ROSEMONT, Ill. - Delonte Holland scored 21 and Drake Diener hit four free throws in the final 15.9 seconds to lead DePaul to a 84-78 Conference USA win over Marquette on Saturday. DePaul beat the Golden Eagles for the first time in eight meetings, though it nearly blew a 15-point lead. The Blue Demons have won six of seven.
The Golden Eagles trailed by 10 with 2:36 left when Travis Diener and Steven Novak led a rally. Travis Diener hit his sixth 3-pointer, and Novak made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to make it 75-70 with 1:19 to go.
Marquette had several chances to make it closer, but Novak missed two 3-pointers in the closing seconds.
Andre Brown had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman Sammy Mejia had nine points and a career-high 12 assists for DePaul.
"Sammy Mejia's penetration at times was just too much for us," Marquette coach Tom Crean said. "It's hard to defend the layup and the dunk when you're stepping up to defend penetration. I think it's still far too early to pencil anything in this league. Nobody as of yet has an NCAA Tournament bid. Nobody is out of it. We want to be right in that mix."
CHARLOTTE 96, ECU 90 (OT): Curtis Withers scored four of his 21 in overtime, and Eddie Basden finished with 27 for the visiting 49ers.
Calvin Clemmons also scored 15 for Charlotte (14-5, 6-2), including a dunk at the end of regulation that tied it at 80.
Mike Cook had 18 points, and reserve Corey Rouse 14 for East Carolina.
MEMPHIS 63, SAINT LOUIS 54: Antonio Burks scored 22 and the host Tigers overcame a sloppy performance and connected on free throws down the stretch.
Memphis, which won its seventh consecutive game, connected on 11 of 14 free throws in the final 1:47 to prevent a Billikens comeback.
Saint Louis, which lost its third straight, was hindered by 32 percent shooting.
LSU 65, ARKANSAS 52: Jaime Lloreda had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Tigers, who have won four straight. The Razorbacks are 0-5 on the road in the SEC and 2-21 on the road overall the past three seasons.
Darrel Mitchell scored 15 for LSU and Brandon Bass had 14.
Matt Jones had a career-high 14 points for Arkansas. He also had 10 rebounds.
The Razorbacks shot 34.5 percent from the field (19-55), only 26 percent in the second half, and were 7-for-23 from 3-point range. Arkansas went scoreless for five minutes early in the second half: Matt Jones sank a jumper 59 seconds into the half and Arkansas did not get another point until Jones' layup with 14:38 left cut the Tigers lead to 44-38.
AUBURN 57, GEORGIA 54: Marco Killingsworth and Lewis Monroe each hit two free throws in the final 32 seconds for the host Tigers.
Auburn led the final 33 minutes, then clinched it at the line. Neither team scored from the 4:07 mark until the last 33 seconds, when Chris Daniels' jumper brought the Bulldogs to 53-51. Killingsworth hit two free throws just a second later after a foul by Levi Stukes. Damien Wilkins answered with a 3-pointer that cut the Tigers lead to one.
Stukes then fouled Monroe, who hit the free throws with 21 seconds left gave the Tigers the win.
N.C. STATE 79, VIRGINIA 63: Julius Hodge scored 16 of his 26 in the first half and the visiting Wolfpack knocked the reeling Cavaliers into the conference cellar. The Wolfpack (14-5, 7-2 ACC) led 34-23 at halftime and by as much as 19 after Virginia went nine minutes between field goals spanning the halves. The Cavaliers (12-8, 2-7) lost their fourth in a row and for the seventh time in eight meetings with N.C. State. Virginia fell behind Clemson, which plays at No. 1 Duke today, in the ACC.
Hodge outscored Virginia 11-9 in the first nine minutes, but the Cavaliers used a 12-4 run to take a 20-19 lead with 7:48 to play. Tied at 22 with 6:47 left, the Cavs missed their last seven shots and trailed 34-22 at the break.
