Washington State’s defense ignites win

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The more Washington State clamps down, the more it rises in national prominence.

Aron Baynes scored 13 points -- nine in the second half -- and the No. 8 Cougars' stifling defense dominated in a 51-47 victory over 17th-ranked Gonzaga on Wednesday night, the Bulldogs' first loss at home while ranked.

Washington State (8-0) won for the eighth time in 112 road games against ranked teams.

Kyle Weaver added 12 points for Washington State and keyed a half-court lockdown that held the up-tempo Bulldogs to their lowest point total since losing 71-47 at Southern Utah on Dec. 23, 1996.

The Cougars' clinging, man-to-man defense harried Gonzaga (7-2) into rushed shots, denied passing lanes and kept the Bulldogs without a field goal for the final 5:15.

Matt Bouldin, the Bulldogs' leading scorer coming in, went 0-for-9 from the field with Weaver blanketing him most of the night. Bouldin, who had averaged 14.4 points, had zero.

• No. 3 Kansas 85, Eastern Washington 47 -- At Lawrence, Kan., Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson dominated inside as the Jayhawks (7-0) cruised past the undersized and outmanned Eagles (3-7).

Eastern Washington had nine players at the start of the game and was reduced to eight with 16:40 remaining when guard Gary Gibson fouled out.

The 6-foot-8-inch Jackson had 17 points and nine rebounds, and the 6-9 Arthur had 15 points and six rebounds.

Adris DeLeon, a 5-11 guard, had 24 points for the Eagles.

• No. 4 Texas 88, North Texas 72 -- At Austin, Texas, D.J. Augustin had 29 points and 10 assists as the Longhorns (8-0) beat the Mean Green (5-2).

A.J. Abrams added 23 points for Texas, which cruised to a big early lead and pulled away.

Damion James had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Longhorns. Josh White led North Texas scorers with 28 points.

• No. 5 Georgetown 70, Alabama 60 -- At Birmingham, Ala., DaJuan Summers had 18 points and nine rebounds as the Hoyas (6-0) dominated down the stretch to beat the Crimson Tide (4-3) in the first game of the SEC/Big East Invitational.

Georgetown went on a 14-1 run after Alabama briefly took the lead in the final minutes.

The Hoyas turned up the defensive heat against a Tide team relying heavily on freshmen, forcing bad passes and tough shots.

Roy Hibbert added 14 points, nine boards and four blocked shots for Georgetown. Jessie Sapp added 12 points and Alabama native Jonathan Wallace 11 for the Hoyas.

• No. 12 Pittsburgh 73, Duquesne 68 -- At Pittsburgh, Levance Fields scored four consecutive points in the final minute as the Panthers (8-0) held off a frantic rally by the city-rival Dukes (6-2).

Sam Young had 23 points and five rebounds to counter Shawn James' 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks for Duquesne, which never led but closed within one point several times after falling behind 14-0 in the opening three minutes.

Mike Cook added 12 points and Fields and DeJuan Blair 10 each for Pitt.

• No. 18 Clemson 82, East Carolina 67 -- At Greenville, N.C., freshman Terrence Oglesby hit six 3-pointers en route to scoring 22 points as the Tigers (8-0) beat the Pirates (3-5).

Fellow rookie Demontez Stitt had 13 points and five assists for Clemson.

Sam Hinnant had 16 points to lead scorers for East Carolina, which led by three early before the Tigers went on a 17-point run.

• No. 21 Xavier 79, Creighton 66 -- At Cincinnati, point guard Drew Lavender scored 17 points in a tone-setting first half as the Musketeers (7-1) used a balanced, blink-of-an-eye run to set up a victory over the Bluejays (5-1).

Lavender finished with 28 points and 10 assists.

Creighton came in allowing an average of 54 points per game.

B.J. Raymond added 15 points for Xavier, which had four players score in double figures. Palo Verde High product P'Allen Stinnett led Bluejays scorers with 12.

• No. 23 Vanderbilt 83, Wake Forest 80 -- At Nashville, Tenn., A.J. Ogilvy made a hook shot with 30 seconds left and then hit two free throws to help the Commodores (8-0) edge the Demon Deacons (5-2).

Shan Foster had 26 points and Ogilvy 23 for Vanderbilt.

Harvey Hale and James Johnson led Wake Forest scorers with 18 points apiece.