Huskies whip No. 12 LSU

Spencer Hawes, Washington’s heralded freshman center, dominated preseason All-America Glen Davis with 23 points and 12 rebounds – both season highs – and led the 17th-ranked Huskies to an 88-72 runaway victory Wednesday night over No. 12 LSU in Seattle.

Hawes, a high school All-American last season from Seattle who turned down North Carolina to stay home, was 10 for 16 from the field, shooting fadeaways, hook shots, jumpers and spinners – most against the bewildered Davis.

Jon Brockman added 19 points and 14 rebounds for Washington (9-1), which won its 26th consecutive non-conference home game while hosting an SEC team for the first time since 1985.

Davis scored eight points on 3-for-11 shooting, ending a streak of 48 consecutive games of scoring in double figures. He and Brockman traded elbows and jersey grabs for much of Davis’ lowest-scoring game since he had eight points at Mississippi as a freshman two seasons ago.

Last season’s SEC player of the year went 21:24 between his first field goal and a putback with 7:56 left that cut Washington’s lead to 77-56.

Tasmin Mitchell scored 20 points for LSU (6-2), which dropped to 1-2 against ranked teams this season.

Davis’ streak of four consecutive games scoring more than 20 points and four consecutive double-doubles also ended with a huff and a thud. On his way off the floor for a first-half timeout, Davis talked to an official with hands on both hips.

“They are holding me,” he said. The official shook his head to disagree.

The Huskies led by as many as 19 points during a frenetic first half, which ended with Washington up 50-36. Hawes scored 14 points, almost all over Davis on his array of beyond-his-years post moves.

When Hawes spun to the baseline and hit a hook over Davis with his right hand to give Washington a 29-14 lead 11 minutes in, Davis stood, momentarily stunned. He then shook his head at his younger challenger.

(5) Florida 88, Stetson 67: At Gainesville, Fla., Joakim Noah made up for the absence of Al Horford, scoring 16 points and leading the Gators past the Hatters (3-8).

The 6-foot-11 Noah took advantage of a considerable height advantage to dominate inside and finished 7 of 10 from the field. He had eight rebounds and four assists.

The Gators (10-2) improved to 8-0 at home and made Billy Donovan the school’s winningest coach with victory No. 236.

(9) Arizona 79, (18) Memphis 71: At Tucson, Ariz., Chase Budinger and Ivan Radenovic led a second-half surge that lifted the Wildcats over the Tigers (8-3) in the Fiesta Bowl Classic.

Budinger scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half when Radenovic had 12 of his 18 as the Wildcats (9-1) erased a five-point deficit to win their ninth straight game in their first meeting with a nationally ranked opponent this season.

Mustafa Shakur led the Wildcats with 23 points and had six rebounds and five assists.

Jeremy Hunt led the Tigers with 21 points, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range.

(10) Alabama 82, North Carolina State 75: At Raleigh, N.C., Richard Hendrix had 23 points and 12 rebounds and Ronald Steele added 14 points in his return to Alabama’s lineup after missing two games with an ankle injury, helping the Crimson Tide beat the Wolfpack.

Mykal Riley had 17 points and Jermerio Davidson and Alonzo Gee both added 10 for Alabama (10-1), which never trailed but nearly blew a 23-point second-half lead.

N.C. State (7-3) spent much of the second half trailing by double figures before beginning a rally led by Brandon Costner.

Costner hit three 3-pointers in the final minute, and his 3 from the left corner made it 81-75 with 21 seconds remaining.

(14) Connecticut 88, Pepperdine 66: At Hartford, Conn., A.J. Price had 17 points to lead four Connecticut players in double figures and the Huskies (10-0) pulled away in the second half to beat the Waves (3-10).

Freshman center Hasheem Thabeet and sophomore forward Jeff Adrien didn’t miss a shot, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively, as the Huskies dominated inside.