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

Bruins Escape Trojans

Associated Press

Top 25 basketball

The post-Jelani McCoy era at UCLA began successfully Wednesday night, albeit barely.

J.R. Henderson scored seven of his 20 points in overtime and Kris Johnson added 19 as the 12th-ranked Bruins (20-5, 10-4 Pac-10) beat the Southern California Trojans (7-17, 3-11) 82-75 after blowing a 10-point lead in the final 8-1/2 minutes of the second half.

It was UCLA’s first game since McCoy, a 6-foot-10 junior who helped the Bruins win Pac-10 championships the last two years, resigned from the program, citing media scrutiny and pressure.

Iowa 88, (5) Purdue 69

Kent McCausland scored 16 points and Ricky Davis and Ryan Bowen each had 14 as the Hawkeyes used torrid shooting to down the Boilermakers in Iowa City, snapping the Boilermakers’ seven-game winning streak.

Kyle Galloway, making his second straight start, scored 12 points for Iowa (18-8 overall, 7-6 Big Ten), which defeated Purdue for the fourth straight time.

Brian Cardinal scored 17 points, Brad Miller 15 and Chad Austin 12 for the Boilermakers (22-5, 10-3), who dropped 1 games behind conference leader Michigan State with three games remaining in the regular season.

(2) Duke 70, Clemson 66

At Clemson, S.C., the Blue Devils (24-2, 13-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) blew a large lead to the Tigers (15-11, 5-8) for the second time this season before Trajan Langdon’s three-point play lifted Duke to victory.

(8) Kentucky 79, Florida 54

At Gainesville, Fla., Nazr Mohammed scored 19 points and Jeff Sheppard added 18 as the Wildcats (23-4, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) avenged an earlier loss to the Gators (13-10. 6-7).

(16) Arkansas 96, (13) S. Car.88

At Fayetteville, Ark., Pat Bradley scored a career-high 33 points and Kareem Reid keyed a late surge as the Razorbacks (21-5, 10-3 SEC) held off the Gamecocks (19-5, 9-4).

(15) Mississippi 85, LSU 57

Keith Carter scored 24 points, hitting 4 of 7 from 3-point range, and the Rebels 18-5, 9-4 SEC) won their fourth straight game, beating the Tigers (9-14, 2-11) at Baton Rouge, La.

URI 87, (18) UMass 85 (2OT)

At Amherst, Mass., Cuttino Mobley scored 26 points, making a basket with 68 seconds left in the second overtime to put the Rams (19-6, 10-Atlantic Ten East) ahead for good, as they upset the Minutemen (19-7, 11-2).

(23) Illinois 69, Northwestern 57

At Champaign, Ill., Kevin Turner scored 28 points as the Illini (19-8 overall, 11-3 league) beat the Wildcats (9-14, 2-11) and moved into second place in the Big Ten.

Two Spartans arrested

Michigan State guard Mateen Cleaves was arrested along with a teammate on alcohol charges early Wednesday, hours after the team’s victory over Michigan.

Cleaves, who leads the Spartans in scoring, assists and steals, and Andre Hutson were arrested after police were called to a disturbance.

Cleaves, a sophomore guard, was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol, refusing a breath test and a seat-belt violation.