Late Wednesday College Hoops: Duke Routs Iowa State In Chicago

Read more at our UCLA blog, Bruins Nation and our Cal blog, California Golden Blogs.

January 7, 2010 – Berkeley, CA (Sports Network) – Michael Roll hit a jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the UCLA Bruins to a thrilling 76-75 victory over the California Golden Bears in Pac-10 play at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley.

Roll finished the game with 19 points, as UCLA (7-8, 2-1 Pac-10) defeated Cal in Berkeley for the sixth straight time. Nikola Dragovic tallied 18 points and Reeves Nelson had 15 in the winning effort.

Theo Robertson tied his career-high with 24 points and seven boards for the Bears (9-5, 1-1), while Patrick Christopher checked in with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Jamal Boykin gave Cal a 75-74 lead after he banked home a 15-footer with 21 seconds remaining. Roll, though, scooped up the ball on a broken play and hit a 13-foot jumper for the UCLA victory.

The Bruins shot 50.0 percent from the floor on the night, as they rallied from a 34-26 halftime deficit.

Cal, which opened Pac-10 play with a 26-point triumph of Stanford, had its three-game win streak snapped.

Read more at our Cougar blog, Vanquish The Foe, and our MWC blog, Mountain West Connection.

January 7, 2010 – Provo, UT (Sports Network) – Noah Hartsock and Jonathan Tavernari scored 17 points apiece, as No. 25 BYU held off UNLV, 77-73, to open Mountain West Conference play at the Marriott Center.

Tyler Haws donated 12 points in the victory for the Cougars (15-1, 1-0 MWC), who shot just 36.8 percent on the night but offset that with 19 offensive rebounds.

“Tonight was a good example of how deep we are and how people stepped up when they need to,” Hartsock said. “It just goes to show that we are a team that is going to come out and play hard every night.”

Tre’Von Willis scored a game-high 24 points and added six rebounds and four assists, while Kendall Wallace chipped in with nine points and Oscar Bellfield donated eight points and nine assists for the Rebels (12-3, 0-1).

UNLV held a 69-64 edge at the five-minute mark of the second half, but Michael Loyd, Jr.‘s bucket drew the Cougars within 69-68 with just under three minutes to play. Tavernari’s three-pointer and Loyd’s transition layup capped nine straight points for a 73-69 advantage then Jackson Emery’s tough jumper with 25.7 ticks to go from the top of the key made it a two-possession game once again at 75-71.

Willis then made 1-of-2 free throws at the other end but Haws calmly sank two free throws at the other end to seal the victory.

“We gave them too many second chances. We just need to lock in there, use our size, and block out,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “Overall, we just really need to get more defensive rebounds and limit second and third opportunities.”

A competitive opening 20 minutes went back and fourth with BYU holding a 17-14 lead halfway in and the game was knotted at 24-24 with just under five minutes to play. BYU held a 33-32 edge at the half.

BYU improved to 9-0 at home this season…UNLV still leads the all-time series, 16-14…The Rebels shot 46 percent from the floor and made 7-of-16 from beyond the arc…BYU shot just 26.8 percent in the first half, but held a one-point edge thanks to a 9-for-9 effort from the charity stripe.

Read more at our Blue Devil blog, Duke Basketball Report, and our Cyclone blog, Clone Chronicles.

January 6, 2010 – Chicago, IL (Sports Network) – Jon Scheyer notched a game-high 31 points as fifth-ranked Duke dispatched Iowa State, 86-65, at United Center.

Nolan Smith posted 20 points and Kyle Singler added 15 with eight rebounds for the Blue Devils (13-1), who have won seven consecutive games.

Marquis Gilstrap had 16 points and nine boards for the Cyclones (10-4), who had won four in a row. Craig Brackins added 12 points while Justin Hamilton and Diante Garrett each went for 10 points in defeat.

Scheyer drained a three at the three-minute mark of the second half as Duke went up 50-35, and the Blue Devils’ edge stretched to 58-39 with 13:22 left in the contest after Scheyer completed a three-point play.

Two from the line by Brackins with 8:13 to go pulled Iowa State within 63-51, but a 12-5 run effectively sealed the victory for Duke.

Smith and Scheyer both hit from long distance during the burst and Scheyer ended the run with two free throws for a 75-56 game. Singler’s three with 4:02 remaining opened up an 82-61 advantage and Duke cruised home.

Duke rolled out to a 14-2 lead early on before Iowa State got back within 14-13 on a Gilstrap free throw.

Scheyer’s layup with 6:22 left in the half opened up a 30-21 Blue Devils edge, then Smith’s free throw with under four minutes to play gave Duke a 10-point lead.

Iowa State was down by 13 late but Gilstrap’s three got the Cyclones within 41-33 at the break.

Duke shot 56 percent (14-of-25) from the floor in the second half, part of a 44.6-percent effort for the game…The Cyclones had 18 turnovers.

Read more at our Pirate blog, Gonzo Ball.

January 6, 2010 – Storrs, CT (Sports Network) – Jerome Dyson was one rebound shy of a triple- double, finishing with 16 points, 10 assists and nine boards to help No. 13 Connecticut pull out a 71-63 victory over Seton Hall.

Gavin Edwards and Kemba Walker each scored 15 for the Huskies (11-3, 2-1 Big East), who have won two in a row since dropping their Big East opener December 30 at Cincinnati.

Alex Oriakhi added 12 points and seven rebounds in the victory.

Jeff Robinson had a game-high 17 points to go with nine rebounds, while Jeremy Hazell added 13 points, but Seton Hall (9-5, 0-3) was dealt its fourth consecutive tough loss. Two of those losses were in overtime, while another was a seven-point setback against Syracuse.

Wednesday’s was no different, as Seton Hall held a 57-54 lead with 6:27 to play following John Garcia’s layup. But Dyson and the Huskies took over, scoring the next nine points mostly on fastbreak opportunities.

Dyson evened the game with a three-pointer, and after a Pirates miss, Dyson deposited a fastbreak layup. Another Seton Hall miss resulted in a dunk from Edwards in transition, and Hazell’s missed three gave UConn yet another chance to race upcourt. Dyson dished a no-look pass to Edwards for a layup that made it a 63-57 edge with 4:44 to play.

Seton Hall, though, battled back and scored the next four points, getting within 63-61 on Herb Pope’s short jumper with just over three minutes left.

But the Huskies pulled away for good as the Pirates missed numerous scoring opportunities. On its next possession, Seton Hall got a number of offensive rebounds, and in a scramble for the ball, Dyson came up with the steal for a fastbreak layup.

Dyson then set up the back-breaking blow after Seton Hall again missed a series of putbacks. The guard lofted a high alley-oop pass on the right side of the net for Stanley Robinson, who threw it down to make it a 67-61 game, and UConn held on from there.

The Huskies were ahead 35-31 at halftime, and Dyson’s layup shortly into the second half made it a 40-33 game. Seton Hall followed with the next six points, and it was a one-possession contest for much of the half.

Robinson had 10 points for UConn, which made 50.9 percent of its shots…Pope ended with 14 rebounds and 10 points for Seton Hall, which shot only 35.5 percent, but had the same number of made field goals (27) as the Huskies.

Read more at our Buckeye blog, The Buckeye Battle Cry, and our Hoosier blog, The Crimson Quarry.

January 6, 2010 – Columbus, OH (Sports Network) – Jon Diebler netted 21 points and the Ohio State Buckeyes coasted to a 79-54 win over the Indiana Hoosiers in a Big Ten Conference affair at Value City Arena.

Diebler hit on 5-of-8 shots from long distance and recorded three steals for OSU (11-4, 1-2 BigTen), which snapped a two-game slide. William Buford also reached double figures, finishing with 16 points in the win.

Verdell Jones III led all players with 22 points, as Indiana (7-7, 1-1) had its two-game win streak snapped. Christian Watford chipped in with 11 points, but he also accounted for six of the team’s 24 turnovers.

The Buckeyes used a 26-4 run in the first half to open a commanding 38-20 lead at the intermission.

In the second half, OSU shot 44.8 percent from the floor and made 12 free throws on its way to the 25-point triumph.

The Buckeyes received a boost tonight, as star Evan Turner returned early from back injury that was expected to keep him sidelined for eight weeks. Turner, who was back in the lineup after just 4 1/2 weeks, notched eight points and five assists in 20 minutes of action.