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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Holloway’s big OT burst leads Xavier to win

Xavier’s Tu Holloway knocks the ball from Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins, adding a little defense to his 24-point winning effort. (Associated Press)

Men’s college basketball: Tu Holloway scored eight of his 24 points in overtime and No. 11 Xavier rallied from 10 down to beat 20th-ranked Vanderbilt 82-70 Monday night in Nashville, Tenn.

The Musketeers (5-0), who play host to No. 19 Gonzaga on New Year’s Eve, trailed by as much as 10. But they scored the final four points of regulation, including Mark Lyons’ short jumper with 6.5 seconds left to force overtime. Wells hit two free throws, and Holloway knocked down two 3-pointers to cap a 12-0 run ending with 2:27 remaining in overtime that put Xavier up 74-66.

John Jenkins led Vanderbilt (5-2) with 20 points.

Donovan picks up win No. 400: Florida’s Billy Donovan earned his 400th career coaching victory as the Gators rode a 16-point halftime lead to a 96-70 win over Stetson. The 46-year-old Donovan is the youngest active coach to reach the 400-win milestone.

Bradley Beal had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Erving Walker added 21 to lead the Gators (5-1) in the neutral-court matchup at Amway Center. The Hatters (3-3) were led by Chris Perez with 20 points.

Gutierrez leads Cal: Jorge Gutierrez scored a season-high 26 points to go with six rebounds and five assists, and No. 24 California (6-1) matched its best start under coach Mike Montgomery with a 73-57 victory over visiting McNeese State (3-3). Cal also started 6-1 in Montgomery’s first year in 2008.

Kentucky new No. 1 in Top 25: Kentucky is back at No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the first time since the 2009-10 season. Saint Louis is back in the Top 25 for the first time since 1993-94.

The Wildcats (6-0) replaced North Carolina, which had been No. 1 since the preseason poll, receiving 46 first-place votes from the 65-member national media panel. The Tar Heels (5-1) dropped to fifth following their 90-80 loss to UNLV in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational.

Saint Louis (6-0), which beat Boston College, Villanova and Oklahoma to win the 76 Classic, moves in at No. 23, the Billikens’ first time in the poll in almost two decades.

Poll debut for Hens; Zags almost break in

Women’s college basketball: Baylor is still the No. 1 team in the Associated Press women’s college basketball poll. Delaware, though, joins the Top 25 for the first time.

Elena Delle Donne has vaulted the Delaware basketball program to new heights.

The 6-foot-5 star led the Blue Hens to the No. 24 spot in the poll. It’s the first time either the school’s men’s or women’s program has been ranked.

Delle Donne is a huge reason why the Blue Hens (4-0) are unbeaten and in the poll. They are 40-14 in her career when she’s in the lineup and 3-12 when she doesn’t play. She is leading the country in scoring, averaging 30.2 points.

The Gonzaga women, fresh off a 99-69 win over Portland State on Sunday, just missed making the Top 25, pulling in 73 votes. No. 25 Vanderbilt collected 77 votes.

NBA players take steps to vote on deal

NBA: The “trade association” formerly known as the National Basketball Player’s Association planned to send out a letter to its 450 players asking for signatures to recertify the union, according to an NBA source.

This is the first step in the process of turning Saturday morning’s tentative settlement agreement into the league’s next collective-bargaining agreement.

The union must recertify before it can vote on ratifying the next CBA. A majority vote is needed from both the player’s union and the NBA Board of Governors for ratification.

Utah State accepts Potato Bowl bid

College football: Utah State is heading to Idaho next month to play in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

University officials announced the Aggies will play in the postseason game scheduled Dec. 17 at Bronco Stadium in Boise.

The Aggies (6-5) became bowl eligible by beating Nevada 21-17 Saturday. They close out the regular season against New Mexico State.

Their bowl opponent will be determined by the outcome of the Mid-American Conference title game. Likely candidates include Toledo and Ohio.

Winning World Series worth $323,170

Baseball: A full postseason share for the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals was worth $323,170, up slightly from last year but still below the record set in 2009.

A full share was worth $317,631 on the 2010 San Francisco Giants and $350,030 on the 2009 New York Yankees.

The commissioner’s office said Monday a full share on the losing Rangers was $251,516, up from $246,280 on Texas last year but down from $265,358 for the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies.