Sports

College basketball

Men: Instate rival shocks West Virginia

By wire services
Published January 26, 2006

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. - West Virginia's first Top 10 appearance in 24 years will be short-lived.

So was its ownership of the nation's longest winning streak.

Mark Patton had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Marshall beat No. 9 West Virginia 58-52 on Wednesday night, ending the Mountaineers' winning streak at 12 games.

Center Kevin Pittsnogle had guaranteed a win for West Virginia (14-4), but the Mountaineers were held to their fewest points this season and fell to their cross-state rival for the second straight year, the first time that has happened since 1981-82.

"After a guarantee like that, it's a good thing we showed up," Patton said. "This is how it is every year in Charleston. It is always back and forth like that."

Pittsnogle didn't apologize for his prediction.

"I'm still glad I said it," he said. "There's nothing wrong with what I said. I think it was just more like confidence."

Marshall (8-9) usually finds more motivation for this game because the Thundering Herd is considered second fiddle in a state with only two Division I teams. The meeting also occurs in the middle of West Virginia's rough Big East schedule.

NO. 1 UCONN 66, ST. JOHN'S 50: Rudy Gay had 20 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals as the host Huskies survived their first test as the top-ranked team. The typically physical Big East game got ugly at times. There were two technicals fouls, and Connecticut's Jeff Adrien and the Red Storm's Aaron Spears were ejected for fighting in the second half.

NO. 22 LOUISVILLE 67, CINCINNATI 50: Taquan Dean, who missed all but 12 minutes of the past five games with a sprained ankle, scored 16 as the host Cardinals snapped a three-game losing streak. Dean, who didn't start, fueled a decisive 13-0 run early in the second half as Louisville (14-5, 2-4) dominated its former Conference USA rival.

PROVIDENCE 79, RUTGERS 69: Donnie McGrath scored 23 and Herbert Hill came off the bench for 19 as the visiting Friars (9-8, 2-4) won their second in a row and handed the Scarlet Knights their third straight loss and fourth in five games.

MARQUETTE 62, DePAUL 47: Dan Fitzgerald scored a career-high 18, all on 3-pointers, to lead the host Golden Eagles (15-5, 5-2) to their second victory over the Blue Demons in eight days.

SETON HALL 83, NO. 15 N.C. STATE 65: Donald Copeland had 22 points, Kelly Whitney added 17 and the Pirates handed the Wolfpack its first home loss of the season. Jamar Nutter and Paul Gause scored 12 each for Seton Hall (11-6), which dominated throughout in nearly every phase.

NO. 18 MARYLAND 86, GA. TECH 74: Nik Caner-Medley scored a career-high 33, and the visiting Terrapins (14-4, 4-2) shook off the loss of leading scorer Chris McCray to help Gary Williams tie Lefty Driesell for the Maryland record with his 555th win. McCray was suspended from the team this week for academic reasons.

NO. 20 BC 81, UNC 74: Craig Smith scored 14 of his 16 in the second half to help the visiting Eagles hold on. Jared Dudley scored 17 for Boston College (15-4, 3-3), which used a 27-6 run late in the first half to build a double-digit lead it would not relinquish and give coach Al Skinner his 300th career victory.

NO. 19 TENNESSEE 88, MISS. ST. 65: C.J. Watson scored 19, and the visiting Volunteers followed their weekend upset of Florida with a rout. Andre Patterson added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Tennessee (13-3, 4-1), which was in control all the way in avoiding a second letdown after beating a Top Ten team.

LSU 81, UGA 52: Darrel Mitchell made five first-half 3-pointers and scored 24 as the host Tigers (13-5, 5-0) equaled their best conference start in 25 seasons.

ARKANSAS 71, OLE MISS 58: Jonathon Modica scored 20, and the host Razorbacks (14-5, 3-3) used a stifling zone defense and a 16-0 first-half run to pull away.

AUBURN: The school will retire the jerseys of former All-Americans Chuck and Wesley Person and Rex Frederick this season.

Top 25

NO. 8 ILLINOIS 77, MINNESOTA 53: Dee Brown scored 17 and freshman Jamar Smith had 16 as the Illini (18-2, 4-2 Big Ten) won their school-record 32nd straight home game.

MICHIGAN 72, NO. 11 MICH. ST. 67: Daniel Horton scored 23 and the host Wolverines (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten) held on to beat the rival Spartans (15-5, 3-3) for the second time in 14 meetings.

NO. 14 GW 94, DUQUESNE 78: Pops Mensah-Bonsu took advantage of the Dukes' depleted frontcourt to score a career-high 29, and the visiting Colonials (15-1, 5-0 Atlantic Ten) shook off a sluggish first 30 minutes.

NO. 23 WISCONSIN 72, PENN ST. 43: Alando Tucker scored 17 and the host Badgers (15-4, 5-1 Big Ten) snapped a two-game losing streak despite the loss of two top reserves to academic suspension in the past week.

NO. 24 OKLAHOMA 82, BAYLOR 52: Michael Neal and Terrell Everett combined for 23 first-half points, including all 11 for the visiting Sooners (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) in a 21/2-minute spurt that put them ahead to stay.

State

UCF 64, ECU 59: Justin Rose scored 18 to lead the visiting Golden Knights (9-8, 3-1 C-USA).

N. FLA. 90, JU 78: Ryan Daugherty scored 28 and Alain Laroche 23 for the host Ospreys (5-13, 2-9 Atlantic Sun).

TAMPA 74, SAINT LEO 45: Chris Evans had 23 points and 13 rebounds as the visiting Spartans (13-5, 4-3 Sunshine State) bounced back from consecutive losses.

Nation

N'WESTERN 78, PURDUE 76 (OT): Vedran Vukusic scored eight of his 29 in overtime to lead the visiting Wildcats (10-8, 3-4 Big Ten). Northwestern's Craig Moore forced overtime, coming off a screen and hitting a contested 3-pointer from the right wing with .9 seconds left to tie it at 66.

COLORADO 81, NEBRASKA 59: Richard Roby, winner of consecutive Big 12 player of the week awards, scored 30 as the host Buffaloes (14-3, 4-2) won their third straight conference game.

IOWA ST. 82, MISSOURI 58: Curtis Stinson scored 27 for the third straight game, and the visiting Cyclones (13-6, 3-3 Big 12) made 25 of 27 free throws.

KANSAS 83, TEXAS A&M 73: Russell Robinson scored a career-high 24, and the visiting Jayhawks (12-6, 3-2 Big 12) improved to 11-0 against the Aggies.

ARIZONA 80, ARIZ. ST. 70: Hassan Adams had 21 points and six steals as the visiting Wildcats (13-6, 6-3 Pac-10) beat the Sun Devils for the 21st time in 22 games.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 01:02:16]

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