Carter’s 3-Pointers Spark Rebels

Men’s Top 25

Keith Carter hit a school-record seven 3-pointers after halftime as No. 21 Mississippi won 87-74 Saturday night in Oxford, Miss., over No. 18 Temple.

Carter finished with career highs of 33 points and 15 rebounds.

Carter hit the first of his 3-pointers, and Ansu Sesay had two slam dunks - the second a one-handed reverse - as Ole Miss (2-0) opened the second half with a 12-3 run to break a 30-30 halftime tie.

Sesay had 22 points to extend his streak of double figure-scoring games to 26. Jason Smith added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Pepe Sanchez led the Owls (2-1) with 18 points.

(4) North Carolina 71, California 47

The Tarheels (3-0) hit seven of their first eight shots in the second half to shake off a slow start en route to a victory over the visiting Bears (0-1).

California’s zone gave the Tar Heels fits in the first half, forcing 10 turnovers and 40.7 percent shooting before North Carolina found the mark and Cal’s shot selection started to stray.

Michael Gill led the Bears with 13 points.

(5) Clemson 71, Southwest Missouri 67

At Fairbanks, Alaska, Terrell McIntyre scored 17 second-half points to rally the Tigers (3-0) to a win over the Bears (1-2) and a spot in the finals of the Top of the World Classic.

Clemson (3-0), trailed for 38 of the game’s 40 minutes, pulling even at 65 on a Tony Christie 3-pointer and taking the lead on two free throws by Greg Buckner.

Southwest Missouri’s Kevin Ault scored 16, including four 3-pointers, and William Fontleroy added 15.

(10) Xavier 97, Akron 73

At Cincinnati, James Posey had a double-double in the decisive first half and Torraye Braggs scored a career-high 24 points as the Musketeers (2-0) pulled away to a victory over the Zips (0-1).

Xavier took control behind Posey, who put his imprint on the first half by scoring 16 points and getting 10 rebounds, two more than Akron’s total. The Zips fell behind by 19 and never threatened.

Posey finished with 20 points and matched his career high with 15 rebounds.

(11) New Mexico 61, Arkansas St. 51

At Albuquerque, N.M., Royce Olney scored 26 points and the Lobos (4-0) took advantage of a horrendous first half by the Indians (1-2) for a victory in the championship game of the Lobo Classic.

New Mexico was never threatened in running its homecourt winning streak to 30 games, third-longest in the country. The Lobos scored 19 straight points as Arkansas State went scoreless for more than 9 minutes in the opening half.

Antonio Harvey led the Indians with 15 points.

(13) Fresno St. 82, Massachusetts 64

At Fresno, Calif., Boston-area product Chris Herren burned Massachusetts for the second straight year, scoring 19 points to lead the Bulldogs (2-0) to a victory over the Minutemen (0-1).

Herren, who scored 25 points when the Bulldogs beat the Minutemen a year ago, broke open a close game this year with seven points early in the second half to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

Tyron Weeks had 20 points and Monty Mack 15 for the Minutemen.

(16) Utah 66, Southern Utah 48

At Salt Lake City, Hanno Mottola scored 12 points - eight during a decisive second-half run, to lead the Utes (3-0) to victory over the Thunderbirds (1-2).

Playing without starting center Michael Doleac, who was nursing a sprained ankle, the Utes struggled to a 41-41 tie with 9:55 to play.

Utah then began to push the ball inside to Mottola and Alex Jensen and scored 16 unanswered points.

(19) Oklahoma 81, SW Texas St. 68

At Norman, Okla., Corey Brewer scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures as the Sooners (3-0) overcame a sluggish start to beat the Bobcats (0-1).

The Sooners twice trailed by eight in the early going. But a 19-3 run in the first half and a 12-3 spurt early in the second gave them control.

Wesley Williams scored 21 and Donte Mathis had 18 for Southwest Texas.

(24) Illinois St. 87, Pittsburgh 65

At Normal, Ill., Rico Hill scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Redbirds (2-1) beat the Panthers (1-1).

Illinois State scored 16 straight points to open a 37-17 lead in the first half.

(25) Georgia 116, Charleston Southern 59

At Athens, Ga., Derrick Dukes scored 25 points, including six of Georgia’s 18 3-pointers, to lead the Bulldogs (3-1) to a win over the Buccaneers (0-2).

The Buccaneers were led by Adam Larrick’s 16 points.