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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Duke dodges Kent St.


Kent State's Chris Singletary trips over Duke's Jon Scheyer during the first half of Tuesday's game at Durham, N.C. 
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

Josh McRoberts had 11 of his 19 points in the second half and sparked the decisive spurt to help Duke rally past Kent State 79-72 Tuesday night in Durham, N.C.

DeMarcus Nelson scored 18 points for the Blue Devils (10-1), who had to fight off a determined opponent to extend their non-conference home winning streak to a national-best 49 games. Freshman Jon Scheyer added 17 points.

Omni Smith scored a career-high 33 points on 14-for-20 shooting to lead the Golden Flashes (5-4), who shot 51 percent and led by three points midway through the second half before Duke pushed ahead for good.

McRoberts led the way for Duke with six rebounds, six blocks, four assists and four steals.

(1) UCLA 75, Sam Houston St. 61: At Los Angeles, Josh Shipp scored 18 points, Darren Collison had 11 points and nine assists, and the Bruins overcame a sluggish start to beat the pesky Bearkats (6-5).

Arron Afflalo added 12 points and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had nine points and eight rebounds for the Bruins (10-0), who broke open a close game midway through the second half.

(2) North Carolina 105, Florida Atlantic 52: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Tyler Hansbrough scored 20 points and the Tar Heels used an overwhelming first half to rout the Owls (4-6).

Brandan Wright added 15 points, and Reyshawn Terry and Wayne Ellington each had 14 for the Tar Heels (9-1), who won their sixth straight and reached 100 points for the fourth time this season.

(3) Ohio St. 75, Iowa St. 56: At Columbus, Ohio, Daequan Cook scored 21 points to help the Buckeyes (10-1) pull away down the stretch and beat the Cyclones (7-5).

Greg Oden – playing with bandages on both hands and wrists – added 18 points. Mike Conley Jr. had 15 points and Ivan Harris 10 for the Buckeyes, who play Saturday at No. 5 Florida.

(8) Wichita St. 74, Kennesaw St. 65: At Wichita, Kan., Ryan Martin scored a career-high 19 points, and the Shockers remained undefeated by holding off the Owls (2-8) in the second round of the Las Vegas Holiday Classic.

P.J. Couisnard added 15 points and tied a career high with seven assists for the Shockers (9-0), whose start tied a school record set in 1920-21 and matched two years ago.

(11) Kansas 94, Winston Salem 43: At Lawrence, Kan., Brandon Rush and Julian Wright each scored 15 points and the Jayhawks got their running game in high gear in a rout of the outmanned Rams (1-14).

Five players scored in double figures for the Jayhawks (9-2), who had every advantage over the smaller, slower and less experienced Rams.

(19) Marquette 80, Oakland 62: At Milwaukee, Dominic James had 20 points and nine assists to lead the Golden Eagles to a win over the Golden Grizzlies (6-8).

Jerel McNeal added 17 points, six steals, five rebounds and four assists for the Golden Eagles (11-2), who had 27 fast-break points to none for Oakland, and shot a season-best 59.2 percent from the field.

(20) Notre Dame 86, Portland 69: At South Bend, Ind., Russell Carter scored a career-high 28 points, Rob Kurz had 21 and the Irish made a season-high 34 free throws to overcome their worst shooting game this season and beat the Pilots (2-11) for their eighth straight victory.

Drexel 84, (23) Syracuse 79: At Syracuse, N.Y., Frank Elegar had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Dominick Mejia had 16 points, and the surprising Dragons (7-2) upset the Orange (9-3).

Elegar, who averaged 18.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in the Dragons’ previous four wins, was 11 for 16 from the field.

Bashir Mason had 14 points and five assists for Drexel.

Women

(4) Duke 55, (25) Bowling Green 46: At Cancun, Mexico, Alison Bales scored 15 points to lead the Blue Devils to a win over the Falcons in the Caribbean Classic Tournament.

The Blue Devils (10-0) finished the game on an 8-3 run to put away Bowling Green (7-2).

(22) Pittsburgh 70, East Carolina 53: At Cancun, Mexico, Shavonte Zellous scored 22 points and Xenia Stewart added 21 to lead the Panthers to a victory over the Pirates in the Caribbean Classic Tournament.

Mercedes Walker added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Panthers (11-0).

Jessica Slack scored 17 and Cherie Mills 12 for the Pirates (4-7).

(23) New Mexico 65, New Mexico St. 45: At Las Cruces, N.M., Julie Briody scored 19 points as the Lobos (9-2) beat their rival Aggies (4-7).

Katie Montgomery scored 14 points for New Mexico and Riverside grad Angela Hartill added 10.