Louisville roughs up Samford

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Russ Smith scored a game-high 18 points, Chane Behanan grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and added 12 points and No. 2 Louisville routed Samford 80-54 on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, will head to FedEx Forum Saturday for a game with the 17th-ranked Memphis Tigers. Both the Tigers and Cardinals are in the field for the Battle 4 Atlantis, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day in the Bahamas.

Behanan matched his career best with 13 firsthalf boards, topping the Bulldogs’ 12 all by himself.

Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and 13 rebounds while Wayne Blackshear added 13 points with five rebounds as the Cardinals (2- 0) cruised to the victory.

Louisville never trailed against Samford (1-2), playing its highest ranked opponent since a 79-54 loss to No. 1 and defending NCAA champion Florida in 2006.

Tim Williams’ 15 points and six rebounds led the Bulldogs, who committed 21 turnovers.

“The first half, I thought we had a little stage fright,” Samford coach Benny Seltzer said.

TOP 25

(1) Indiana 99, Sam Houston St. 45 at Bloomington, Ind.: Christian Watford scored 24 points and three teammates were in double figures as the Hoosiers (30) shot 57 percent to roll past the Bearkats (1-2) in the Progressive Legends Classic.

(6) North Carolina St. 72, Penn St. 55 at Bayamon, Puerto Rico: T.J. Warren had 22 points and eight rebounds as the Wolfpack (2- 0) won their opening round game over the Nittany Lions (1-1) in the Puerto Rico Tipoff.

Tim Frazier had 23 for Penn State.

( 7) Kansas 69, Chattanooga 55 at Lawrence, Kan.: Freshman guard Ben McLemore had 25 points and eight rebounds, and Elijah Johnson added 18.

But the Jayhawks (21) used a big second-half charge to overcome a 12-point deficit against the Mocs (2-1), who got 21 points and 6- of-7 threepoint shooting in the first half by Farad Cobb.

(16) Baylor 84, Boston College 74 at Charleston, S.C.: Pierre Jackson had a season-high 31 points, Isaiah Austin added 16 and the Bears (3- 0) rallied in the second half to beat the Eagles (1-1) in the opening round of the Charleston Classic.

SEC

Murray State 79, Auburn 59 at Charleston, S.C.: Isaiah Canaan scored 26 points, Stacy Wilson added 18 and the Racers (2-0) ran past Auburn (1-1) in the Charleston Classic’s opening round. Canaan outscored Auburn by himself in the first half with 20 points as Murray State led 45-19 at the break.

Southern Miss 62, Georgia 60 (OT) at Athens, Ga.: Dwayne Davis’ breakaway layup with 31 seconds remaining in overtime off teammate Michael Craig’s steal got the Golden Eagles (2-0) the road win over the Bulldogs (1-2).

Jerrold Brooks had 17 points, and Davis added 14 for USM, which won its opener in OT, 67- 64 over Western Kentucky. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope led Georgia with 17 points.

Alabama 65, Oregon St. 62 at New York: Rodney Cooper hit a 3-pointer in front of his bench with 12.2 seconds left as the Crimson Tide (3-0), lost a 15-point lead before tripping the Beavers (2-1) in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. Trevor Lacey led the Tide with 20 points.

Texas A&M 81, Prairie View A&M 59 at College Station, Texas: Fabyon Harris had 18 points and the Aggies (3- 0) had five players in double figures against the Panthers (2-2).

CONFERENCE USA

SMU 64, TCU 61 at Fort Worth, Texas: Jalen Jones scored 21 points, including four 3-pointers as the Mustangs (2- 0) hung on to beat the Metroplex rival Horned Frogs (2-1).

Tulsa 76, Northern Kentucky 56 at San Diego: Rashad Smith scored 23 points as the Golden Hurricane (2- 0) shot 59 percent to rout the Norse (0-2) in the NUCDF Basketball Challenge.

AREA GAMES

SE Missouri St. 64, McNeese St. 53 at Cape Girardeau, Mo.: Former White Station star Nino Johnson scored 20 points on 9- of-11 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Redhawks (2-1) past the Cowboys (1-2).

Tyler Stone from Memphis Central added 18 points and was 8 of 11 from the field.

Minnesota 72, Tennessee State 43 at Minneapolis: Rodney Williams had 15 points and Memphians Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins chipped in 13 and 12 as the Gophers (3- 0) had no problem with TSU (0-3). The Tigers were led by Kellen Thornton’s 11 points.