Singler leads Duke; Washington St. upset

Xavier surprised Dayton; Michigan State won a Big Ten contest.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Kyle Singler scored 10 of his 16 points during an 18-9 second-half run that gave No. 4 Duke some breathing room in an 81-64 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday night.

The Blue Devils (16-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth straight game.

Playing without second-leading scorer and leading rebounder Jeff Allen, who is serving a two-game suspension for making contact with a referee at Georgia Tech on Saturday, the Hokies (11-8, 2-3) got within 42-41 early in the second half.

Singler answered A.D. Vassallo’s 3-pointer to begin the half with one of his own, then had three of the Blue Devils’ next four baskets as they built a 53-45 lead.

Arizona 76,
No. 6 Washington St. 64

TUCSON, Ariz. — Jerryd Bayless scored 23 points and Chase Budinger had 22 for Arizona.

The Wildcats were 12-of-21 (57 percent) from beyond the arc, a season high for 3-pointers. Budinger hit four while Bayless and Nic Wise both had three.

The Wildcats (13-6, 3-3 Pac-10) handed Washington State its first double-digit loss since a 14-point defeat at Utah on Dec. 2, 2005.

No. 10 Michigan St. 78, Northwestern 62

EVANSTON, Ill. — Raymar Morgan scored 23 points and Drew Neitzel added 20 for Michigan State in one of its best shooting performances of the season.

The Spartans (17-2, 5-1 Big Ten) were a season-best 11-of-18 from 3-point range and were 29-for-48 from the field overall in winning for the 14th time in 15 games.

No. 23 Xavier 69,
No. 16 Dayton 43

CINCINNATI — Stanley Burrell scored 13 points and led Xavier’s man-to-man defense that dug in from the opening tip and never let up.

The Musketeers (16-4, 4-1) pushed the lead to double digits in the opening minutes and were never threatened in their most lopsided victory over Dayton in nine years.

It was the second straight loss for Dayton (14-3, 2-2).

Washington 72,
No. 24 Arizona St. 61

TEMPE, Ariz. — Jon Brockman had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Washington handed Arizona State its first home loss of the season.

The Huskies beat the Sun Devils for the 11th consecutive time, the longest such streak in the Pac-10.

Arizona State (14-4, 4-2) shot 32 percent (17-for-53), including 5-for-24 from 3-point range.

Freshman standout James Harden, playing despite a strained right groin, scored 17 points for Arizona State but had only four in the second half. He twice missed the front end of a 1-and-1 down the stretch, once with his team down 53-47 and again when the Sun Devils trailed 57-50.

After the second miss, Ryan Appleby made a 3-pointer to give the Huskies (12-7, 3-3) a 60-50 lead with 3:41 to play.