STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Freshman swingman Le’Bryan Nash scored a career-high 27 points, Brian Williams added a career-best 22 and Oklahoma State knocked off No. 2 Missouri 79-72 on Wednesday night.
Nash, a McDonald’s All- American, scored 13 points during a 17-4 burst that sent the Cowboys into the lead in the final 4 minutes and the Tigers (18-2, 5-2 Big 12) didn’t have a response.
Nash hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to get it going, then nailed another 3 from the left side to give the Cowboys (10-10, 3- 4) a 65-64 lead with 3:23 to play. He connected on another 29 seconds later and ran to the opposite end of the court when Missouri called timeout to encourage a student section that was already hopping up and down to bring it on.
When the clock hit zero, the students rushed the court and huddled around Oklahoma State’s players at midcourt.
Ricardo Ratliffe had 25 points and 12 rebounds to lead Missouri, which allowed OSU to shoot a season-best 59 percent. The Cowboys had not surpassed 49 percent against an NCAA opponent all season.
No. 4 Ohio State 78, Penn State 54
COLUMBUS, Ohio ( AP) — Jared Sullinger had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Ohio State took advantage of Penn State’s slow start.
The Buckeyes (18-3, 6-2 Big Ten) won their third in a row and fifth in six games while tuning up for Sunday’s big home showdown with No. 20 Michigan. The Wolverines, Ohio State and Michigan State came into the week tied for the top spot in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions paid tribute to Joe Paterno by wearing black bands on their jerseys. Paterno, Penn State’s football coach for 46 years and the winner of a major-college record 409 games, died Sunday at age 85. A public viewing and funeral was held earlier on Wednesday.
No. 8 Duke 74, Maryland 61
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Mason Plumlee scored 23 points and Duke averted its first losing streak of the season by pulling away from Maryland.
Seeking to rebound from a rare home loss against Florida State, the Blue Devils trailed 47- 46 with 12: 54 left but outscored Maryland 28-14 the rest of the way.
No. 10 Michigan State 68,
Minnesota 52
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Draymond Green had 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists to help Michigan State beat Minnesota and give coach Tom Izzo his 400th win.
Izzo downplayed what the milestone meant to him on Monday, but was wiping tears off his cheeks during the final seconds of the victory.
The Spartans (17-4, 6-2) moved into a first-place tie in the Big Ten with their second straight win after losing two in a row.
No. 12 UNLV 77, Boise State 72, OT
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Mike Moser had 18 points and 21 rebounds to lift UNLV to an overtime victory against Boise State.
Chace Stanback added 15 points and Oscar Bellfield had 13 for the Runnin’ Rebels (19-3, 3-1 Mountain West Conference) in a game that was close throughout the second half.
With the score tied at 64 at the end of regulation, Moser and Bellfield led the way in the extra period dominated by the Rebels. Bellfield hit a 3-pointer that put them up 70-65 with 2:03 left and Moser sank a pair of free throws in the final minute to seal UNLV’s third straight victory.
No. 15 Creighton 77, Drake 69
DES MOINES, Iowa ( AP) — Doug McDermott scored 30 points and Creighton held off Drake for its sixth straight road win.
Jahenns Manigat added 15 points for the Bluejays (19-2, 9-1 MVC), who have the program’s longest road winning streak in 37 years.
No. 18 Mississippi State 76, LSU 71
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Arnett Moultrie scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season and Mississippi State held off a late LSU charge.
Moultrie had 19 points in the second half as the Bulldogs built on a 32-31 halftime lead. The 6-foot-11 junior made 10 of 18 shots from the field and grabbed six offensive rebounds.
Andre Stringer led the Tigers (12-8, 2-4) with 17 points off the bench.
LSU hit four late 3-pointers to pull within 72-71 with 15 seconds left. The only thing that saved the Bulldogs was a 6-for-6 performance at the free throw line during LSU’s run.
No. 22 Kansas State 69, Texas Tech
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Martavious Irving scored 16 points and Rodney McGruder had 13 to lead Kansas State over Texas Tech, keeping the Red Raiders winless in Big 12 play.
The Wildcats trailed briefly early but muscled their way into the lane and outscored Texas Tech 36-20 in the paint.
Kansas State (15-4, 4-3 Big 12) pressed on defense, leading to a season-high 25 turnovers for the Red Raiders — 12 were Kansas State steals — which the Wildcats converted into 27 points.
No. 23 Florida State 75,
Wake Forest 52
WINSTON- SALEM, N. C. ( AP) — Michael Snaer scored 18 points to lead Florida State over Wake Forest.
Okaro White added 11 points, Xavier Gibson had 10 and Snaer hit four 3-pointers to help the Seminoles (14-6, 5-1) win their fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference game, their longest winning streak in league play in two years.
The ACC co-leaders shot nearly 51 percent, led the entire second half and broke the game open with an 18-2 run.
C.J. Harris scored 16 points to lead Wake Forest (11-9, 2-4), which lost center Ty Walker to a concussion late in the first half.
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