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Colorado slips by Kansas at buzzer

BOULDER, Colo. - Askia Booker brought Colorado fans spilling onto the court by swishing a 25-footer at the buzzer Saturday to lift Colorado to a 75-72 victory over No. 6 Kansas, marking the program’s first victory over the Jayhawks in its past 20 tries.

Colorado (9-1) squandered a six-point lead with 1:44 left and Kansas tied the game with a bucket by Perry Ellis with 4 seconds left. But after a timeout, Buffs forward Xavier Johnson got the ball to Booker, who dribbled a few paces past half court - about even with where John Elway’s courtside seats were located - and launched the shot that hit nothing but net.

The fans ran onto the court, straight past Elway, and gang tackled Booker, a junior who is trying to lead the Buffs to their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

This victory will look mighty good on their resume. It’s their ninth in a row - Colorado hasn’t lost since its opener against Baylor - and it is the first victory over Kansas since 2003 and only the second in the past 48 meetings between the former Big 12 foes.

Booker and Spencer Dinwidde led Colorado with 15 points each.

NO. 2 ARIZONA 63, UNLV 58

TUCSON, Ariz. - T.J. McConnell had 13 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds, making critical plays down the stretch, and No. 2 Arizona escaped with a victory over UNLV.

Brandon Ashley also had 13 points, and Nick Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski added 12 apiece for the Wildcats. Bryce DeJean-Jones scored 16 points, Khem Birch had 12 and Roscoe Smith 10 for the Rebels (3-4).

The Wildcats (9-0) have a shot at moving to the top of the rankings after No. 1 Michigan State lost to North Carolina.

NO. 5 OHIO STATE 74, CENTRAL CONN. 56

COLUMBUS, Ohio - LaQuinton Ross scored four of his career-high 23 points in a 10-0 second-half run, leading No. 5 Ohio State past Central Connecticut State.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 17 points and Amir Williams had 11 for the Buckeyes (8-0). Faronte Drakeford led the Blue Devils (2-6) with 12 points and Matt Mobley added 10.

NO. 7 LOUISVILLE 113, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 74

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Montrezl Harrell scored 20 points and No. 7 Louisville used good shooting to blow out Louisiana-Lafayette.

What looked like a challenge midway through the first half for the Cardinals (8-1) ended with them reaching a season high for points, helped by 38-of-62 shooting from the field (61 percent). The Ragin’ Cajuns (6-3) rallied from an 18-9 deficit to grab the last of several small leads at 41-39 before Louisville turned up the intensity on both ends.

Harrell led six Cardinals with 10 or more points as Chris Jones added 19 points, Russ Smith 16, Wayne Blackshear 15, Terry Rozier 11 and Luke Hancock 10 to reach 1,000 in his career.

NO. 8 WISCONSIN 70, MARQUETTE 64

MADISON, Wis. - Sam Dekker had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 8 Wisconsin withstood a late Marquette rally for a victory that snapped its two-game losing streak in the intrastate rivalry.

Frank Kaminsky added 11 points, including a straightaway three-pointer to give Wisconsin a 60-54 lead with 1:18 left. The crucial bucket stopped a 10-2 run by Marquette that helped close an 11-point deficit.

Jamil Wilson scored 22 points, including a three-pointer from the wing that had drawn Marquette (5-4) within three. Kaminsky then nailed his clutch three-pointer for the Badgers (10-0).

NO. 16 MEMPHIS 96, NORTHWESTERN STATE 76

MEMPHIS - Shaq Goodwin scored a career-high 21 points, Memphis shot 54 percent for the game and the No. 16 Tigers defeated Northwestern State.

Goodwin was 8 of 11 from the field for Memphis (6-1). Joe Jackson scored 18 points with five assists and Michael Dixon Jr. finished with 14 points, connecting on 6 of 9 from the field.

Jalan West had 15 points to lead Northwestern State (3-4), which lost for the fourth time in its past five. De-Quan Hicks scored 13 points. Patrick Robinson had 12 points for Northwestern State.

MISSOURI 80, NO. 18 UCLA 71

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Jabari Brown scored 22 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 to help Missouri upset No. 18 UCLA.

Two free throws by Johnathan Williams III gave Missouri (9-0) a 62-60 lead it wouldn’t relinquish with 9:30 remaining. The team trailed for most of the first half and into the second before Earnest Ross made a three-pointer with 14:46 left.

Jordan Adams scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds for UCLA (8-1). Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine each added 13 points

NO. 21 MASSACHUSETTS 105 BRIGHAM YOUNG 96

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Chaz Williams had career highs of 32 points and 15 assists, and Sampson Carter scored 20 for No. 21 Massachusetts to lead the Minutemen to their eighth consecutive victory.

Raphiael Putney added 15 points for UMass (8-0) in the third annual Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase, played down the street from the basketball shrine in the town where James Naismith invented the sport.

Williams was 9 for 14 from the floor, including 5 for 7 from three-point range, and he hit all nine of his free throws as the Minutemen topped 100 points in regulation for the first time in five years.

Tyler Haws scored 25 points for BYU (7-3), which had won two in a row. All three of the Cougars’ losses are against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.

NO. 22 MICHIGAN 107, HOUSTON BAPTIST 53

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Nik Stauskas scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half, and No. 22 Michigan overwhelmed Houston Baptist, reaching its highest point total in more than 15 years.

The Wolverines (6-3) bounced back from a loss at Duke with a nearly flawless offensive show in the first half. Michigan led 60-34 at halftime after shooting 68 percent from the field - 10 of 16 from three-point range - and committing only one turnover.

Sports, Pages 28 on 12/08/2013

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