Bruins End Duke’s 7-Game Winning Streak

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J.R. Henderson was still rubbing sleep from his eyes when No. 17 UCLA’s game against sixth-ranked Duke tipped off late Sunday morning in Los Angeles.

Two early fouls resulted in an 8-minute rest on the bench that didn’t help Henderson’s momentum, even though the Bruins built a 10-point advantage in his absence. But Henderson awoke with a bang in the second half, scoring 16 of his 18 points, including the go-ahead basket off his own miss with 40 seconds remaining.

Toby Bailey then hit two free throws with 15 seconds to play, helping UCLA beat Duke 73-69 and snap the Blue Devils’ seven-game winning streak. Duke (22-6) is in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Bruins (17-7) are atop the Pacific-10.

“This game is huge. It does a lot for us as a team and our conference,” Bailey said. “When you work hard, you deserve to win games like this at home. We did a lot of good today.”

It was Steve Lavin’s biggest victory since taking over as UCLA coach after Jim Harrick was fired just before the season started.

“We’ve come a long way the past couple of months,” Lavin said. “We still have a long way to go, but our team has an unbelievable heart, and we’re a real basketball family.”

Lavin, 32, beat his former pen pal and mentor, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, in their first meeting. Lavin initially wrote to Krzyzewski for coaching advice after he graduated from college in 1987, and Lavin has talked to him monthly since replacing Harrick.

“He’s not looking up to me today. I’m looking up to him,” said Krzyzewski, who nearly hired Lavin away two years ago.

UCLA, which won its fifth straight, made a case for staying in the West Regional in the upcoming NCAA tournament.

Florida St. 67, (8) Clemson 65

Kerry Thompson banked in a 12-foot follow shot as time expired, giving the Seminoles (15-9, 5-9 ACC) an upset over the host Tigers (20-7, 8-6). The win was Florida State’s second straight and allowed the Seminoles to keep alive their slim hopes of earning a berth to the NCAA tournament.

Purdue 67, (18) Michigan 58

The host Boilermakers (15-10, 10-5 Big Ten) outscored the Wolverines (17-9, 7-7) 23-7 from the free-throw line to record a victory behind the 25-point performance of Chad Austin. Purdue kept its NCAA hopes alive with the victory, while Michigan saw its chances slide as it dropped its fourth game in five starts.

(19) Villanova 65, Connecticut 58

Alvin Williams had 16 points and Jason Lawson added 11 in their final home games for the Wildcats (20-7, 11-5 Big East) as they held off the Huskies (14-11, 7-9) to move into first place in the Big East Six.