Associated Press
The national roundup …
PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas ó Marcus Jordan was headed to the foul line for two big shots Friday when a teammate passed along an encouraging message.
“He told me this shot is in my blood,” Jordan said.
Yup, like father, like son.
Jordan, the son of Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, made two big free throws to give Central Florida the lead with 3:11 left and the Knights upset No. 4 Connecticut 68-63 in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis, snapping the Huskies’ 16-game winning streak.
Jordan and Keith Clanton each scored 20 points for the Knights (4-1), who trailed by 17 early in the second half. Jordan also had seven rebounds and seven assists.
NO. 3 OHIO ST. 80, VALPARAISO 47
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó William Buford scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half and the Buckeyes cruised past the Crusaders.
Aaron Craft added 15 points and eight assists for Ohio State (6-0), which tuned up for a big home showdown against No. 6 Duke on Tuesday. Jared Sullinger had 14 points and 13 rebounds.
NO. 5 SYRACUSE 69, STANFORD 63
NEW YORK ó Kris Joseph had 18 points and eight rebounds and the fifth-ranked Orange closed the game on a 15-3 run to win the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.
Syracuse (6-0) was never able to make a run against Stanford until the game’s final 4 minutes, when they made all five of their shots from the field and five of seven free throws. They forced the Cardinal (5-1) into 24 turnovers during the game, including three in the closing stretch.
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 59, OHIO 54
LOUISVILLE, Ky.ó Kyle Kuric scored 16 points and Gorgui Dieng grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to give Rick Pitino his 250th victory as the Cardinals’ coach.
Ohio held a six-point lead with under 4 minutes to play before Louisville (5-0) rallied.
Kuric hit a 3 in the corner, made a key steal and found Chris Smith for a layup on the fast break to give Louisville a 53-51 lead with 1:49 left.
After a dunk by Chane Behanan, Ohio’s D.J. Cooper hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 55-54, but T.J. Hall and Cooper missed 3s in the closing seconds that would’ve tied the game.
NO. 10 FLORIDA 107, JACKSONVILLE 62
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Kenny Boynton scored 22 points, Erving Walker added 21 and the Gators used one of their best shooting performances to handle the Dolphins.
Florida (4-1) dominated from the opening tip, allowing little chance for a repeat of what happened last year in Gainesville. Jacksonville upset Florida 71-69 in overtime, knocking the Gators out of the rankings.
NO. 17 PITT 78, PENN 58
PHILADELPHIA ó Khem Birch had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Ashton Gibbs added 16 points and the Panthers pulled away from the Quakers to win the Philly Hoop Group Classic.
Pittsburgh (4-1) got the 20-point victory over inferior competition it badly needed after struggling the last three games.
Zack Rosen led Penn (3-3) with 22 points on 6 of 10 3-pointers.