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Hoosiers top Illini

Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, left, talks with a struggling Eric Gordon on the sideline Thursday night. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review
Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson, left, talks with a struggling Eric Gordon on the sideline Thursday night. Associated Press (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

Eric Gordon finally gave Illinois fans something to cheer. Armon Bassett wasn’t as kind.

Bassett scored 11 of his 16 points in the second overtime, and No. 14 Indiana rallied to beat Illinois 83-79 Thursday in Champaign, Ill., even though Gordon struggled for much of the night.

The Indiana freshman was jeered throughout the night for reneging on an early oral commitment to Illinois and he committed what looked like a costly turnover in the second overtime.

Illinois’ Calvin Brock had just converted a runner, cutting it Indiana’s lead to 79-76, when Gordon got called for a 10-second violation with 26 seconds left. The Illini’s Demetri McCamey dribbled the ball off his knee and out of bounds.

Bassett then hit two free throws, and he converted two more to make it 83-79 with 5 seconds left following a 3-pointer by McCamey, who scored 31.

(13) Xavier 70, Saint Louis 68: At St. Louis, Derrick Brown made a tip-in with 0.1 seconds to go, enabling the Musketeers (19-4, 7-1 Atlantic 10) to barely avoid a second-half meltdown in a victory over the Billikens (12-10, 3-5).

Josh Duncan led a balanced attack with 15 points for Xavier, which squandered all of a 16-point cushion against the persistent Billikens. Drew Lavender added 13 points and three others scored in double figures for Xavier, which has won five in a row and 11 of 12.

(21) Pittsburgh 55, West Virginia 54: At Pittsburgh, Ronald Ramon barely beat the final horn with a game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing and the Panthers (18-5, 6-4 Big East) rallied in the final minute to beat the Mountaineers (16-7, 5-5).

Alex Ruoff, an 85 percent free throw shooter, missed 1 of 2 free throws with 9 seconds remaining to prevent West Virginia from taking a three-point lead.

Women

(2) Tennessee 87, Mississippi State 69: At Starkville, Miss., Candace Parker was helped off the court after hyperextending her knee during the Lady Vols’ win over the Bulldogs.

The two-time All-American hurt her left knee with 3:09 left in the game. Parker finished with a season-low 11 points.

(3) North Carolina 79, Clemson 47: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Cetera DeGraffenreid helped give coach Sylvia Hatchell her 500th victory at North Carolina, scoring 20 points to lead the Tar Heels (21-2, 8-0 ACC) over Clemson (10-14, 3-6).

In her 22nd season at North Carolina, Hatchell is 500-194.

(6) Stanford 72, Oregon 43: At Eugene, Ore., Candice Wiggins had 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and the Cardinal (21-3, 10-2 Pac-10) beat the Ducks (10-13, 4-8).

(8) LSU 89, Alabama 53: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Sylvia Fowles had 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Tigers (19-3, 8-0 SEC) to an easy victory over the Tide (8-15, 1-7).

(9) California 56, Oregon State 45: At Corvallis, Ore., Natasha Vital scored all 17 of her points in the second half to lead the Bears (20-3, 11-1 Pac-10) over the Beavers (10-13, 3-9).