EDS: UPDATES with UCLA-Oregon; SHOULD STAND.
By The Associated Press
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) -Kyle Singler scored 10 of his 16 points during an 18-9 second-half run that gave No. 4 Duke some breathing room in an 81-64 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday night.
The Blue Devils (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth straight game.
Playing without second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Jeff Allen, who is serving a two-game suspension for making contact with a referee at Georgia Tech on Saturday, the Hokies (11-8, 2-3) got within 42-41 early in the second half.
Singler answered A.D. Vassallo’s 3-pointer to begin the half with one of his own, then had three of the Blue Devils’ next four baskets as they built a 53-45 lead.
When a dunk by J.T. Thompson pulled the Hokies to 53-47, the Blue Devils answered by scoring the next seven points.
Gerald Henderson added 12 points for Duke.
Vassallo led Virginia Tech with 16 points.
Arizona 76, No. 6 Washington St. 64
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – Jerryd Bayless scored 23 points and Chase Budinger had 22 for Arizona.
The Wildcats were 12-of-21 (57 percent) from beyond the arc, a season high for 3-pointers. Budinger hit four while Bayless and Nic Wise both had three.
The Wildcats (13-6, 3-3 Pac-10) handed Washington State its first double-digit loss since a 14-point defeat at Utah on Dec. 2, 2005.
Kyle Weaver and Aron Baynes scored 15 points each for the Cougars (16-2, 4-2).
After opening the season with 14 straight victories, the Cougars have lost two of four, with the other loss coming at No. 8 UCLA on Jan. 12.
No. 8 UCLA 80, Oregon 75
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Freshman Kevin Love returned to his home state and had 26 points and 18 rebounds to lead UCLA.
Maarty Leunen made two free throws for Oregon (12-7, 3-4 Pac-10) before UCLA’s Nikola Dragovic hit a 3-pointer to pull within 71-70, and the Bruins (17-2, 5-1) retook the lead on a layup by Russell Westbrook.
Darren Collison made two free throws, extending UCLA’s lead to 74-71 with 1:04 left.
Collison had a career-high 22 points for the Bruins, who were coming off a 72-63 home loss to Southern California.
Malik Hairston, who missed about seven minutes in the second half with leg cramps, led the Ducks with 18 points, while Leunen had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 10 Michigan St. 78, Northwestern 62
EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – Raymar Morgan scored 23 points and Drew Neitzel added 20 for Michigan State in one of its best shooting performances of the season.
The Spartans (17-2, 5-1 Big Ten) were a season-best 11-of-18 from 3-point range and were 29-for-48 from the field overall in winning for the 14th time in 15 games.
Neitzel went 6-of-10 on 3-pointers, and freshman Chris Allen was 4-of-5 from long range while tying his season high with 17 points.
Morgan hit nine of 11 shots and grabbed eight rebounds as Michigan State won its third straight since a 43-36 loss at Iowa.
Craig Moore was 7-of-14 from 3-point range and finished with 28 points for the Wildcats (6-10, 0-6).
No. 15 Butler 63, Loyola of Chicago 50
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Reserve forward Pete Campbell scored 15 points, and Mike Green added 13 to lead Butler.
The Bulldogs (18-2, 7-2 Horizon League) took charge in the first half with a 15-2 run, and never allowed Loyola of Chicago (6-13, 2-7) to seriously challenge after the opening minutes.
J.R. Blount had 16 points for Loyola.
Freshman Matt Howard dominated the middle for Butler with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The status of Campbell, Green and Julian Betko – all seniors – was in question Thursday morning after each had received a ticket to Wednesday night’s Iowa-Indiana game in Bloomington. Iowa is coached by former Butler coach Todd Lickliter.
After checking with officials from the Horizon League and the NCAA, all three were cleared to play.
No. 23 Xavier 69, No. 16 Dayton 43
CINCINNATI (AP) – Stanley Burrell scored 13 points and led Xavier’s man-to-man defense that dug in from the opening tip and never let up.
The Musketeers (16-4, 4-1) pushed the lead to double digits in the opening minutes and were never threatened in their most lopsided victory over Dayton in nine years.
It was the second straight loss for Dayton (14-3, 2-2).
Burrell and any nearby defender hounded Brian Roberts, who averages 20 points a game, into a 2-for-5 effort from the field for a season-low five points.
Marcus Johnson led Dayton with 12 points.
Washington 72, No. 24 Arizona St. 61
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Jon Brockman had 21 points and 16 rebounds and Washington handed Arizona State its first home loss of the season.
The Huskies beat the Sun Devils for the 11th consecutive time, the longest such streak in the Pac-10.
Arizona State (14-4, 4-2) shot 32 percent (17-for-53), including 5-for-24 from 3-point range.
Freshman standout James Harden, playing despite a strained right groin, scored 17 points for Arizona State but had only four in the second half. He twice missed the front end of a 1-and-1 down the stretch, once with his team down 53-47 and again when the Sun Devils trailed 57-50.
After the second miss, Ryan Appleby made a 3-pointer to give the Huskies (12-7, 3-3) a 60-50 lead with 3:41 to play.
End Capsules
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