Kennard comes through late, Duke beats Clemson

Luke Kennard had an ugly first half, and Duke leaned on freshmen Jayson Tatum and Frank Jackson to build a double-digit lead against Clemson.

Then the Tigers rallied, and Kennard put down the uprising.

Kennard made two clutch jumpers in the final 2:04 and No. 14 Duke beat Clemson 79-72 on Wednesday to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.

The fifth-seeded Blue Devils (24-8) will play fourthseeded and No. 8 Louisville on Thursday at Barclays Center.

MIAMI 62, SYRACUSE 57:

Kamari Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds in his return home to Brooklyn, and Miami held off Syracuse in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. The ninthseeded Hurricanes (21-10) advanced to play top-seeded and sixth-ranked North Carolina today in the first quarterfinal, seemingly solidifying their spot in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the Orange took an untimely loss that could leave them sweating out Selection Sunday. No. 8 seed Syracuse (18-14) fell to 0-3 in the ACC Tournament and 2-11 this season away from home, a mark that might not go over very well with the committee that sets the 68-team field for the NCAAs.

BIG TEN PENN STATE 76, NEBRASKA 67, OT:

With his cousin rapper Flavor Flav cheering loudly from the third row, Shep Garner scored seven of Penn State’s 16 points in overtime, leading the Nittany Lions over Nebraska in the opening game of the first Big Ten Tournament to be held in the nation’s capital. Penn State (15-17) never trailed and ended a five-game losing streak. The 13th-seeded Nittany Lions advanced to face Michigan State today in the second round. (12-19) with 15 points.

RUTGERS 66, OHIO STATE 57:

Nigel Johnson scored 21 points and made all eight free throws to lead Rutgers over Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Rutgers (15-17) now has won back-to-back games after a six-game skid. Now in its third season in the Big Ten, it’s the first time the Scarlet Knights have won consecutive conference games. Jae’Sean Tate scored 18 points for 11th-seed Ohio State (17-15).

SEC MISSISSIPPI STATE 79, LSU 52:

Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 19 points, and 12thseeded Mississippi State routed LSU in the opening game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.