Mercer shocks USC

By Associated Press     Nov 11, 2007

Georgetown's Roy Hibbert celebrates after scoring a basket against William & Mary. Hibbert had 23 points and eight rebounds, and Georgetown won, 68-53, on Saturday in Washington.

? Give it up for the Atlantic Sun.

Mercer capped a sensational week for the low-major conference, stunning No. 18 Southern California, 96-81, Saturday and spoiling O.J. Mayo’s college debut.

The Atlantic Sun’s dream week began Thursday, when Gardner-Webb shook things up with a 16-point victory over No. 20 Kentucky on the Wildcats’ home court, then Belmont won at Cincinnati on Friday.

“The Kentucky result was on our mind,” USC’s Taj Gibson said. “We knew this was a dangerous team.”

James Florence scored 30 points and the small-school Bears from Macon, Ga., shot nearly 60 percent from the floor in their season-opener.

“There’s no way to describe it,” Florence said.

Watch out Alabama, Harvard and Boston College. Mercer comes your way next.

“They’ll come a lot harder at us,” said Calvin Henry, who added 14 points.

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 18-of-32 free-throw shooting. His points were a school record by a freshman in his debut.

“It was tough, but they did a great job,” Mayo said. “We need to come out and respect our opponent and play hard. We came out nonchalantly.”

Mercer had the Trojans in trouble early. The Bears shot 59 percent in the first half, when they led by 21 points.

The Bears had five players in double figures, 12 steals, shot 81 percent from the line and outscored USC 14-6 on fast-breaks.

No. 5 Georgetown 68, William & Mary 53

Washington – It took Roy Hibbert and his Hoyas awhile to get going. After unveiling a banner commemorating last season’s Final Four appearance, No. 5 Georgetown and its star center started slowly before Hibbert came alive to finish with 23 points and eight rebounds in a victory over William & Mary.

William & Mary led for long stretches in the first half, by as many as five points, and Georgetown only pulled away late. The Hoyas (1-0) never held a double-digit lead until Jonathan Wallace’s three-pointer with under 41â2 minutes left made it 58-48.

Wallace wound up with 15 points, going 4-for-7 on threes, and Jessie Sapp contributed 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Add in Hibbert’s 9-for-11 shooting and DaJuan Summers’ 10 points, and those four starters combined for all but two of the hosts’ points.

No. 11 Marquette 76, IUPUI 68

Milwaukee – Jerel McNeal scored 20 points to lead No. 11 Marquette. Marquette trailed 48-43 with 13 minutes left after IUPUI used a 17-2 run to erase a 10-point lead for the Golden Eagles shortly after halftime.

Marquette responded with a 23-8 run over the next 9 minutes to seal the victory.

IUPUI trailed by one with 8 minutes left, but Wesley Matthews hit a three-pointer and the Jaguars got no closer than four the rest of the way.

No. 12 Oregon 100, Pepperdine 70

Eugene, Ore. – Bryce Taylor, Tajuan Porter and Malik Hairston each scored 17 points to lead No. 12 Oregon in the World Vision International tournament. LeKendric Longmire added 12 points for the Ducks, who lost in the NCAA tournament regional finals last season. Maarty Leunen added nine points and 14 rebounds.

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

Pittsburgh – Sam Young proved too much for North Carolina A&T to handle outside or inside, and Pittsburgh romped to its second victory in as many days.

The Panthers played much of the game without foul-prone DeJuan Blair. Blair spent all but 31â2 minutes of the first half Saturday on the bench in foul trouble.

No. 23 Stanford 97, Northwestern State 58

Stanford, Calif. – Lawrence Hill and Drew Shiller each scored 15 points, Mitch Johnson added 14 points and four assists, and the 23rd-ranked Cardinal routed Northwestern State.

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