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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: No. 2 Duke outlasts Connecticut

Duke guard Tyus Jones drives against Connecticut guard Ryan Boatright during the second half of Duke’s 66-56 win on Thursday. (Associated Press)
From Staff And Wire Reports

Men’s basketball: Freshman point guard Tyus Jones scored 21 points, Justise Winslow hit two key baskets late in the game and No. 2 Duke responded to a tongue lashing by coach Mike Krzyzewski to beat defending national champion Connecticut 66-56 on Thursday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Winslow and Jahlil Okafor – the other two members of the Blue Devils’ trio of talented freshmen – added 12 points apiece. Ahead 30-25 at the break, Duke (10-0) got off to a slow start in the second half and UConn (4-4) tied it.

Amile Jefferson added 11 points and 13 rebounds for Duke in a game that had the feel and intensity of a NCAA tournament contest.

Ryan Boatright had 22 points to lead the Huskies. Kentan Facey added 14 points and Daniel Hamilton had 10.

• Virginia improves to 10-0: Justin Anderson scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and No. 6 Virginia returned from an 11-day layoff for exams to defeat Cleveland State 70-54 at Charlottesville, Virginia.

Malcolm Brogdon also scored 16 and Anthony Gill had 13 for the Cavaliers (10-0), who matched their best start since the 2001-01 season. Next up for Virginia is a visit from scrappy Harvard on Sunday.

Trey Lewis scored 18 to lead the Vikings (5-6).

Anaheim stays torrid by beating Canadiens

NHL: Matt Beleskey scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period to lead Anaheim to a 2-1 victory over host Montreal in a game the Canadiens lost top scorer Max Pacioretty to an injury.

Hampus Lindholm also scored for Anaheim and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for his 18th win of the season. The Ducks have won eight of their last nine.

David Desharnais scored for Montreal, while Carey Price stopped 21 shots.

Pacioretty left the game 4 minutes into the third period after taking a late hit into the boards by Anaheim’s Clayton Stoner.

• Penguins win in OT: Blake Comeau scored with 2:36 left in overtime to lead host Pittsburgh Penguins over the Colorado Avalanche 1-0.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots, registering his sixth shutout of the season just hours after the Penguins thought their starting goaltender had the mumps.

Sidney Crosby also returned after missing three games with the mumps, as the Penguins managed three wins and five of a possible six points without their captain.

Thunder lose as Durant sprains ankle

NBA: Stephen Curry had 34 points and nine assists, and Golden State rallied from an early 17-point deficit to beat Oklahoma City 114-109 at Oakland, California, after Thunder star Kevin Durant left with a sprained right ankle.

Durant scored a season-high 30 points on 10-for-13 shooting in a spectacular first half that ended with him stepping on Marreese Speights’ foot. The Thunder said Durant had a mild ankle sprain, and the NBA MVP did not return.

Oklahoma City had won seven straight games, which was the longest active streak in the league after Memphis snapped Golden State’s 16-game winning streak Tuesday night.

Klay Thompson scored 19 points for the Warriors.

Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 33 points.

• Davis carries Pelicans: Anthony Davis had 30 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks to lead New Orleans to a 99-90 win over host Houston.

The Pelicans trailed by one early in the fourth quarter before using a 7-0 run to take a 79-73 lead and they didn’t trail again. Ryan Anderson scored the last five points on that spurt to help New Orleans snap a six-game skid in Houston.

Jrue Holiday added 16 points with 10 assists for New Orleans and Anderson had 16 points.

James Harden scored 21 and Dwight Howard had 17 points with 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who lost for just the second time in nine games.

• Bogut sidelined: Golden State center Andrew Bogut is out indefinitely after undergoing platelet-rich plasma therapy on his ailing right knee.

Bogut is averaging 7.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, three assists and 2.2 blocks. He has played a key role in helping the Warriors get off to an NBA-best 21-3 start.

U.S. women hammer Argentina at tourney

Soccer: Christen Press scored four goals and Carli Lloyd had a hat trick as the United States women’s soccer team routed Argentina 7-0 in the International Tournament of Brasilia, keeping alive its hopes of reaching the final of the four-team competition in Brasilia, Brazil.

The U.S. advanced after Brazil defeated China 4-1.

• U.S. men move up: The United States rose one spot to 27th in the December FIFA rankings despite losses the previous month to Colombia and Ireland.

World champion Germany was first, followed by Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Brazil.

• Sounders lose players: Seattle Sounders FC passed in the Major League Soccer Re-Entry Draft.

The New England Revolution took Seattle forward Tristan Bowen. With the final selection of the first round, Orlando City SC selected Sounders reserve goalkeeper Josh Ford.

Oregon loses star corner Ekpre-Olomu

College football: Oregon coach Mark Helfrich confirmed that the third-ranked Ducks will be without star cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu when they face Jameis Winston and Florida State in their playoff game next month.

Helfrich acknowledged the senior All-America’s college career is over after he was injured during a noncontact drill on Tuesday. The coach wouldn’t disclose the nature of the injury.

But a person with knowledge of the injury had previously told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Ekpre-Olomu had hurt his right knee. Ekpre-Olomu has been a cornerstone of the Ducks’ secondary with 63 tackles, two interceptions and six pass breakups this season.

• Patterson wins award: TCU coach Gary Patterson was named the college football coach of the year by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

Patterson, who is TCU’s winningest coach with 131-45 record in 14 seasons, led the Horned Frogs to an 11-1 record this season and a share of the Big 12 title. The 54-year-old also won the award in 2009.

BYU, Penn State advance to final

College volleyball: Jennifer Hamson had 22 kills and Alexa Gray added 19 to help BYU beat Texas 25-23, 25-16, 17-25, 26-24 in the NCAA women’s volleyball semifinals in Oklahoma City.

The unseeded Cougars (30-4) hadn’t been to the semifinals since 1993, and they advanced to the final for the first time. They will take a 12-match winning streak into the final against Penn State. Megan Courtney had 23 kills and the defending champion Nittany Lions beat top-seeded Stanford 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21.