Cincinnati Turns Back Marquette

Six-foot-11 center Donald Little claims he’s a good outside shooter. He was able to prove it under pressure.

Little made a wide-open 15-foot jump shot with three seconds left Friday night as No. 4 Cincinnati overcame a pair of blown leads and rallied for a 63-62 victory over No. 9 Marquette at Cincinnati.

Conference USA’s top two teams played a game befitting the stakes--back and forth until it was decided in the closing seconds by Dwyane Wade’s missed free throw and Little’s improbable jumper.

“A conference championship was on the line,” said Little, who made all five of his shots and had 12 points. “You don’t want to be the first [Cincinnati] team not to win one.”

Cincinnati (26-2, 13-1) ended a losing streak at three against Marquette (23-4, 12-2) and has the conference’s best record with two games left. The Bearcats have won each of Conference USA’s six regular-season titles.

Marquette (23-4, 12-2) overcame deficits of 16 and 12 points, and led, 62-58, with 30 seconds left.

But, Steve Logan made a three-point shot with 22 seconds left that made it 62-61, and Wade--a 70.7% free-throw shooter--went to the line for a one-and-one with 20 seconds left. He missed his first try, setting the stage for Little’s game-deciding shot.

Cordell Henry’s heave from just inside half-court bounced off the back of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“It just went their way,” Marquette Coach Tom Crean said. “It turned out to be the kind of game that people were expecting to see.”

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AROUND THE NATION

Ed Persia scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and Princeton remained in the thick of the Ivy League race with a 59-46 victory over Yale at Princeton, N.J. Princeton (13-9, 8-2) ended a winning streak at seven by Yale (17-8, 9-2) and moved within a half game of the Ivy League leader. Yale, which was trying to sweep Princeton in a season series for the first time since 1986, shot only 34.7% and had 15 turnovers as it was held to a season low in points. The Tigers held Ime Archibong, Paul Vitelli and Edwin Draughan, who average a combined 33.7 points, to 16.... Kentucky sophomores Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels were suspended indefinitely after they were charged with using fake driver’s licenses to try to get into a nightclub.... Brian Jackson returned to Oregon State, only two days after he had decided to leave the team.