By The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas – P.J. Tucker hit all nine of his shots, including his first career 3-pointer, to score 19 points in leading No. 2 Texas to a 90-55 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday.

After tough wins over No. 13 West Virginia and No. 18 Iowa, the Longhorns (5-0) coasted past the overmatched Indians. LaMarcus Aldridge had his fifth consecutive double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Tucker’s only shooting blemish was a pair of missed free throws late in the second half.

Cecil Hood led Louisiana-Monroe (3-3) with 15 points.

The Longhorns played without starting forward Brad Buckman, who sat out the game with a hip injury. But even with him on the bench, the Longhorns were too physical up front and too quick in the backcourt and an early rash of turnovers and fouls by the Indians allowed Texas to quickly seize control.

Texas forced 14 turnovers in the first half. Tucker had four steals, the first leading to an Aldridge dunk. Aldridge then tipped the ball to A.J. Abrams for a 3-pointer and Tucker’ second steal led to an easy layup.

Another dunk by Aldridge on a perfect feed from Daniel Gibson, followed by two more 3-pointers from Gibson and Connor Atchley in an 18-5 Texas run opened up a 37-17 lead and the Longhorns slowly expanded the lead from there.

If Texas struggled, it was from 3-point range where the Longhorns were 8-of-26. Gibson, the Longhorns’ best long-range shooter, hit 9-of-17 away from home against West Virginia and Iowa, but has struggled to find the same stroke in Texas’ three easy wins. He was 2-of-9 against Louisiana-Monroe.

Texas led 43-31 early in the second half when Tucker stepped out to the right corner for his 3-pointer. A 6-foot-5 force of muscle and raw power under the basket his first two seasons, the junior moved to small forward this season and has been showing off his developing shooting touch over the first five games.

No. 5 Oklahoma 81, Belmont 59

NORMAN, Okla. – Terrell Everett scored 17 points, tied a career-high with nine assists and also keyed a 14-0 second-half run as No. 5 Oklahoma beat Belmont 81-59 Saturday night.

After trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Bruins (2-1) got within 47-35 on Josh Goodwin’s 3-pointer from the top of the key early in the second half.

Everett was fouled driving to the basket on Oklahoma’s next possession and hit one of two free throws to start a string of 14 straight points for the Sooners (3-0). He added a three-point play, then stole the ball to set up a fast-break layup by Michael Neal.

Everett made a jumper from the right side, and Oklahoma hit four more free throws to complete the run and take a 61-35 lead.

Belmont was never again closer than 19.

Oklahoma’s Taj Gray, the Big 12 preseason player of the year, scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and added 14 rebounds to notch his first double-double of the season.

Neal added 14 points, David Godbold scored 12, and Kevin Bookout had 11 for Oklahoma, which has won 42 straight nonconference home games. The Sooners’ first road game is Wednesday at Tulsa.

Boomer Herndon, a transfer from Tennessee, scored a career-high 18 points to lead the Bruins, who were outrebounded 30-9 in the second half.

Everett also capped a 15-2 run that put the Sooners ahead to stay in the first half. After Belmont scored six straight points to tie the game at 8, six different Sooners scored during the spurt, and Everett finished it off with a jumper from the free throw line.

He pushed the lead to 28-13 by stealing the ball in the backcourt on consecutive possessions and converting back-to-back layups. The Sooners’ lead reached 18 when Longar Longar scored to make it 35-17.

Belmont closed to 40-25 at halftime.

LSU 71, No. 13 West Virginia 68, OT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Darrel Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 5.3 seconds left in overtime lifted LSU to a 71-68 win over No. 13 West Virginia on Saturday.

Mitchell, who scored a game-high 26 points, let the shot clock run down before lofting a 3-pointer from the corner. LSU then fouled J.D. Collins, who missed a free throw. The rebound was tipped out to Pat Beilein, whose 3-point attempt hit off the backboard and rim as time expired.

The Tigers (3-0) led the entire game until Joe Herber’s 3-pointer with 4:56 remaining in regulation put West Virginia (2-3) ahead 57-56. The teams finished regulation tied at 62.

It was West Virginia’s third consecutive loss after being ranked in the Top 25 to start the season for the first time in school history.

Glen Davis added 23 points – six in overtime – and 14 rebounds for LSU. It was his 13th career double-double. Davis controlled the inside with eight defensive rebounds.

No other player finished in double figures for the Tigers, who committed 22 turnovers. LSU had a 51-29 edge in rebounds.

Mitchell’s putback with 2:15 remaining in the first half gave LSU its largest lead at 37-22.

LSU led 37-27 at the break before West Virginia made seven 3-pointers in a 10-minute span in the second half. The last was Herber’s, which gave West Virginia one of its two leads.

The Mountaineers were led by Mike Gansey’s 25 points. He hit seven of 11 3-point attempts, both career-highs. Beilein added 15 points.

The game was played before the first November sellout crowd in the 35-year history of the 14,000-seat Coliseum.

West Virginia retired Jerry West’s No. 44 during the game. West, the model for the NBA logo, led the Mountaineers to the 1959 NCAA finals. West was selected as one of the NBA’s top 50 all-time players and won an Olympic gold medal. He still holds 19 West Virginia records, including scoring per game, per season and total all-time scoring and rebounds.

West was a unanimous All-America selection in 1959 and 1960 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1979.

No. 15 Illinois 77, Rutgers 55

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas – James Augustine scored 18 points and Brian Randle added 16, leading No. 15 Illinois to a 77-57 victory over Rutgers in the championship game of the South Padre Island Invitational on Saturday night.

Augustine, who was named tournament MVP, was 7-of-9 from the field and had seven rebounds. Rich McBride scored 11 points and Dee Brown added 10 for Illinois (5-0).

Quincy Douby led Rutgers (3-1) with 21 points, and Anthony Farmer scored 12.

Illinois shot 51 percent from the field, including 65 percent in the second half. Rutgers shot 26 percent in the first half and finished at 39 percent.

Illinois, which trailed only once early in the game, led by as many as 23 points after having a 38-26 lead at the break.

Shaun Pruitt, who had six points, was the only Illinois starter who didn’t score in double figures.

No. 18 Iowa 79, Texas San Antonio 46

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Adam Haluska scored 15 points and Greg Brunner added 14 to lead No. 18 Iowa to a 79-46 victory over Texas San Antonio on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes got off to a slow start against the inexperienced Roadrunners, but used a late first-half rally to begin pulling away. Iowa stretched its lead to 20 points midway through the second half before putting the game out of reach and sending its starters to the bench.

The victory capped a week in which the Hawkeyes (4-1) beat No. 8 Kentucky and lost in the final minutes to second-ranked Texas in the title game of the Guardians Classic.

Guard Jeff Horner, who struggled in the tournament, finally got on track, scoring 13 points. Alex Thompson came off the bench to add 11 for the Hawkeyes, who shot 53 percent in the second half and 47 percent for the game.

Texas San Antonio (2-1), starting two freshmen and a sophomore, was led by Andre Owens’ 15 points. Gabe Bernard came off the bench to score 11 points.

But the Roadrunners struggled with their perimeter shooting and made many mistakes. The Roadrunners shot 36 percent and committed 23 turnovers.

The game was close early, with the teams tied twice, trading leads three times and Iowa’s lead never reaching beyond six points. But Horner helped Iowa break away in the final minutes of the half, fueling a 12-0 run with seven points and an assist to put the Hawkeyes up 36-21 at the break.

Iowa continued to pad its lead in the second half with balanced scoring from starters and the bench. Brunner’s layup and two free throws on the ensuing possession gave the Hawkeyes a 59-33 lead with 9:17 left.

No. 20 Indiana 102, Western Illinois 79

MACOMB, Ill. – Marco Killingsworth scored 17 of his 22 points in the first half, leading No. 20 Indiana to a 102-79 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday night.

The 6-foot-8, 270-pound Killingsworth shot 7-for-7 in the first half and helped the Hoosiers built a 53-32 halftime lead in their first road game of the season.

Robert Vaden scored 18 points and Marshall Strickland added 17 for Indiana, which shot 16-for-25 from 3-point range.

Marlon Mahorn scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half for led Western Illinois (1-2). David Jackson added 16.

A three-point play by Killingsworth and Vaden’s fourth 3-pointer of the game gave the Hoosiers a 64-38 lead a little more than 4 minutes into the second half.

The Hoosiers made four of their first six 3-point attempts, and when Roderick Wilmont hit Indiana’s’ fifth 3-pointer in the first 10 minutes, the lead was 16.

Troy Okeson’s 3-pointer got the Leathernecks within 10, but Ben Allen responded with another 3-pointer, pushing the Hoosiers’ lead to 13.

Indiana then broke it open. Errek Suhr and Vaden hit 3-pointers, Vaden made a steal and fed Strickland for a layup and Killingsworth bulled his way in for two more baskets, increasing the Hoosiers’ lead to 47-25 late in the half.

Indiana shot 59 percent in the opening half, shot 9-for-17 from 3-point range and had 19 assists, all while forcing nine turnovers.

Wilmont finished with 15 points and Suhr, who was 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, had 12.

Western Illinois was 13-for-23 from 3-point range.

No. 21 George Washington 80, Norfolk St. 69

WASHINGTON – J.R. Pinnock scored 14 of his 19 points after halftime, Mike Hall added 18 and No. 21 George Washington beat Norfolk State 80-69 Saturday for its second straight victory without suspended star Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Montrell McDonald added 12 for the Colonials (2-0), who only trailed once but didn’t have the game comfortably in hand until the second half.

That’s largely because of guard Tony Murphy, who shot 6-for-9 on 3-pointers and scored 25 for Norfolk State (0-4). Karandick Ogunride added 16 points.

The Spartans – who lost their first three games by an average of 18 points – were within 72-64 after Ogunride’s three-point play with about 3 minutes left. But McDonald came up with a steal and breakaway dunk to restore a double-digit lead, then fed Pinnock for a fast-break layup.

Murphy’s steal at midcourt and desperation 3 at the buzzer brought the visitors to 40-31 at halftime. But the Colonials opened the second half with a 9-0 run, holding Norfolk State without a field goal for more than 4 minutes.

George Washington limited Norfolk State to 43 percent shooting, forced 23 turnovers and blocked six shots.

Mensah-Bonsu, a senior forward, was suspended for the team’s first three games for NCAA violations related to his early declaration for the NBA draft. He’ll also miss next Wednesday’s game against St. Francis, Pa., but can return to the Colonials for Friday’s game against Boston University.

In the meantime, Hall – another senior forward who declared for, then pulled out of, June’s draft – has asserted himself. He shot 7-for-9 from the field Saturday, including 3-for-4 on 3s.

Norfolk State took its only lead at 12-11 on Murphy’s 3-pointer with 13:55 left in the first half. GW responded with a 10-2 run, holding Norfolk State to one basket in a 51/2-minute span.

The visitors regrouped, though, and pulled to 24-23 on Calvin Brown’s inside basket. But Hall made consecutive 3-pointers, and Maureece Rice fed Pinnock for an alley-oop to spark a 14-2 run that put GW in control.

AP-ES-11-26-05 1607EST

Copy the Story Link