No. 2 Duke Pulls Away, Defeats North Carolina

It wasn’t one of the classics in the Duke-Carolina rivalry, but it was a lot closer than many thought it would be.

No. 2-ranked Duke beat No. 10 North Carolina, 89-77, Wednesday night, giving the Blue Devils their 15th consecutive victory overall and their 33rd in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

The Tar Heels, 17-5 overall and 5-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, stayed right with the Blue Devils (20-1, 8-0) until a shooting dry spell for almost 5 1/2 minutes in the second half allowed Duke to pull away for its biggest victory in the series since 1993.

Duke point guard William Avery finished with 21 points, five assists and only one turnover. Ed Cota, his North Carolina counterpart who was bothered by leg cramps, had 20 points, seven assists and five turnovers.

No. 4 Maryland 107, Florida State 87--The Terrapins (19-2, 7-1) shot 62% and got 22 points from Obinna Ekezie to rout the Seminoles (11-8, 5-3) in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

No. 7 Auburn 64, Mississippi State 54--Bryant Smith scored 16 points and freshman Mack McGadney added 15 as the Tigers (19-1, 7-1) notched a Big East victory over the Bulldogs (13-8, 3-5) at Auburn, Ala.

It was McGadney’s first game since the death on Saturday of his grandmother who raised him.

No. 8 Michigan State 76, No. 15 Ohio State 71--Mateen Cleaves scored 10 of his 16 points in the last 2:09 and the Spartans (17-4, 6-1) came from behind for a Big Ten victory over the Buckeyes (15-6, 5-3) at East Lansing, Mich.

No. 9 St. John’s 75, No. 17 Syracuse 70--Bootsy Thornton scored 21 points as the Red Storm (17-4, 8-1) fell behind by 15 early on and came back to beat the Orangemen (14-6, 5-5) in a Big East game at Syracuse.

Northwestern 54, No. 14 Purdue 50--Evan Eschmeyer had 17 points and 14 rebounds and became Northwestern’s career rebounding leader as the Wildcats (12-5, 4-3) stunned the Boilermakers (15-6, 3-4) in a Big Ten game at Evanston, Ill.

No. 16 Iowa 84, Penn State 74--Dean Oliver scored 17 points as the Hawkeyes (14-4, 5-3) stopped a three-game losing streak by beating the Nittany Lions (10-8, 2-6) in a Big Ten game at Iowa City.

No. 21 Arkansas 86, Louisiana State 64--Pat Bradley made five of 12 three-point shots and finished with 19 points as the Razorbacks (15-5, 4-3) beat the Tigers (10-7, 2-6) in a Southeastern Conference game at Fayetteville, Ark.

Nebraska 84, No. 22 Kansas 69--Venson Hamilton had 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Cornhuskers (13-7, 5-2) upset the Jayhawks (13-6, 5-2) in a Big 12 game at Lincoln, Neb.

No. 23 Miami 77, Seton Hall 71--Tim James scored a career-high 31 points as Hurricanes (13-4, 72) ended a two-game home losing streak with a Big East victory over the Pirates (11-8, 5-5) at Miami.

No. 25 Florida 72, Alabama 68--Teddy Dupay converted a key three-point play and the Gators (15-3, 6-2) went seven for nine from the free-throw line down the stretch to hold off the Tide (12-9, 2-6) in an SEC game at Gainesville, Fla.

Cal State Sacramento 60, Montana 57--The Hornets (1-17, 1-7 Big Sky) snapped their 34-game losing streak, three shy of the Division I record.