TOP 25 MEN’S BASKETBALL

Butler holds off North Carolina

— Maybe North Carolina should have just gone to the beach. Butler is the team to beat in Maui.

Former Arkansas Razorback Rotnei Clarke and Kellen Dunham each scored 17 points Tuesday night to lead the unranked Bulldogs (3-1) past No. 9 North Carolina 82-71, jumping out to a 17-point halftime lead and holding back several second-half surges from the Tar Heels in the second round of the Maui Invitational.

The Tar Heels (4-1) missed their first three shots and never led. P.J. Hairston led North Carolina with 15 points.

SEC MEN

NO. 7 FLORIDA 58, SAVANNAH STATE 40

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mike Rosario scored 13 points, Patric Young added 13 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 6 blocks and No. 7 Florida overwhelmed Savannah State. Erik Murphy contributed 10 points for the Gators (4-0), who played the final 13-plus minutes without leading scorer Kenny Boynton, who sprained his left ankle. Rashad Hassan and Cedric Smith led Savannah State (3-3) with 11 points each.

NO. 11 UCLA 60, GEORGIA 56

NEW YORK — Shabazz Muhammad scored 21 points and No. 11 UCLA (4-1) made enough free throws late to hold off Georgia in the consolation game of the Legends Classic tournament. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led the Bulldogs (1-4) with 16 points.

MISSISSIPPI 76, MCNEESE STATE 50

OXFORD, Miss. — Murphy Holloway scored 15 points, Reginald Buckner added 13 and Mississippi (4-0) cruised past McNeese State. Marshall Henderson came into the game leading the SEC with 22 points per game, but scored just nine points. McNeese State (1-3) was led by Desharick Guidry’s 14 points.

MARQUETTE 89, MISSISSIPPI STATE 62

LAHAINA, Hawaii — Vander Blue scored 18 points and Davante Gardner had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Marquette won big over Mississippi State in its second game at the Maui Invitational. Marquette (3-1) never trailed, and the Bulldogs never trailed by less than 10 points after the opening minutes. Fred Thomas had 17 points for the Bulldogs (1-3). Roquez Johnson scored 16 points but limped off the court with help with just over nine minutes left.

SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN

NO. 8 GEORGIA 94, SAVANNAH STATE 57

ATHENS, Ga. — Andy Landers became the seventh Division I women’s coach to reach 800 career victories when No. 8 Georgia (5-0) beat Savannah State (1-2). Landers is 800-268 in his 34 seasons at Georgia.

Sports, Pages 21 on 11/21/2012

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