Lawson leads Tar Heels past Rutgers

Ty Lawson scored a career-high 26 points and Tyler Hansbrough had 20 points and 11 rebounds before leaving when he hit his head and No. 1 North Carolina beat Rutgers 93-71 on Sunday night at Piscataway, N.J.

The Tar Heels (9-0) are off to their best start since 1997-98 when they won their first 17 games on the way to the Final Four. The Scarlet Knights fell to 7-4.

Hansbrough, the preseason national player of the year, tried to take a charge from Earl Pettis with 5:47 to play and the Tar Heels leading by 23 points.

Hansbrough went to the floor in a sitting position and then hit the back his head against the bottom of the basket support. He stayed down on the floor for a couple minutes before being helped up by coach Roy Williams and the trainer. Hansbrough was taken to a hospital for precautionary measures.

(14) Texas A&M 64, Ark.-Pine Bluff 37: At College Station, Texas, Josh Carter scored 16 points and the Aggies (9-1) used stifling defense for a win over the Golden Lions (4-6), who went without a basket for an 8 1/2-minute span in the second half.

(21) Arizona 69, Fresno St. 50: At Tucson, Ariz., Jerryd Bayless scored 21 points and Chase Budinger added 16 and the Wildcats (7-2) routed the Bulldogs (5-5) for their fourth straight win.

Orange’s Devendorf tears ACL

Junior guard Eric Devendorf, the second-leading scorer for Syracuse, will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a game Saturday.

Women

(5) Stanford 87, (10) Baylor 63: At Stanford, Calif., Candice Wiggins scored 35 points, had four steals, three assists and two blocks, and the Cardinal (8-1) beat the Bears (7-1).

Wiggins, who shot 11 of 22, was two points off her career high. She made 9 of 12 free throws and hit the 2,000-point mark for her career.

(8) LSU 76, Louisiana Tech 45: At Ruston, La., Sylvia Fowles had 16 points and eight rebounds to help the Lady Tigers (7-2) beat the Lady Techsters (4-6), who lost for the fourth straight time.

(9) Oklahoma 66, (21) Michigan St. 55: At East Lansing, Mich., Amanda Thompson had 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead a balanced attack and help the Sooners (7-2) beat the Spartans (7-3).