DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -Greg Paulus scored 22 points, including a burst of three 3-pointers early in the second half, to help third-ranked Duke rally past North Carolina State 92-72 on Thursday night.
Freshman Kyle Singler added 19 points for the Blue Devils (18-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed by nine at halftime for the second straight game before turning up their intensity to stay atop the league standings.
Gavin Grant scored 26 points for the Wolfpack (13-7, 2-4), who turned in one of their best performances of the year in the first 20 minutes before wavering against Duke’s pressure.
Duke shook off a spirited effort by Grant and the Wolfpack, who shot 58 percent to take a 46-37 halftime lead. Paulus led the way, assisting on a 3-pointer from Singler before knocking down consecutive 3s to erase N.C. State’s lead just 4 minutes into the half.
After following with another 3 two possessions later, the junior point guard sent the rowdy home crowd into a frenzy when he flipped a pass behind his head on the break to a trailing Singler for the dunk and a 59-55 lead with 13:55 left.
DeMarcus Nelson and Gerald Henderson each added 18 points for Duke.
No. 4 North Carolina 91, Boston College 69
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Tyler Hansbrough scored 18 points, Deon Thompson added a career-high 17 and North Carolina routed Boston College.
Ty Lawson scored 16 points, Wayne Ellington finished with 14 and Marcus Ginyard added 10 for the Tar Heels (20-1, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who had all five starters reach double figures for the first time this season.
North Carolina took command with a 21-0 run that bridged halftime and turned the matchup of the league’s top two scorers into a blowout. Hansbrough entered leading the ACC with a 22-point average, with BC’s Tyrese Rice two points behind.
Rice equaled his average with 20 points, but he was 6-for-15 from the field and 1-for-9 from 3-point range for the Eagles (12-7, 3-3), who were denied their second straight victory at the Dean Smith Center and went on to their third straight loss overall.
California 69, No. 9 Washington St. 64
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) – Ryan Anderson scored 27 points and California hung on to hand No. 9 Washington State its first home loss of the season.
Cougars star Derrick Low had a 3-point attempt in the closing the seconds that could have tied the score, but it rimmed out with a tick left on the clock.
It was a fitting end for the Cougars (17-3, 5-3 Pac-10). They finished 5-for-20 from 3-point range. Cal was 9-for-20.
Patrick Christopher added 16 points for Cal (12-7, 3-5), which broke a three-game losing streak.
Ryan Anderson, the Pac-10’s leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, was 9-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-7 on 3-pointers. He added nine rebounds.
Washington State had not lost at Friel Court since March 1, 2007.
No. 13 Wisconsin 62, No. 11 Indiana 49
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Trevon Hughes scored 16 points, Marcus Landry had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Wisconsin held off a rally, led by Indiana’s D.J. White and freshman Eric Gordon.
White had his way with Wisconsin (17-3, 7-1 Big Ten) most of the game, finishing with 22 points and 17 rebounds. But Wisconsin’s Michael Flowers, who scored 10 points, mostly contained Gordon, who was wearing a padded foam splint on his left wrist.
The Badgers were up 46-26 with 12:55 to play, when Indiana (17-3, 6-1) made its move.
Gordon, who finished with 16 points on 6 of 14 shooting, picked it up with a personal 10-0 run.
But the Badgers’ defense stiffened, holding the best offensive team in the conference to its lowest scoring output of the season.
No. 14 Stanford 65, Washington 51
SEATTLE (AP) – Brook Lopez scored a career-high 31 points and had 13 rebounds, and No. 14 Stanford handed Washington its worst home loss in five years.
Lopez, a 7-foot sophomore, made 11 of 17 shots in the biggest scoring night by a Cardinal since Dan Grunfeld scored 31 against Arizona State in 2006.
Stanford (17-3, 6-2 Pac-10) won for the first time in Seattle since 2001 and for the fourth consecutive time overall heading into Saturday’s game at No. 9 Washington State.
Quincy Pondexter scored 15 points and Jon Brockman had 13 points and 13 rebounds for out-manned Washington (12-9, 3-5).
Add A Comment