LOS ANGELES (AP) -James Florence scored 30 points and tiny Mercer became the latest spoiler from the Atlantic Sun Conference, stunning No. 18 Southern California 96-81 Saturday and spoiling O.J. Mayo’s college debut.
The Atlantic Sun’s dream week began Thursday, when Gardner-Webb shook things up with a 16-point victory over No. 20 Kentucky on the Wildcats’ home court, then Belmont won at Cincinnati on Friday.
Mayo, one of the nation’s most prized recruits, led the Trojans with 32 points, but he couldn’t help them overcome 19 turnovers and going 18-of-32 from the line.
The small-school Bears from Macon, Ga., had the Trojans in trouble early. Mercer shot 59 percent in the first half, when it led by 21 points. Calvin Henry added 14 points for Mercer (1-0), which had five players in double figures, 12 steals and outscored USC 14-6 on fast-breaks.
Mary 53
WASHINGTON (AP) – Roy Hibbert overcame a slow start to finish with 23 points and eight rebounds after Georgetown unveiled a banner commemorating last season’s Final Four appearance.
Mary led for long stretches in the first half, by as many as five points, and Georgetown only pulled away late.
Jonathan Wallace wound up with 15 points, going 4-for-7 on 3s, and Jessie Sapp contributed 18 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Mary (0-1) with 16 points, all in the first half.
No. 12 Oregon 100, Pepperdine 70
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Bryce Taylor, Tajuan Porter and Malik Hairston each scored 17 points to lead Oregon to a victory in the World Vision International tournament.
LeKendric Longmire added 12 points for the Ducks, who lost in the NCAA tournament regional finals last season. Maarty Leunen had nine points and 14 rebounds.
Malcolm Thomas scored 22 points and Daniel Johnson added 13 for the Waves. Oregon used a 19-3 run early in the first half to take a 24-7 at the 13:12 mark.
T 61
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Sam Young scored a career-high 24 points and Pittsburgh romped to its second victory in as many days.
Mike Cook helped out with 13 points and Ronald Ramon had 12 for Pitt (2-0), which put the game away with a 16-0 run midway through the first half.
The Panthers played much of the game without foul-prone DeJuan Blair, the first hometown player to start at center for Pitt in a quarter-century. Blair didn’t get his first basket until 1:10 into the second half, and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes.
T with 13 points (0-2). The Aggies were outrebounded 38-28 and were only 4-of-19 (21.1 percent) from beyond the arc to Pitt’s 44.4 percent (12-of-27).
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