Associated Press
The college basketball roundup …
CINCINNATI ó Yancy Gates scored a season-high 22 points, and 24th-ranked Cincinnati extended the second-best start in school history, beating Xavier 66-46 on Thursday night
Cincinnatiís 15-0 start matches the 1998-99 team for second-best in school history.
No matter the circumstance, Xavier (8-5) had managed to get the better of its crosstown rival for years. The Musketeers had won three in a row and eight of 11 in the series, which often gets overheated. Xavierís Terrell ěTuî Holloway got a technical for throwing an elbow Thursday.
None of the Musketeers could stop Gates, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound power forward who scored most of his points on outside jumpers. He went 10 of 16 from the field and had 14 rebounds.
Xavierís only consistent scorer was forward Jamel McLean, who had 18 points. Holloway, the Musketeersí leading scorer at 21.3 points per game, managed only five on 2-of-13 shooting.
No. 7 Villanova 83, South Florida 71
TAMPA, Fla. ó Corey Stokes scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half for No. 7 Villanova.
Dominic Cheek had 17 points and Maalik Wayns added 16 to help the Wildcats (13-1, 2-0 Big East) win for the eighth straight time since losing to Tennessee in the final of the NIT Season Tip-off. Villanova shot 75 percent from 3-point range, with Stokes and Cheek making all nine of the shots they attempted behind the arc.
Augustus Gilchrist led the Bulls (6-10, 0-3) with 16 points and 10 rebounds. South Florida has dropped five straight despite showing signs of improvement.
No. 23 Washington 87, Oregon 69
SEATTLE ó Freshman Terrence Ross scored a season-high 25 points and No. 23 Washington shut down Oregon in the final 12 minutes to improve to 3-0 in Pac-10 play for the first time in six seasons.
Ross hit 11 of 18 shots, capping the night with a lob dunk off a pass from Isaiah Thomas. Ross previous high was 18 points in an overtime victory at Southern California. Thomas had 20 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Huskies (11-3). Joevan Catron led Oregon (7-8, 0-3) with 20 points.
Ross hit 11 of 18 shots, capping the night with a lob dunk off a pass from Thomas. Ross previous high came just over a week ago when he scored 18 points in an overtime victory at USC.
Oregonís Joevan Catron made things interesting by starting the second half with 11 straight points and helping Oregon take its first lead at 42-41. But after Johnathan Loydís 3-pointer gave Oregon a 47-46 lead with 16:40 left, the Ducks never led again. Oregon went nearly 9 minutes of the second half with just one field goal.
Catron finished with 20 points for the Ducks (7-8, 0-3).
Thomas came alive late, finishing with 20 points, including a breakaway dunk in the final two minutes that had Hec Edmundson Pavilion roaring. He closed the night with a deep 3-pointer that gave the Huskies a 21-point lead. Thomas also added nine assists and six rebounds.
Reserve Scott Suggs, who went scoreless last week in two games in Los Angeles, added 13 points, as did reigning Pac-10 player of the week Matthew Bryan-Amaning, who also grabbed eight rebounds.
Washington was playing its first game since losing sophomore point guard Abdul Gaddy to a torn ACL in his left knee after being hurt in practice earlier this week. The Huskies started Venoy Overton in his place, a move likely to last, but also saps the Huskies from their biggest energy boost coming off the bench.
At times the Huskies looked completely lost without Gaddy trying to figure out the Ducks various defensive looks. Oregon used a variety of traps and zones in an attempt to confuse and slow down the Huskies on the offensive end.
And for a while it worked.
But Ross was simply too good. The freshman wasnít as highly touted as former high school teammate Terrence Jones coming out of the Portland, Ore. area, but Ross is proving nearly as dynamic. Known as a shooter Ross was 3 of 7 on 3-pointers, but just as effective around the basket.
Garrett Sim added 13 points for Oregon, who couldnít overcome a disastrous stretch of horrid shooting in the second half. Between Simís basket with 12:28 left and Jeremy Jacobís baseline jumper with 3:34 left, the Ducks made just one shot and scored six points.
Catron took over to start the second half, starting the half on a personal 11-4 run. Loydís 3-pointer gave Oregon its final lead and the Huskies responded with a 14-6 run to regain control. Ross scored on a difficult up-and-under basket near the rim, Suggs added a 3-pointer and then capped the spurt with a run-out layup behind the Ducks defense and a 60-53 Washington lead.
The Associated Press
01/06/11 22:35