Elder Has Hot Hand in Victory

B.J. Elder made five consecutive three-point baskets during a frantic four-minute span of the second half and finished with 30 points, leading No. 15 Georgia Tech to an 88-77 victory over No. 14 North Carolina on Tuesday night at Atlanta.

Will Bynum had 17 points and Marvin Lewis had 14 for the Yellow Jackets, who improved to 18-5 overall and 5-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Rashad McCants had 28 of his career-high 31 points in the second half for the Tar Heels (14-7, 4-6), and Melvin Scott had 10.

Sean May and Raymond Felton, who combined for 53 points in a 103-88 victory over Georgia Tech earlier this season, had a tough time in the rematch. May was two for 10 from the field for nine points and Felton, harried by Jarrett Jack and Will Bynum throughout, had eight points.

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No. 8 Kentucky 66, Alabama 55 -- Antwain Barbour, making his second start of the season, scored a career-high 23 points and the Wildcats (17-3, 7-2) held off the Crimson Tide (11-9, 3-6) in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky.

Barbour, who started in place of the injured Gerald Fitch, the Wildcats’ leading scorer, went 10 for 13 from the field and had five rebounds for Kentucky. Alabama has lost five in a row.

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No. 11 Texas 84, Baylor 58 -- Kenny Taylor, the first Baylor transfer to return to Waco, Texas, scored all of his 18 points on three-pointers to lead the Longhorns (17-3, 8-1) over the Bears (7-15, 2-7) in a Big 12 Conference game.

With Baylor students holding signs calling him a traitor and booing each time he touched the ball, Taylor made four three-pointers in the first half as the Longhorns took a 36-19 lead.

Taylor was the Bears’ third-leading scorer last season but, like leading scorers Lawrence Roberts (Mississippi State) and John Lucas (Oklahoma State), he left after Baylor’s turbulent off-season when the NCAA relaxed transfer rules.

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No. 21 North Carolina State 75, Florida State 59 -- Engin Atsur had a season-high 20 points and the Wolfpack (15-5, 8-2) was 14 for 30 on three-pointers in an ACC victory over the Seminoles (16-8, 4-6) at Raleigh, N.C.

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OTHER GAMES

Luther Head scored 17 points and James Augustine scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Illinois (16-5, 7-3) to a 75-51 victory over Michigan State (12-9, 7-3) in a Big Ten Conference game at Champaign, Ill.... Hakim Warrick had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Jeremy McNeil came off the bench to key a late rally to lead Syracuse (15-5, 5-4) to a 63-61 victory over Rutgers (13-8, 5-6) in a Big East Conference game at Syracuse, N.Y.