COLLEGE BASKETBALL: MEN’S ROUNDUP
Cincinnati scoots past Xavier in first game since teams brawled last season.
Markel Brown scored 17 points and Phil Forte added 13 to lead No. 24 Oklahoma State to a 6944 victory over TexasArlington on Wednesday night.
Le’Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart both had 10 points and Philip Jurick pulled down 10 rebounds for the Cowboys (9-1) in Stillwater, Okla. Brown and Smart combined for nine steals.
Reserve Jamel Outler had 14 points and Kevin Butler added 11 for the Mavericks (5-3), who committed 31 turnovers. Karol Gruszecki, coming off a career-high 18 points, did not score.
Texas-Arlington committed 20 turnovers in the first half, four in the first 4 minutes, and Oklahoma State built a 13-3 advantage on the way to a 36-17 halftime lead.
The visitors did not hit the 20-point mark until Drew Charles’ short jumper with 14:20 remaining in the game.
Kirby Gardner’s basket put the Cowboys up 4623 with 10:34 left and the Mavericks got no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
Forte hit three 3pointers in the final 6 minutes, the third putting the Cowboys up 26 points with just under 4 minutes left.
Four early turnovers by the Mavericks and three 3-pointers helped Oklahoma State build a 13-3 lead in the opening 4 minutes. Thirteen minutes in, Texas-Arlington had 13 turnovers and trailed 258. Smart’s 3-pointer made it 28-10 with 6 minutes left in the half.
The Mavericks used a 7-0 run to get within 28-17 with 3:29 left in the half. But the Cowboys reeled off eight straight points to end the half with a 36-17 lea. Brown led all scorers at halftime with 13 points.
The Mavericks committed 20 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and hit 7 of 23 shots.
Oklahoma State entered the game allowing 58.2 points per game, fourth in the Big 12.
Texas-Arlington dropped to 5-65 all-time against Big 12 schools, including 0-3 this season. The Mavericks dropped a 63-59 decision to Oklahoma on Nov. 16 and fell 70-54 at Texas on Dec. 1.
Oklahoma State improved to 178-4 against non-conference opponents at home since 1987.
No. 1 Duke 88, Cornell 47: Seth Curry scored 20 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 and the host Blue Devils (100) reeled off 23 straight points to rout the Big Red (4-7). Shonn Miller had 14 points to lead Cornell, which missed its first 10 shots of the second half. Duke was playing as a topranked team for the 210th time under Mike Krzyze- wski — but the first since February 2011.
No. 5 Louisville 79, Fla. International 55: Peyton Siva’s career highs of five 3-pointers and 12 assists helped the host Cardinals (10-1) beat the Panthers (3-5). It was the first meeting between Cardinals coach Rick Pitino and Richard Pitino, his son and FIU counterpart. The younger Pitino, 30, served two stints as a Louisville assistant before taking over for Isiah Thomas at FIU this season. The younger Pitino drew a nice cheer from the crowd of 21,411 during introductions.
No. 6 Indiana 93, Mount St. Mary’s 54: Cody Zeller finished with 16 points and six rebounds, and Christian Watford added 15 points and eight rebounds in leading the host Hoosiers (10-1) past the Mountaineers (4-5). Mount St. Mary’s was led by Rashad Whack with 17 points.
No. 8 Florida 82, SE Louisiana 43: Mike Rosario scored a seasonhigh 20 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists, and the