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Jackson’s jumper sinks Spartans

MADISON, Wis. - Traevon Jackson hit a pullup jumper with 2.1 seconds left for Wisconsin, seconds after Michigan State’s Adreian Payne tied it with a three-pointer, and Wisconsin beat the ninth-ranked Spartans 60-58 on Sunday.

The Badgers (19-5, 6-5 Big Ten) committed 14 turnovers, six more than their NCAA-leading 8.3 per game, but gutted out a victory over the Spartans (20-4, 9-2).

A desperation three-pointer by Michigan State from midcourt banged off the rim as time expired, and the Wisconsin faithful erupted with applause. The victory snapped a three-game losing skid at home.

Tied at 58-58, Coach Bo Ryan again put the ball in the hands of Jackson, who has a history of hitting clutch shots.

With a man in his face, Jackson veered left of the lane and pulled up from about 10 feet to give Wisconsin the lead in a frenetic final minute.

Nigel Hayes led Wisconsin with 14 points, while Sam Dekker added 11. Payne had 24 points.

Travis Trice added 13 points for Michigan State, though Big Ten-leading scorer Gary Harris was held to six points on 3-of-20 shooting after being shadowed most of the afternoon by defensive specialist Josh Gasser.

And yet Michigan State still had a chance late, even with guard Keith Appling sitting out a second consecutive game with a wrist injury.

Harris’ long bucket with about 23 seconds left - one of his few bright spots on the afternoon - got the Spartans within three.

Wisconsin had a chance to turn it into a two-possession game, but Ben Brust missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Michigan State secured the rebound and called timeout.

Coach Tom Izzo drew up a play that ended up with Payne holding the ball. He had burned Wisconsin much of the night on the inside.

This time Payne hit from the outside with 10 seconds left and the Badgers faithful thought they were witnessing another late collapse at home. The loss to Ohio State more than a week ago ended up about the same way.

NO. 1 SYRACUSE 57, CLEMSON 44

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - C.J. Fair scored 19 points, Jerami Grant added 12 and No. 1 Syracuse beat Clemson to remain unbeaten.

Syracuse (23-0, 10-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its school record for victories to start a season and matched the program mark for consecutive victories, established in the 1916-17 and 1917-18 seasons. It was the third meeting between the teams and first in Syracuse, and the Orange’s first victory.

It was the 10th time Clemson (15-7, 6-4) had faced the No. 1 team in the nation, and the Tigers have yet to win. The last time Clemson played a No. 1 team was against North Carolina, an 86-81 loss in the 2008 ACC tournament, and the Tigers’ last true road game against the nation’s No. 1 team was Feb. 8, 2004, an 81-55 loss at Duke.

NO. 2 ARIZONA 76, OREGON STATE 54

TUCSON, Ariz. - Aaron Gordon had 17 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson added 16 and No. 2 Arizona found its shooting touch in a victory over Oregon State.

After two weeks of struggles on offense, Arizona (23-1, 10-1 Pac-12) finally found some answers in its second game without injured forward Brandon Ashley.

T.J. McConnell had 11 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for Arizona, which has won 30 of its past 31 against Oregon State at McKale Center.

ST. JOHN’S 70, NO. 12 CREIGHTON 65

NEW YORK - D’Angelo Harrison scored 19 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:08 to play, and St. John’s beat No. 12 Creighton 70-65 for its sixth victory in seven games.

Chris Obekpa tied his career high with 11 points for the Red Storm (15-9, 5-6 Big East), who avenged the only loss during that seven-game stretch.

Doug McDermott matched his nation-leading average with 25 points for the Bluejays (19-4, 9-2), who had won 14 of 15 coming in and had been tied for first in the conference with Villanova. McDermott didn’t score over the final 8:40.

NO. 22 CONNECTICUT 75, CENTRAL FLORIDA 55

ORLANDO, Fla. - Lasan Kromah and Shabazz Napier each had 17 points and seven rebounds, and No. 22 Connecticut easily defeated Central Florida.

The Huskies (18-5, 6-4 American Athletic Conference) got 16 points from DeAndre Daniels and 11 from Ryan Boatright.

Isaiah Sykes led UCF with 17 points and reserve Justin McBride added 13, all in the second half. The Knights, who have lost eight consecutive, didn’t have another player score more than 10 points after shooting just 39.2 percent from the floor.

McBride, who entered the game with just under 15 minutes to go and UCF trailing 47-29, scored 11 points in less than 7 minutes. When teammate Kasey Wilson hit a three-pointer with 7:20 to play, the Knights had closed the gap to 57-49, but that was as close as they got.Sunday’s major college scores MEN EAST Holy Cross 66, Bucknell 50 Illinois 60, Penn St. 55 Iona 101, Canisius 91 Manhattan 78, Niagara 77 St. John’s 70, Creighton 65 St. Peter’s 61, Monmouth (NJ) 50 Syracuse 57, Clemson 44 UMass 73, Rhode Island 68 SOUTH Southern Miss. 81, Charlotte 64 Tulane 68, Marshall 65 UConn 75, UCF 55 MIDWEST Akron 65, Bowling Green 63 Bradley 83, Evansville 66 Detroit 83, Youngstown St. 81, OT Indiana St. 60, Drake 56 Loyola of Chicago 79, Illinois St. 69 Valparaiso 63, Oakland 60 W. Michigan 74, N. Illinois 71 Wisconsin 60, Michigan St. 58SOUTHWEST Houston 88, Temple 74 FAR WEST Arizona 76, Oregon St. 54 WOMEN EAST Hofstra 66, William & Mary 56 Maine 65, Binghamton 53 Quinnipiac 65, Canisius 51 Rider 82, Niagara 72 Stony Brook 76, New Hampshire 63 Temple 64, Memphis 51 UConn 81, Louisville 64 Villanova 62, Seton Hall 57 Wake Forest 74, Pittsburgh 70 SOUTH Auburn 51, Mississippi St. 43 Drexel 57, UNC Wilmington 43 Florida 86, Kentucky 80 Florida St. 72, Boston College 55 Georgia 84, Mississippi 63 Georgia Tech 89, Miami 87 James Madison 82, Towson 40 Maryland 95, Clemson 43NC State 72, Virginia Tech 71, OT Northeastern 61, Coll. of Charleston 53 South Carolina 67, Arkansas 49 MIDWEST Alabama 59, Missouri 56 Ball St. 63, N. Illinois 50 Bowling Green 91, Miami (Ohio) 45 Cent. Michigan 74, Buffalo 63 DePaul 80, Creighton 66 E. Michigan 68, Ohio 55 Minnesota 66, Illinois 61 Missouri St. 78, Bradley 72 Notre Dame 101, Syracuse 64 Oklahoma 81, Kansas 71 Penn St. 74, Ohio St. 54 Purdue 65, Michigan 56 Toledo 83, Kent St. 55 Wichita St. 65, Loyola of Chicago 50 SOUTHWEST Baylor 81, Oklahoma St. 64 Texas 71, Iowa St. 64 Texas A&M 72, LSU 67 FAR WEST Arizona 68, Arizona St. 49 California 87, Washington St. 70 Washington 87, Stanford 82

Sports, Pages 17 on 02/10/2014

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