Associated Press
PITTSBURGH ó DeJuan Blair had 21 points and 16 rebounds and Sam Young and Tyrell Biggs scored 14 points each for No. 3 Pittsburgh in a 79-66 victory over Siena on Wednesday night.
The Panthers are 11-0 for the second straight season and the third time in the last four. They started the second half with a 16-3 run that stretched their lead to 53-32.
Siena (5-4), which had won three straight, didn’t get closer than five points after the opening few minutes. The 13-point margin of victory matched Pitt’s smallest this season.
Blair had eight offensive rebounds and was 10-of-14 from the field.
Levance Fields had 11 points, six assists and four rebounds for Pitt, which won its 37th consecutive home game against a nonconference opponent and its 86th in its last 88 at home outside the Big East.
Clarence Jackson and Edwin Ubiles had 12 points each for Siena, which shot 40 percent (26-of-65) and was outrebounded 47-36.
No. 11 Syracuse 82, Canisius 60
SYRACUSE, N.Y. ó Rick Jackson scored a career-high 14 points and Paul Harris added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Syracuse, which rebounded from its first loss of the season.
The Orange (10-1) seemed to still be thinking about Cedric Jackson’s buzzer-beating shot from beyond halfcourt that gave Cleveland State a 72-69 victory Monday night. But after yet another sluggish start, Syracuse settled down and handed Canisius (3-7) its fourth straight loss.
Jonny Flynn finished with 12 points for Syracuse and Arinze Onuaku added 12 points and nine rebounds.
Frank Turner led the Golden Griffins with 18 points.
No. 17 Ohio St. 81, Jacksonville 68
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó David Lighty had 21 points to lead Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (7-0) led by 19 points early in the second half only to see the lead cut to five with 5 minutes left. Jon Diebler hit his third 3-pointer for the Buckeyes, and the Dolphins never got closer.
The Buckeyes finished 10-of-17 from beyond the arc (59 percent).
Evan Turner scored 17 points and Diebler added 14 for the Buckeyes.
Lehmon Colbert had 14 points for the Dolphins (2-6).
No. 19 Michigan St. 79, The Citadel 65
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) ó Raymar Morgan had 26 points and 10 rebounds as Michigan State survived a 3-point barrage.
Morgan was 6-for-6 from the field in the first half and 11-for-12 overall for the Spartans (7-2), who led 37-19 in the first half.
Austin Dahn had 17 points, including five 3-pointers, for The Citadel (5-6), which cut the deficit to 41-33 at halftime and stayed competitive with the Spartans throughout the second half.
Michigan State got four points in 17 minutes from center Goran Suton, who returned after undergoing arthroscopic surgery 13 days ago and played for the first time since Nov. 19.
No. 23 Memphis 59, Ark.-Little Rock 51
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Robert Dozier scored 15 points and Shawn Taggart and Tyreke Evans both added 12 for Memphis, which weathered a late rally by Arkansas-Little Rock.
Dozier missed only one of his four shots from the field and was 9-of-12 from the line as the Tigers (6-2) rebounded from a 79-70 overtime loss at Georgetown on Saturday.
Memphis led by 18 points with just under 10 minutes left. But a rally by the Trojans that included 3-pointers from Curtis Jackson, Matt Mouzy and Steven Moore cut the deficit to 51-45 with 2:26 left.
UALR (7-3) got within five points on several occasions late, but Memphis was able to hold on down the stretch, despite not scoring from the field over the final 8:07.
Moore led UALR with 16 points.
DePaul 64, Liberty 63
ROSEMONT, Ill. ó Dar Tucker scored 16, including a pair of free throws with 1.1 seconds left, as DePaul snapped a four-game losing steak with a 64-63 win over Liberty on Wednesday night.
Seth Curry, who came in averaging 21.4 points per game to lead all true freshman, scored 16 for Liberty (7-3).