Miss (8-2) with 27 points. Reginald Buckner scored 17 points with 10 rebounds and Murphy Holloway added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Indiana State held a 44-33 lead at halftime and it was 75-75 heading to overtime.

MARQUETTE 84, LSU 80

MILWAUKEE — Davante Gardner came off the bench to score a season-high 19 points, and Junior Cadougan and Vander Blue each added 17 to lead Marquette over LSU.

Gardner made all nine free throw, including six in the final 36 seconds. Jamil Wilson added 11 points for Marquette (8-3), which won its 15th consecutive home game.

Andre Stringer finished with a seasonhigh 20 points for LSU (7-2). The Tigers, in a stretch of 17 days between home games, got 18 points from Anthony Hickey.

GEORGIA 64,

SOUTHERN CAL 56

ATHENS, Ga. — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 12 of his 25 points in the first five minutes of the second half, John Cannon and Brandon Morris each added 10 points and Georgia beat Southern Cal.

Omar Oraby finished with 14 points for Southern Cal, which has lost 13 consecutive on the road.

SOUTH CAROLINA 63, MANHATTAN 57

NEW YORK — Brenton Williams’ 17 points powered South Carolina past Manhattan in the second game of the Brooklyn Hoops Tournament t the Barclays Center. Michael Carrera and Brian Richardson chipped in with 13 and 12, respectively, for the Gamecocks.

WINTHROP 74, AUBURN 67

AUBURN, Ala. — Christian Farmer hit four three-pointers in the second half and scored a season-high 15 points to help Winthrop beat Auburn. Andre Smith and Derrick Henry both made two free throws in the final 26 seconds after the Eagles (5-5) lost most of a 16-point lead over the final 10 minutes. Frankie Sullivan scored 22 points for the Tigers (5-6).

Sports, Pages 32 on 12/23/2012