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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Illinois tops Ohio State behind Paul

Illinois guard Tracy Abrams (13), who scored 13 points for the Fighting Illini, shoots past Ohio State center Amir Williams (23). (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Men’s College Basketball: Brandon Paul scored 19 points and No. 11 Illinois bounced back from a tough loss in its Big Ten opener to beat No. 8 Ohio State 74-55 on Saturday in Champaign, Ill.

The Illini (14-2, 1-1) led 37-25 at halftime and used a 13-2 run early in the second half to build a 50-27 lead.

Illinois used stingy defense to shut down the Buckeyes (11-3, 1-1), who shot just 33 percent from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.

Nnanna Egwu added 16 points for Illinois and Tracy Abrams had 13 and five assists.

Deshaun Thomas led Ohio State with 24 points.

Illinois came into the game off a stunning 68-61 loss at Purdue and had lost two of its last three.

• Kelly again leads No. 1 Duke: Ryan Kelly had another big day against Wake Forest, scoring a season-high 22 points in No. 1 Duke’s 80-62 rout of the Demon Deacons in Durham, N.C.

Seth Curry also had 22 points, Quinn Cook had a career-high 14 assists and Kelly finished with his fourth straight 20-point performance against Wake Forest.

• Marquette upsets No. 15 Georgetown: Davante Gardner made two free throws with 8.3 seconds left and Marquette had to hang on while No. 15 Georgetown missed a deciding free throw before getting a 49-48 victory in Milwaukee.

Hornets spoil Dirk’s first start with OT

NBA: Eric Gordon completed a three-point play with 4.7 seconds left in overtime and the New Orleans Hornets won 99-96 at Dallas to spoil the Mavericks’ first game this season with Dirk Nowitzki in the starting lineup.

Nowitzki had a team-high 20 points in 34 minutes, his most extensive action this season. He missed a free throw with 18 seconds left in regulation that would have put the Mavericks ahead by a point.

New Orleans’ Greivis Vasquez had 15 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.

• Anthony scores 40, Knicks down Magic: Carmelo Anthony scored 16 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter, helping the New York Knicks outlast the host Orlando Magic 114-106.

J.R. Smith added 18 points off the bench and Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Orlando outrebounded New York 45-40, but had 14 turnovers as it lost its eight straight game.

• Blazers jump past Love-less Wolves: Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews each made five 3s and scored 26 points to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over the injury- depleted Minnesota Timberwolves 102-97 in Minneapolis.

The Blazers matched a franchise record with 16 3-pointers.

Minnesota forward Kevin Love did not play due to re-fracturing his right hand.

Serena wins Brisbane title; Murray into final

Tennis: Serena Williams proved the break between seasons hasn’t hurt her momentum, capturing her 47th career title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Brisbane International final in Australia.

Defending champion Andy Murray will next meet 21-year-old Grigor Dimitrov – who is starting to live up to his billing as a star-in-the-making by reaching his first ATP Tour final – in the men’s championship.

• Spain beats Serbia in Hopman Cup final: Spain defeated Serbia 2-1 to win the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia.

Fernando Verdasco and Anabel Medina Garrigues won the deciding mixed doubles 6-4, 7-5 against Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic.

Djokovic took the first match for Serbia by overcoming a strong challenge from Verdasco 6-3, 7-5.

Medina Garrigues evened it by outlasting Ivanovic 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2.

PGA’s season opener delayed again

Miscellany: For the second straight day, the PGA Tournament of Champions was postponed because of gusts topping 40 mph that made it impossible to play. Some holes on the back nine are so exposed that when officials dropped a golf ball on the green, it actually rolled up uphill.

The plan is to play 36 holes today and get in 54 holes by Monday afternoon, making it likely that the event will be decided over 54 holes for the first time since 1997.

• Gholston turning pro: Michigan State defensive end William Gholston is skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

• Vyjack, Goldencents, Hard Not to Like win: Vyjack held off long-shot Siete de Oros by a head in the $200,000 Jerome Stakes, the first major race of the season for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct in New York.

In other races: Goldencents won the $100,000 Sham Stakes by 1 1/2 lengths at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., giving trainer Doug O’Neill a promising 3-year-old on the Triple Crown trail a year after he saddled I’ll Have Another to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. … Hard Not to Like returned from an eight-month layoff to beat Channel Lady a half-length in the $100,000 Marshua’s River turf stakes for fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.