AUSTIN, Texas -- Marcus Carr scored a season-high 19 points and No. 7 Texas beat Sam Houston State 73-57 Monday night.
Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey each scored 14 points for Texas (5-1). Timmy Allen had 12 points and seven assists. Jones added four steals.
Savion Flagg, a graduate transfer from Texas A&M, led Sam Houston (2-5) with 16 points. Demarkus Lampley and Javion May each scored 11 points.
New Texas Coach Chris Beard, who coached at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2015-16, is doing everything he can to pump energy into the Longhorns' program. The latest: A trip to the past with only students invited to join the ride.
On Monday night, Texas returned to the cozy and cramped Gregory Gym in the heart of campus, a venue the Longhorns last played in nearly 50 years ago.
The Longhorns left Gregory Gym behind when the spacious but soon-to-be-demolished Frank Erwin Center opened in 1977. Beard made a one-game return to the 3,234-seat Gregory Gym, with only students and some VIPs allowed to attend, as part of an homage to the program's past and an invitation to join the party he's trying to build for the future. This party started before the game, at a campus gathering arranged by Beard, who then accompanied students on a walk to the gym.
Sam Houston made a strong effort to spoil the party, using an 8-0 run to tie the game at 28-28 with 3:13 left in the first half. But Texas trumped that with a 10-0 spurt, with Carr scoring eight of those points.
Carr averaged 19.4 points last season for Minnesota before transferring to Texas. He had a career-best 41 points against Nebraska. He received first-team all-Big Ten recognition. His previous high at Texas this season was 11.
NO. 9 KENTUCKY 85, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 57
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Oscar Tshiebwe had 20 points and 16 rebounds, TyTy Washington Jr. added 15 points and No. 9 Kentucky quickly overwhelmed Central Michigan.
The Wildcats (6-1) shot 60% in the first half before cooling off to finish 43% overall while dominating the rebuilding Chippewas (1-5) in most phases. They led 25-5 within seven minutes and maintained at least a 25-point cushion for much of the contest. Kentucky's six wins have been by an average margin of 28.3 points.
Jermaine Jackson Jr. had 11 points, and Cameron Healy and Miroslav Stafl each added nine points for Central Michigan, which dropped its third consecutive game. It spoiled the Lexington return of first-year Chippewas coach Tony Barbee, who took over the program in April after seven seasons as a Kentucky assistant.
The Wildcats won the paint 36-26 and committed just six turnovers while scoring 23 points off 15 Chippewas mistakes.
TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA 79, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 42
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Aliyah Boston scored a career-high 29 points on 13-of-13 shooting and powered No. 1 South Carolina to a victory over North Carolina A&T on Monday night.
The Gamecocks improved to 8-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 season. And, they did it through their 6-foot-5 All-American junior, who had 18 of South Carolina's 27 consecutive points over a 10-minute stretch of the second and third quarters to put away the winless Aggies (0-6).
Boston added 14 rebounds, one off her season high, and three blocked shots during her 20 minutes of action. She also made both her foul shots, each finishing off a three-point play.
South Carolina was a unanimous No. 1 pick in the latest rankings released earlier Monday. But, except for Boston, the Gamecocks didn't look the part early on against the Aggies.
North Carolina A&T drew within 18-15 on Chanin Scott's jumper with 8:11 left before half. That's when Boston led a 22-0 surge to the break, scoring 11 points including her fourth three-pointer.
When Laeticia Amihere drove the basket for a layup with 1.4 seconds left, South Carolina was up 40-15.
Boston continued her dominant play after the break, scoring South Carolina's first nine points of the third quarter. Her inside jumper with 6:50 left in the period broke her previous high of 28, set against Florida last New Year's Eve.
North Carolina A&T is off to its worst start in Coach Tarrell Robinson's 10 seasons. Scott had seven points to lead the Aggies, who shot 22% (14 of 63) from the field.