ATHENS, Ga. - Jonas Hayes scored 18, hitting every shot he took, as he led Georgia to a 77-59 victory over winless Florida A&M Friday night.
The Rattlers (0-5) played without their leading scorer, Terrence Woods, who was suspended for missing an early morning practice and remained in Tallahassee. He was averaging 21.5 points and scored 31 against second-ranked Florida on Tuesday night.
Rashad Wright scored 17 for Georgia (4-1), including 15 in the first half. Freshman Levi Stukes scored a career-high 16 before fouling out. Chris Daniels added 12 points and 12 rebounds.
In the absence of Woods, Demarcus Wilkins led A&M with 20 points, hitting 6 of 16 shots. Moses White scored 10 in his return to Georgia. He was a part-time starter as a freshman at Georgia before transferring.
The Bulldogs dominated the first three minutes, taking a 9-2 lead, mostly on the strength of three baskets by Hayes. And Georgia finished the half with a 12-5 run over the last seven minutes, led by Wright's fastbreak layup, two 3-pointers and two free throws, building a 33-25 lead at the break.
In between, Florida A&M twice took the lead, the last time at 17-14 on Richard Russell's 3-pointer from the corner with 11:14 to go in the half.
Georgia opened the second half with a 17-3 run, streaking to a 50-29 lead at the 14:58 mark on a layup by reserve Buzz Wehunt. The Rattlers never got closer than 15 the remainder of the game.
Georgia shot 64 percent in the second half. Hayes hit 8 of 8 from the field and both free throws he attempted. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Rattlers 47-33.
"I was thinking to myself when I got back to the locker room that I couldn't remember missing a shot. I guess that just shows the level of my concentration," Hayes said.
Top 25
NO. 3 UCONN: Freshman Charlie Villanueva's eligibility issues have been cleared up, and the touted forward is set to make his debut today against Army.
Villanueva missed the first six regular-season games while the school and the NCAA determined his eligibility.
The 6-foot-10 Villanueva, who considered declaring for the NBA draft, also missed two preseason games.
"We are pleased that Charlie will be able to join his teammates on the court," coach Jim Calhoun said. "This resolution now allows Charlie to continue his focus on final examinations and help the basketball team."
The eligibility question stemmed from Villanueva's workouts in front of NBA scouts last summer. NCAA rules state that the recruit or a family member or friend not related to basketball must pay all expenses for such workouts.
Villanueva averaged 19 points and 11 rebounds at Blair Academy in New Jersey last season.
VIRGINIA 78, VMI 56: Elton Brown and Derrick Byars scored 14 apiece and Brown added 13 rebounds in just 21 minutes to lead the Cavs to their 23rd consecutive victory against the Keydets.
The Cavaliers (5-0), playing on the road for the first time, limited the Keydets to 25 percent shooting in the first half in racing to a 40-19 lead, then coasted to their 100th victory in 115 meetings with the Keydets, now of the Big South Conference.
VMI (1-4) got 16 points from Radee Skipworth and nine each from Tim Allmond and Fred Robinson, but the Keydets committed 17 turnovers to just nine for Virginia.
VMI also was outscored 18-6 at the free-throw line as the Keydets continued a futility streak started after their 95-75 home victory over Virginia on Dec. 9, 1964.
Women
NO. 4 DUKE 88, WAKE FOREST 55: Iciss Tillis scored 17 for the host Blue Devils in the ACC opener for both.
All-American Alana Beard was held to nine points on just eight shots but she had eight assists as the Blue Devils (5-1) never trailed, leading 18-4 about 71/2 minutes into the game.
NO. 12 K-STATE 94, SAC. ST. 31: Kendra Wecker had 20 points and 16 rebounds for her 26th career double double.
Laurie Koehn, 6 of 8 from 3-point range, also had 20. Nicole Ohlde and Brie Madden added 12 points apiece for Kansas State (4-2). The Wildcats won for the 11th straight time in their tournament and got their 22nd consecutive regular-season home victory.
NO. 13 UNC 90, S.C. ST. 51: La'Tangela Atkinson scored 17 and Kenya McBee had 14 points and nine rebounds for the host Tar Heels.
Nikita Bell added 12 points and Jessica Sell 11 for the Tar Heels (6-0) Nicole Rhem scored 21 for South Carolina State (1-3).
State
VALDOSTA ST. 44, ECKERD 34: The host Blazers (6-0) built a 15-point halftime lead and held off a Tritons rally. The Blazers led 26-11 at intermission, holding the Tritons to 21 percent shooting (4-of-19). Eckerd (2-4) held VSU to six field goals in the second half but got no closer than a six-point deficit at 40-34.
