COLLEGE BASKETBALL Saturday’s games

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Mercer 96, No. 18 Southern California 81

LOS ANGELES — James Florence scored 30 points and tiny Mercer stunned No. 18 Southern California 96-81 Saturday, spoiling the college debut of O.J. Mayo. 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.

No. 5 Georgetown 68, William & Mary 53

WASHINGTON — 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. William & 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. Laimis Kisielius led William & Mary (0-1) with 16 points, all in the first half.

No. 22 Pittsburgh 88, North Carolina A&T 61

PITTSBURGH — 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. Steven Rush led A&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).

WOMEN

No. 21 Louisville 81, Ball State 62

MUNCIE, Ind. — Candyce Bingham scored 20 points and Angel McCoughtry added 19 to lead No. 21 Louisville. Brandie Radde had 16 points and Chauntise Wright 15 for Louisville (1-0). Audrey McDonald scored 19 to lead Ball State (0-1).

No. 13 California 83, Fresno State 79

FRESNO, Calif. — Ashley Walker had 31 points and a career-high 23 rebounds in California’s victory. In the season opener for both teams, Alexis Gray-Lawson scored 15 points and Kelsey Adrian had 13 for the Golden Bears, who finished the game with an 11-3 rally. Gray-Lawson, the 2006 Pac-10 player of the year who missed last season’s final 23 games with a knee injury, scored the Bears’ final six points in her first game since Dec. 10, 2006. Tierre Wilson, Fresno State’s only returning starter, scored 22 points and Amundsen had 18 for the Bulldogs.

No. 20 Pittsburgh 81, Arizona 58

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Mallorie Winn scored 17 points and Marcedes Walker added 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead Pittsburgh to victory in the WBCA Classic. Winn, sidelined all of last season by a knee injury, had five 3-pointers. Jania Sims also had 12 points and Taneisha Harrison added 11. Pittsburgh (2-0) used two 15-0 runs in the first half to take a 40-15 lead. Ashley Whisonant scored 19 points and Amina Njonkou had 14 for Arizona (0-2).

Penn St. 73, Charlotte 67

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Rashida Mark notched her first career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Brianne O’Rourke also scored a career-high 18 points to lead Penn State to victory over Charlotte in the WBCA Classic. Mark hit two late free throws to seal a wild win for Penn State (2-0) in its first meeting against the 49ers. Down nine points with 11:26 remaining, Charlotte (0-2) surged back to tie the game 58-58 on a Wendy Stywalt jumper with 7:45 left. The teams stayed close the rest of the way, but a Tyra Grant (Ursuline High) 3-pointer with 12 seconds left put Penn State up by four before Mark hit her free throws with two seconds left. Danielle Burgin had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Charlotte while Shannon McCallum and Stywalt each scored 11. The 49ers shot 32.9 percent as a team compared to Penn State’s 51.9 percent.

Charlotte played most of the first half without star guard Sabrina Gregory, who watched from the bench with two fouls. Gregory, scoreless at the half, finished with six points, snapping her streak of 15 consecutive games with at least 10 points. The tournament concludes today with Pitt facing Penn State and Charlotte playing Arizona.

Associated Press