No. 2 Louisville rallies past USC Upstate 76-50

Louisville guard Ryan McMahon, left, battles South Carolina Upstate guard Josh Aldrich, right, for a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
Louisville guard Ryan McMahon, left, battles South Carolina Upstate guard Josh Aldrich, right, for a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Ryan McMahon made consecutive 3-pointers and Dwayne Sutton and Darius Perry had one each during a second-half surge that rallied No. 2 Louisville past USC Upstate 76-50 Wednesday night.

Trailing the determined Spartans 43-40 with 14:07 remaining, Sutton's 3 tied it before McMahon added one after a huge block of Josh Aldrich's layup attempt. McMahon and Perry followed again from long range, and the Cardinals (5-0) turned up the intensity on both ends for a 24-5 burst.

Jordan Nwora had two 3s among his 28 points. The Cardinals finished 51% from the field and have shot above 50% in each game this season.

McMahon finished with 15 points on five 3-pointers, his last ones helping Louisville avoid a huge upset. The Cardinals were 9 of 21 from behind the arc.

Bryson Mozone's 14 points on four 3s led Upstate (1-5), which was 9 of 24 from long range.

NO. 20 TENNESSEE 76,

ALABAMA STATE 41

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jordan Bowden scored 16 points to lead four Tennessee players in double figures as the 20th-ranked Volunteers trounced Alabama State for their 29th straight home victory.

Tennessee (4-0) owns the longest active Division I home winning streak. The Vols haven’t lost at Thompson-Boling Arena since falling 94-84 to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018.

Lamonte’ Turner added 13 points and six assists for Tennessee. Turner is averaging 8.5 assists this season and entered the night ranked second among all Division I players in that category.

Bowden and Turner also became the 51st and 52nd Tennessee players to join the 1,000-point club. Bowden has 1,011 career points, while Turner has 1,002.

Tennessee held Alabama State (0-4) without a basket for the final 9 minutes, 39 seconds. The Hornets shot 28% (14 of 50) overall and 16.7% (4 of 24) in the second half.

Yves Pons scored 11 points and John Fulkerson added 10 for Tennessee. Alabama State’s Tobi Ewuosho led all scorers with 17 points.

The winless Hornets stayed close early thanks to Tennessee’s struggles from long range. After Bowden made Tennessee’s first 3-point attempt of the night, the Vols missed their next eight shots from beyond the arc.

Tennessee led just 16-15 before closing the first half with an 18-8 run. Bowden highlighted that spurt by scoring nine points in the final 5:54 of the first half with a conventional three-point play plus a pair of 3-point baskets.

The Vols then scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half and coasted to victory. Bowden capped his night by recording his fourth steal and throwing down a one-handed dunk with 5:34 left before leaving the game for good 30 seconds later.

NO. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 75, ELON 61

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Armando Bacot had season highs of 22 points and 14 rebounds, fellow freshman Cole Anthony flirted with North Carolina’s first triple-double in 19 years and the Tar Heels beat Elon.

Anthony finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and a season-high eight assists for North Carolina (4-0), which hasn’t had a player with a triple-double since Brendan Haywood and Jason Capel each did it 10 days apart in December 2000.

Garrison Brooks added 14 points for the Tar Heels — 30½-point favorites who a year ago beat Elon on the road by 49 points. They trailed at halftime for the second time this season before opening the second half with a Bacot-led 21-5 run that pushed the lead into double figures, and wound up out-rebounding Elon 56-25.

Marcus Sheffield scored 19 points for the Phoenix (2-3), who lost their third straight — all to power-conference schools — while shooting 28% in the second half.

WOMEN

NO. 9 MARYLAND 88,

GEORGE WASHINGTON 54

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Taylor Mikesell scored 19 points and No. 9 Maryland dominated neighboring rival George Washington from the outset in a rout.

Shakira Austin had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Terrapins (4-1), who built a 16-point lead in the first quarter and cruised to the finish.

Maryland has won three straight since falling at home to South Carolina, now the fifth-ranked team in the nation. Mikesell, a sophomore guard, went scoreless against the Gamecocks but has totaled 52 points during the Terrapins’ three-game streak.

In this one, Mikesell went 7 for 11 from the field and sank five 3-pointers.

With a starting lineup that includes two freshmen and a pair of sophomores, the rebuilding Colonials (2-3) were ill-equipped to handle an experienced Maryland team that returned all five starters from a squad that went 29-5 last season.

George Washington committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter, made only two baskets and trailed 23-7 after the opening 10 minutes.

Two straight 3-pointers by Tori Hyduke got the Colonials to 33-21, but Maryland answered with an 11-0 run that featured 3-pointers by Mikesell and Faith Masonius, along with a three-point play by Ashley Owusu.

The Terps led 46-24 at halftime and owned a 29-point cushion entering the fourth quarter.

Hyduke played 34 minutes and led GW with 12 points, all of them on shots from beyond the arc.

The Terrapins wasted no time in getting the jump on the youthful Colonials, taking the lead for good five seconds after the opening tip on a jumper by Mikesell.

GW committed five turnovers in the opening 3½ minutes while falling behind 11-2. Maryland went 5 for 6 from the floor during that span, with Mikesell and Kaila Charles each making both their shots.

A 3-pointer by freshman Diamond Miller made it 18-5 and increased Maryland’s shooting percentage to 89 percent (8 for 9).

Sports on 11/21/2019

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