Clemson Handles Virginia

Jamar McKnight scored a career-high 25 points and Edward Scott scored 17, and Clemson defeated No. 7-ranked Virginia, 68-52, Tuesday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C.

The Tigers (11-5, 2-1 ACC) had lost to Winthrop and Yale the last two weeks. But they rolled past the Cavaliers (9-2, 0-2) as McKnight and Scott led a 23-7 second-half run.

Roger Mason led Virginia with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Travis Watson, the team’s high scorer the last three games, was held to six points.

Chris Williams, averaging nearly 16 points, missed all seven shots and did not score.

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No. 6 Oklahoma State 68, Baylor 57--Melvin Sanders scored 15 points and the Cowboys (14-1, 1-1) rallied for a Big 12 victory at Waco, Texas.

No. 10 Cincinnati 71, Charlotte 58--Leonard Stokes scored 19 points and the Bearcats’ half-court defense frustrated Charlotte’s long-range shooters at Cincinnati.

Cincinnati (14-1, 2-0) won its 14th consecutive, the longest active streak in Division I.

Three days after upsetting then-No. 25 Marquette, Charlotte (7-6, 1-1) suffered its second-worst loss this season on a court where it has never won.

No. 12 Syracuse 85, Seton Hall 70--Preston Shumpert scored 19 points and DeShaun Williams had 18 for the Orangemen at Syracuse.

It was the fifth consecutive victory for Syracuse (14-2, 3-0 Big East) and second in a row over the Pirates (8-7, 1-2), who had upset the Orangemen twice the last two years.

Kueth Duany had 13 points for Syracuse, which shot 61%. Freshman center Craig Forth had his most productive game this season, scoring 12 points, all in the first half.

James Thues had 10 points and nine assists for the Orangemen.

St. John’s 71, No. 21 Miami 60--Marcus Hatten scored 25 points and St. John’s held Miami to one field goal in the final 16 minutes at New York, as the Hurricanes lost for the second consecutive time.

The Red Storm (11-3, 2-1 Big East) won its seventh out of eight with a defense in the second half that limited Miami (14-2, 1-2) to one field goal in its last 22 shots. Marcus Barnes led Miami with 16 points, all in the first half, and Darius Rice had 13.

No. 23 Pittsburgh 66, Rutgers 58--Jaron Brown scored 14 points and sparked a decisive run after Pittsburgh blew a 15-point lead at Piscataway, N.J.

The Panthers (15-1, 3-0 Big East), who broke into the top 25 on Monday for the first time since Dec. 28, 1998, have won 10 in a row.

It’s their longest streak since winning 22 in a row in 1973-74, the last time they started 15-1.

Pittsburgh is 3-0 in the Big East for the first time since 1991-92. Rutgers (10-5, 1-2) lost at home for the first time in nine games this season.

Indiana 83, No. 25 Michigan State 65--Tom Coverdale scored 22 points and Jared Jeffries scored 21 for Indiana, which made 14 three-point baskets at Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers (10-5, 3-0 Big Ten) made 10 of 16 three-pointers in the first half to build a 24-point lead.

Coverdale made his first six three-point shots, scoring 21 in the first half.

WOMEN’S TOP 25

No. 2 Tennessee 74, No. 25 Old Dominion--Michelle Snow scored 19 points and reserve Tasha Butts had 16, including two key three-point baskets, to lift the Lady Vols (12-1) at Knoxville, Tenn.

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Rometra Craig, a key reserve for Duke as a freshman last season, has transferred to USC.

Craig, 5 feet 10, averaged 7.2 points last season. She is the daughter of former San Francisco 49er running back Roger Craig.