BATON ROUGE, La. -- Freshman Cameron Thomas scored eight of his 26 points after regulation, Javonte Smart hit back-to-back three-pointers to force overtime and LSU rallied to beat Georgia 94-92 on Wednesday night.
Thomas, who came in averaging 24.6 points this season, set career highs with 15 free throws on 16 attempts, including 5 of 6 in the final two minutes. Smart finished with 21 points and freshman Darius Days had 13 points and 11 rebounds for LSU (7-2, 2-1 SEC).
Thomas scored LSU's first seven points in overtime to take the lead for good and Days hit a three-pointer to make it 90-86 with 50 seconds to play. Justin Kier hit the last of his career-high six three-pointers for Georgia (7-2, 0-2) and after LSU's Trendon Watford made 1 of 2 from the free-three line, Sahvir Wheeler's layup pulled the Bulldogs to 93-92 with 15 seconds remaining. Thomas missed the first of two foul shots and Wheeler couldn't convert a contested layup attempt in the closing seconds.
Kier, a 6-5 graduate transfer from George Mason, finished with 25 points. Wheeler scored 21 and had nine assists. Sophomore Toumani Camara had 14 points and 10 rebounds while tying his career highs with 4 assists and 3 steals.
The Tigers, coming off an 83-79 loss at Florida last Saturday, trailed by 10 points midway through the second half and Wheeler hit a deep three-pointer to give Georgia a six-point lead with 1:57 left. Smart answered with a three-pointer and then stole the ball from Tye Fagan. Trendon Watford drove to the left side of the lane and, as the defense collapsed around him, found Smart for a wide-open straight-away three-pointer to make it 80-all 47 seconds later.
MISSISSIPPI 72,
AUBURN 61
OXFORD, Miss. -- Khadin Sy scored a season-high 13 points, Romello White and Luis Rodriguez each added 12, and Mississippi never trailed in a victory over Auburn.
Sophomore guard Austin Crowley had 8 points and set career highs with 10 rebounds and 4 steals. Devontae Shuler, who went into the game averaging a team-high 14.3 points, scored just 7 but had a career-best 10 assists and 2 steals for Ole Miss (6-3, 1-1). The 6-2 junior moved past Gerald Glass into fifth on the program's all-time steals list with 160.
Auburn made seven of its first 11 field-goal attempts and Chris Moore (West Memphis) made a layup to cap a 7-0 spurt that made it one-point game about 8 minutes into the game but the Tigers missed their next seven shots. Ole Miss used an 18-5 run to make it 35-21 with 5 minutes left in the first half and led by at least eight points the rest of the way.
Jaylin Williams hit six three-pointers and finished with 24 points, both career highs, for Auburn (6-5, 0-3). Jamal Johnson added 11 points.
SOUTH CAROLINA 78,
TEXAS A&M 54
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- AJ Lawson scored 19 of his career-high 30 points in the second half as South Carolina pulled away and beat Texas A&M in the Gamecocks' SEC opener.
South Carolina (3-2, 1-0), which had a 28-day layoff before an eight-point win over Florida A&M on Saturday, made 10 baskets from beyond the arc and shot 42% (29 of 69) overall.
Lawson was 10-of-22 shooting with 3 three-pointers. Jermaine Couisnard made a career-best five 3s and finished with 15 points and four assists. Wildens Leveque added 10 points.
Emanuel Miller scored 17 of his career-best 28 points in the first half for Texas A&M (6-3, 1-2).
TOP 25 MEN
NO. 2 BAYLOR 76,
OKLAHOMA 61
WACO, Texas -- MaCio Teague scored 17 points, Matthew Mayer had 16 and No. 2 Baylor improved to 10-0 for only the fifth time in team history.
Teague had eight points with two three-pointers in the first four minutes of the game, helping push Baylor to an early 16-2 lead. Mayer had consecutive baskets 33 seconds apart to ignite a half-ending 14-2 run after the Sooners (6-3, 2-2 Big 12) had moved within five late in the first half.
Baylor Coach Scott Drew got his 372nd career victory, one more win than his father, former Valparaiso coach Homer Drew had in his 22 seasons as a head coach. Scott Drew has 352 wins in 18 seasons with the Bears, after 20 wins in one season at Valpo.
NO. 7 CREIGHTON 89,
SETON HALL 53
OMAHA, Neb. -- Damien Jefferson scored 16 of his season-high 19 points in the first half and No. 7 Creighton got off to a fast start on its way to a victory over Seton Hall.
The Bluejays (9-2, 5-1 Big East) won their fifth consecutive game with their biggest conference win since beating St. John's 100-59 in February 2016.
The loss ended a three-game win streak for Seton Hall (8-5, 5-2).
NO. 10 MICHIGAN 82,
NO. 16 MINNESOTA 57
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Hunter Dickinson scored a season-high 28 points as No. 10 Michigan pulled away and beat No. 16 Minnesota to remain unbeaten.
The Wolverines (10-0, 5-0 Big Ten) had a 19-point edge in the second half after leading by just six points after a sloppy first half.
Dickinson led the way before and after halftime, making 12 of 15 shots and grabbing 8 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers (10-3, 3-3) made just 32% of their shots, and only Marcus Carr scored in double figures. Carr, though, was 5 of 16 from the floor and was held to 14 points after entering the game averaging 22-plus points.
NO. 11 HOUSTON 70,
WICHITA STATE 63
HOUSTON -- Quentin Grimes scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half as No. 11 Houston rallied for a victory over Wichita State.
After shooting 1 of 6 from the floor in the first half, Grimes was 5 of 11 in the second half, including 4 of 6 on three-pointers. He also had nine rebounds.
Justin Gorham added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and DeJon Jarreau finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for Houston (9-1, 4-1 American Athletic). Marcus Sasser scored 12 for the Cougars.
Tyson Etienne had 25 points and eight rebounds, and Dexter Dennis scored 18 points for the Shockers (6-3, 2-1), whose five-game winning streak ended.
LOUISVILLE 73,
NO. 19 VIRGINIA TECH 71
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- David Johnson scored 17 points, including a crucial free throw with five seconds left, and Louisville withstood a missed three-pointer try at the buzzer, holding off No. 19 Virginia Tech in a matchup of unbeaten ACC teams.
The Cardinals (8-1, 3-0) led 47-33 early in the second half before Tech closed within 72-71 on Keve Aluma's two free throws with 6.6 seconds left. Johnson was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and missed the second of two free throws, giving the Hokies (8-2, 2-1) a final chance. But, Hunter Cattoor's long three-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired, allowing Louisville to escape with at least a share of first place.
Jalen Cone made six three-pointers on the way to 23 points for the Hokies.
NO. 21 DUKE 83,
BOSTON COLLEGE 82
DURHAM, N.C. -- Wendell Moore Jr. scored a season-high 25 points to help No. 21 Duke hold off Boston College.
The sophomore had been off to a rough start to the season but had a huge performance for the Blue Devils (4-2, 2-0 ACC), who had to rally from 16 down before halftime in their first game in three weeks.
CJ Felder finished with 24 points for the Eagles (2-8, 0-4).
NO. 22 VIRGINIA 70,
WAKE FOREST 61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Sam Hauser scored 11 of his 16 points during a 28-10 run to open the second half and No. 22 Virginia returned from a coronavirus pause to beat Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers (6-2, 2-0 ACC) trailed 39-34 at halftime after the Demon Deacons shot 63% in the first half, but Virginia clamped down on defense in the second half and used the fast start offensively to pull away.
Hauser also grabbed 11 rebounds and Trey Murphy III scored 13 points for the Cavaliers. Isaiah Mucius and Jonah Antonio scored 14 points each and Ismael Massoud had 13 for the Demon Deacons (3-2, 0-2).
