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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BASKETBALL
Big East player of the week essential to Marquette victory
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Marquette's Jae Crowder, left, puts up a shot against Rutgers' Kadeem Jack, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Milwaukee.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MILWAUKEE — Jae Crowder scored 27 points and Darius Johnson-Odom added 21 to lead No. 10 Marquette to an 82-65 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday night.
The win was the fourth straight and 11th in 12 game for the Golden Eagles (23-5, 12-3) and it kept them tied for second place in the Big East with No. 20 Notre Dame, which beat West Virginia 71-44 on Wednesday. The top four teams earn a double-bye for the conference tournament.
Crowder, named the Big East player of the week Monday for his career-high 29-point, 12-rebound effort against Connecticut on Saturday, hit 11 of 14 shots, including two 3-pointers, and scored 14 points in the second half.
Jerome Seagears had 14 points and Gilvydas Biruta added 12 for Rutgers (12-16, 4-11), which lost for the sixth straight time, including three in a row to ranked teams. The Scarlet Knights were routed by Notre Dame on Feb. 15, but held its own against No. 2 Syracuse before losing 74-64 on Sunday.
Rutgers, which trailed nearly the entire game, trimmed the lead to 58-52 with 11:30 remaining when Dane Miller scored on an offensive rebound.
But Marquette responded with a 12-2 run to push the lead to 72-54 with 7:40 remaining when Johnson-Odom stole the ball and scored on a dunk. Crowder had six points during the run, including a nifty reverse layup.
Rutgers, which had 23 turnovers, could get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. Marquette, which had 12 steals, scored 31 points off the turnovers.
Vander Blue added 10 points for Marquette.
The Golden Eagles, known for
their slow starts, jumped out fast against Rutgers, hitting seven of their first eight shots, including three 3-pointers, and took a 21-6 lead when Todd Mayo scored on a driving layup with 14:51 remaining.
But Rutgers used a 23-12 run to trim the lead to 33-29 when Miller scored on a driving layup with 7:16 remaining.
Johnson-Odom and Crowder combined for 32 points in the first half as Marquette forced 14 turnovers and scored 18 points off them.
Marquette ended the half on a 13-6 run for a 46-35 lead.
Marquette forward Davante Gardner missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left knee.
NBA
Home-court losing streak ended against Philadelphia
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kevin Martin scored 16 points and Patrick Patterson added 12 off the bench for the Rockets, who've won three in a row and snapped a four-game home-court losing streak to Philadelphia.
HOUSTON — Luis Scola had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Kyle Lowy added 13 points and two crucial three-point plays down the stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Philadelphia 76ers 93-87 on Wednesday night.
Nikola Vucevic scored a careerhigh 18 points and Thaddeus Young had 15 for the 76ers, who will head into the All-Star break on a five-game losing streak. The 76ers lost for only the second time in their past nine meetings with Houston.
Philly was held without a 3-pointer for the first time this season, missing all nine attempts. The Rockets went 5 for 18 from 3-point range, with all but one of the makes coming in the second half.
The lead changed hands five times in the final five minutes before Lowry drove into Vucevic for a layup, drew the foul and made the free throw for an 86-84 lead. Louis Williams made a free throw with 1:38 remaining, but Lowry then converted another three-
point play with 59 seconds left to make it 89-85.
Williams slipped on the baseline in front of the Houston bench, the 76ers' 13th turnover, and the Rockets hit their free throws in the last minute to preserve the victory.
Lowry also had eight rebounds and Chandler Parsons scored 12 points for the Rockets. Williams scored 17 points for the 76ers.
The bad shooting and sloppy offense continued, with the Rockets leading only 28-27 with less than six minutes left before the break. At that point, Vucevic had 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting, while the rest of the 76ers had 17 points on 7-of-26 shooting.
Both teams shot poorly early, and neither had scored 10 points midway through the first quarter. Lowry left four minutes into the game and limped to the locker room with athletics trainer Keith Jones.
Philadelphia also had five turnovers in the second quarter to fuel a late Rockets' spurt. Goran Dragic hit a 3-pointer early in a 13-4 burst and Houston built a 10-point lead. The 76ers answered with a quick
Houston found its shooting touch first and took a 19-16 lead. Lowry returned to the bench with Jones in the last minute of the quarter, and was back on the floor for the start of the second.
8-2 spurt to trail 45-41 at halftime.
The Rockets picked up the offensive pace in the third quarter, stretching the lead to eight points. The 76ers attacked Houston's small lineup inside, answering with a 10-0 run that gave them a 56-54 lead.
Martin swished back-to-back 3-pointers near the nine-minute mark to keep Houston within three. After Thaddeus Young scored inside, Martin hit another 3 and Patterson scored to tie it at 75-all.
Houston went cold late in the third quarter, and mustered only 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting. The 76ers scored 14 of their 24 third-quarter points in the paint and led 65-61 heading to the fourth.
Notes: The Rockets have won 24 consecutive games when holding their opponent to less than 90 points. ... Lowry missed his first free-throw attempt, after making his previous 25. ... The 76ers dropped to 7-2 in the second game of back-to-back sets this season. ... Philly coach Doug Collins couldn't give a timetable for Spencer Hawes' return from a left Achilles strain. Collins said Hawes will visit a doctor in Los Angeles during the All-Star break and wear a protective boot.
NCAA
Syracuse's Kris Joseph, left, shoots against South Florida's Augustus Gilchrist during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Wednesday, Feb. 22.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Large first-half deficit doesn't stop Syracuse
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Scoop Jardine scored 15 points to help No. 2 Syracuse overcome a 13-point first-half deficit and beat South Florida 56-48 on Wednesday night.
Kris Joseph had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Orange (28-1, 15-1 Big East), who matched school records for most regularseason and conference victories — both set in 2009-10.
South Florida took advantage of Syracuse's cold-shooting offense by opening an 18-5 lead 10:25 in when Augustus Gilchrist hit a 10-footer from the paint. After
Anthony Collins scored 16 points for the Bulls, who endured a 12:33 stretch without a point spanning halftime. South Florida (17-11, 10-5) had a four-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 1-9 against Syracuse.
The game was decided in the final 5 minutes, with the Orange leading 47-46.
Jardine was fouled making a layup with 4:04 left. He completed the three-point play, and Joseph added two putbacks of his own misses to seal the win.
It was a game of back-and-forth runs.
The run began with Dion Watters scoring in the post to cut the Bulls lead to 18-7 with 9:19 left in the first half. And it ended with Jardine scoring on the transition 2:05 into the second half to put the Orange ahead 33-20.
going 2-for-14 from the field, the Orange mounted a rally of their own, scoring 26 straight points.
The Bulls weren't done.
After missing 13 consecutive attempts from the field, Hugh Robertson finally scored 2.33 into the second half. South Florida eventually cut the lead to 5 on two occasions, before going off on a 9-0 run, capped by Collins hitting a 10-foot from the paint with 6:25 left.
This marked only the second time this season the Orange have trailed by double digits. And the only other time that happened came in a 67-58 loss at Notre Dame on Jan. 21.
Syracuse has now won eight in a row since that loss.
The Orange wore their one-time only Nike-designed uniforms, designated for teams who have won a national title. The jerseys were gray — officially, platinum — with an orange stripe down each side.
And at first glance, the uniforms
weren't the only thing looking unusual about the Orange through the first 10 minutes of the first half. They opened hitting two of their first 14 attempts, and trailed 18-5 after Augustus Gilchrist hit a 10-footer with 9:35 left in the period.
C. J. Fair finished with 13 points and was the only Orange player to hit a field goal — going 2-for-3 — before Waiters scored in the post with 9:19 left to prompt the run. Jardine hit a 3-point basket from at least 25 feet to give Syracuse momentum with 5:48, and the crowd erupted 90 seconds later when Jardine drove up the left wing on the transition and fed Kris Joseph for an alley-oop, to cut the Bulls lead to 20-18.
Syracuse was sluggish and stymied by an aggressive Bulls defense. And South Florida also set the pace in the offensive end with a patient halfcourt style.
Down 24-20 at the break, South Florida did hold an opponent to under 30 points in the first half for the 24th time in 28 games. And yet it was their lack of offense that cost the Bulls.
South Florida finished 20 of 52 from the field after opening 9 of 11.