Baker’s Dozen for Oklahoma State

When Oklahoma State needed him most, senior guard Maurice Baker was again able to deliver.

Baker scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half Saturday and sparked two late runs that helped the fifth-ranked Cowboys remain unbeaten at 13-0 with an 82-70 victory over Ball State in the All-College Classic at Oklahoma City.

“I think he’s as good a player as there is in college basketball,” said Ball State Coach Tim Buckley, whose team defeated Kansas and UCLA and lost to Duke in a Maui tournament in November. “He has outstanding quickness, he’s a tremendous athlete, and I think what puts him in an elite group is that he has a tremendous will to win.”

The Cowboys trailed, 51-47, with 10:36 left after Theron Smith converted a three-point play.

That’s when Baker, the Cowboys’ leading scorer at 18 points a game, got going. He made a three-point shot and a follow shot in a 12-3 run that gave the Cowboys a 59-54 lead. After Patrick Jackson’s three-point basket made it 59-57, Oklahoma State scored nine in a row--five by Baker.

“We came in at halftime down a couple points ... so I just put it on myself to try to help my team win it,” Baker said. “I think I can turn it on when I want to.”

Baker also had nine rebounds, including one after teammate Andre Williams missed two free throws with the score 69-64 and 1:20 remaining. The Cowboys scored on the extra possession to keep Ball State (7-4) at bay.

Oklahoma State is one of five unbeaten Division I teams. Butler, Duke, Miami (Fla.) and Virginia are the others.

No. 1 Duke 92, San Diego State 79--The Blue Devils looked rusty after a week-and-a-half layoff but got a career-high 25 points from Mike Dunleavy at Durham, N.C., to extend their two-season winning streak to 21 games.

Duke’s previous game was a 95-92 overtime win against Kentucky on Dec. 18.

San Diego State (7-4) had 24 turnovers--six on consecutive possessions in the second half to allow Duke to build a 25-point lead.

No. 2 Kansas 93, Tulsa 85-- Guard Kirk Hinrich took charge after the Jayhawks (10-1) blew a 15-point lead to the Golden Hurricane (9-2) in the second half, getting two baskets and three rebounds during a game-ending 11-3 run at Kansas City, Mo. Drew Gooden had 25 points and 16 rebounds for Kansas.

No. 7 Illinois 87, Loyola of Chicago 72--Frank Williams scored 25 points for the short-handed Illini at Champaign, Ill. Illinois (11-2) played without starting center Robert Archibald and top reserve Damir Krupalija and led by only three points with 8:56 left before slowly pulling away from Loyola (5-5)

DePaul 63, No. 10 Missouri 62--Shooting woes continued for the Tigers, who made only 33% of their shots at Chicago.

Missouri (9-3) shot 35% in losses to Iowa and Illinois after making 50% of its attempts in opening the season with nine consecutive wins.

DePaul is 7-4.

No. 12 Oklahoma 97, Texas Southern 55--Ebi Ere and Jason Detrick each scored 20 points for the Sooners (10-1) in the All-College Classic at Oklahoma City. Detrick was starting in place of leading scorer Hollis Price, who got hit in the eye in practice Thursday and watched from the bench in street clothes and sunglasses.

Texas Southern is 1-9.

No. 17 Cincinnati 73, Akron 57--Freshman Jason Maxiell scored 16 points--five on dunks--and the Bearcats (12-1) forced the Zips (3-8) into a season-high 25 turnovers in the Rock-N-Roll Shootout at Cleveland.

Buffalo at No. 18 Syracuse, ppd.--The game at Syracuse, N.Y., was postponed because heavy snow in the Buffalo area prevented the Bulls from traveling.

No. 22 Gonzaga 79, Monmouth 54--Anthony Reason and Dan Dickau combined for the first 14 points of a game-opening 21-3 run at West Long Branch, N.J., that allowed the Bulldogs (11-2) to extend their winning streak to eight. Dickau finished with 20 points, and Reason had 10 points and 10 rebounds--the first double-double of the senior forward’s career.

Monmouth is 5-6.

No. 23 Butler 66, Indiana 64-- Joel Cornette leaped over a crowd of players and slammed home the game-deciding basket off a rebound in the final seconds for the Bulldogs (13-0) in the Hoosier Classic championship game at Indianapolis.

Indiana (7-5) had not lost in the 20 years of the tournament.

No. 25 Wake Forest 64, No. 19 Marquette 59--The Demon Deacons (9-3) squandered a 19-point lead in the second half, then held off Golden Eagles (10-2) at Winston-Salem, N.C., as Josh Howard came up with a pivotal block and Craig Dawson made two free throws in the final seconds.

OTHER GAMES

Brian Buchanan scored 28 points as IUPUI (Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis) defeated Georgia Tech, 98-92, at Atlanta for its first victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference team. IUPUI (6-5) is in its fourth Division I season. Georgia Tech (6-7) had beaten No. 18 Syracuse 13 days ago. ... Mississippi State (13-1) shot 65% and got a game-high 22 points from reserve Timmy Bowers in a 77-66 victory over Tulane (8-2) for the Green Wave’s first home loss of the season. ... Nick Jacobson scored 18 points as Utah (8-3) prevented Texas (7-4) from going undefeated in December for the first time in 20 years in a 71-61 victory at Salt Lake City. ... Melvin Ely had 29 points to lead Fresno State (9-5) to an 80-68 victory at San Jose State (5-9).