Fast Starts Are No. 1 Priority

Jermaine Tate had 15 points as top-ranked Cincinnati won its 10th consecutive game, 72-60 over Marquette at Milwaukee Sunday night.

The Bearcats, 18-1 overall and 6-0 Conference USA play, jumped to a 27-point halftime lead but allowed two big runs by the Golden Eagles (11-6, 4-2) in the second half. Marquette trailed 58-49 with five minutes to play but couldn’t get any closer.

Cincinnati’s season-long pattern of quick starts and sloppy finishes continued. With relentless defense and dominating inside play, Cincinnati jumped out to a 23-2 lead after 12 minutes and led 39-12 at halftime, holding Marquette to four of 26 shooting.

The Bearcats survived a 22-6 Golden Eagle run with offense from Steve Logan and Pete Mickeal, who finished with 13 points apiece.

OTHER GAMES

Oregon State 74, Washington 57--Ramunas Petraitis came off the bench to score 17 points as the Beavers (10-6, 2-3 Pacific 10) jumped out to a 19-3 lead and never let the Huskies (6-12, 1-5) get closer than 10 points for their first victory in Seattle since 1993.

La Salle 80, Xavier (Ohio) 49--Donnie Carr scored 22 points and the Explorers (7-9, 1-4 Atlantic 10) ended their longest losing streak in 34 years--eight games--by outhustling the Musketeers (11-6, 2-3) for a victory at Cincinnati.

WOMEN’S TOP 25 GAMES

Michelle Snow scored 18 points and had seven rebounds as No. 2 Tennessee (14-3, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) held off a late charge by Kentucky (11-7, 3-3) for a 71-65 victory at Lexington, Ky. . . . Betty Lennox matched her career-high with 31 points and Ayana Walker added 16 points and 12 rebounds as No. 3 Louisiana Tech (13-2, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) had an easy time with Western Kentucky (10-7, 4-2) in an 85-61 victory at Bowling Green, Ky. . . . Becky Cummings scored 18 points and Kristen Rasmussen had 17 as Michigan State (14-4, 5-2 Big Ten) held on for a 71-63 upset of No. 4 Penn State (16-3, 7-1) at East Lansing, Mich. . . . Alisha Sare and Edwina Brown each scored 25 points as Texas (12-6) pulled away for an 81-63 victory over No. 6 North Carolina State (15-3) at Austin, Texas, in the ACC/Big 12 Challenge.

Kelly Miller had 19 points and seven assists to lead No. 7 Georgia (19-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) to a 68-54 victory over No. 10 Auburn (15-3, 4-2) at Auburn, Ala. . . . Stacy Frese and Megan Taylor each made four three-pointers and Desiree Francis added 12 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 8 Iowa State (14-2) to a 79-67 victory over North Carolina (10-8) at Ames, Iowa. . . . Allison Curtin scored 20 points, helping No. 13 Illinois (15-7, 5-3 Big Ten) snap a three-game losing skid with an 82-65 victory over Northwestern (6-11, 3-4) at Evanston, Ill. . . . Marie Ferdinand matched her career high with 25 points to lead No. 14 Louisiana State (14-2, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) to a 69-59 victory over Mississippi (11-6, 0-4) at Baton Rouge, La.

Lucienne Berthieu had 13 points and 13 rebounds at Washington as No. 18 Old Dominion (13-3, 6-0 Colonial Athletic Assn.) rolled to a 76-51 victory over American (9-6, 2-3). . . . Katie Douglas scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as No. 19 Purdue (12-5, 4-3 Big Ten) held off Indiana (7-11, 2-5) in overtime, 71-65, at Bloomington, Ind. . . . Janell Burse scored 19 points and No. 21 Tulane (16-2, 5-2 Conference USA) overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to rally for an 84-78 victory against South Florida (10-8, 1-6) at Tampa, Fla. . . . Jennifer Fambrough scored 21 points and LaToya Thomas had 20 at Tuscaloosa, Ala., as No. 22 Mississippi State (15-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) cruised to an 85-65 victory against Alabama (11-6, 1-3) to end a 26-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.