Booker’s trey lifts Colorado

By EDDIE PELLS

AP National Writer

BOULDER, Colo. — Long after the kids from Kansas have started raking in their NBA bucks, Askia Booker of Colorado will still be talking about the day he struck it big — the day he made the shot at the buzzer to beat the Jayhawks.

Booker grabbed an in-bounds pass, dribbled twice, took two long steps, then launched the 3-pointer that gave Colorado a 75-72 victory Saturday and left him gasping for air underneath a pile of court-storming Buffs fans.

It was Colorado’s first win over No. 6 Kansas (6-2) in the last 20 tries — a stretch dating to 2003.

“Unless I’m in the NBA championship, that’s the only thing that could top that,” Booker said.

Odds are, he won’t be. Many of these Kansas players could. There are, by most estimations, at least two lottery picks and two more first-round prospects on Bill Self’s typically stacked roster.

And, yes, that talent gap showed while Colorado (9-1) was squandering a six-point lead over the final 1:44 — a comeback capped when one of those first-round prospects, Perry Ellis, hit a shot to tie it at 72 with 4 seconds left.

But after a timeout, Buffs forward Xavier Johnson squeezed an in-bounds pass from the corner of the backcourt to Booker, who dribbled just past the back foot of the massive Buffs logo at center court — or about even with where John Elway’s courtside seats were located — and launched the shot from 30 feet.

Nothing but net.

“I’m not sure I ever thought that would happen,” Booker said.

The fans exploded onto the court, straight past Elway, and gang tackled Booker, a junior who is trying to lead the Buffs to three straight appearances in the NCAA tournament for the first time in history.

This win will look mighty good on their resume. It’s their ninth straight — CU hasn’t lost since its opener against Baylor — and it marks only the second CU win in the last 48 meetings between the former Big 12 foes.

“It’s hard for me to put this win in historical perspective,” CU coach Tad Boyle said. “But for where this program is in the evolution stage, this is kind of a hump game.”

Booker and Spencer Dinwiddie led CU with 15 points each.

After Colorado left for the Pac-12, the schools kept the series going mainly because Boyle, who has led this renaissance in Boulder, is a former Kansas player. He was on the Jayhawks roster, in fact, back in 1982, when Colorado won one of its very few games over Kansas. Kansas, which won 90-54 in Lawrence last season, still leads one of the most lopsided series west of the Mississippi 123-40.

Freshman Andrew Wiggins led the Jayhawks, who had been ranked second but have now lost two of their last three, with 22 points.

Frank Mason had 11 and Ellis 10 as Kansas lost despite hitting 52.9 percent from the floor.

“We’re not playing very good,” Self said. “We’re not playing good at all. The pieces just aren’t quite fitting yet and we’re trying to find ourselves.”

Booker’s free throw gave CU a 71-68 lead with 18.7 seconds left, and on the next possession, Dinwiddie fouled Wiggins while he was shooting a 3-pointer. But Wiggins made only two of the free throws and Kansas had to foul.

That’s when Dinwiddie made one of two, to set up the tying shot from Ellis, then Booker’s game-winner — a nice book end, if you will, with the 3-pointer he made as the first-half buzzer was going off.

Booker’s two long steps before launching the game-winner were a topic of conversation in the Kansas locker room.

“I thought he travelled, but you know that Euro move,” Self said. “We let him catch it. That’s a little frustrating.”

TUCSON, Ariz. — T.J. McConnell had 13 points, six assists and seven rebounds, and made critical plays down the stretch to help Arizona escape with a victory over UNLV.

Brandon Ashley also had 13 points, and Nick Johnson and Kaleb Tarczewski added 12 apiece for the Wildcats. However, Johnson shot just 4 for 15.

Bryce DeJean-Jones scored 16 points, Khem Birch had 12 and Roscoe Smith 10 for the Rebels (3-4) in their first road game of the season.

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

But they were challenged all day by UNLV in a game that had 18 lead changes and neither team led by more than six.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — LaQuinton Ross scored four of his career-high 23 points in a 10-0 second-half run to lead Ohio State past stubborn Central Connecticut State.

Lenzelle Smith Jr. added 17 points and Amir Williams had 11 for the Buckeyes (8-0), who finally pulled away midway through the second half.

Faronte Drakeford led the Blue Devils (2-6) with 12 points and Matt Mobley added 10. The Blue Devils created problems for Ohio State with their zone defense and pass-and-cut offense that often resulted in layups.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Montrezl Harrell scored 20 points to carry Louisville past 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.

The Ragin’ Cajuns cooled off from 61 percent in the first half to shoot 7 of 31 in the second half.

Harrell led six Cardinals in double figures 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.

Shawn Long’s 25 points led ULL.

MADISON, Wis. — Sam Dekker had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Wisconsin withstood a late Marquette rally to snap its two-game losing streak in the intrastate rivalry.

Frank Kaminsky added 11 points, including a straightaway 3 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 3 from the wing that had drawn Marquette (5-4) within three. Kaminsky then nailed his clutch 3 for the Badgers (10-0), who are off to the best start in 20 years.

PHILADELPHIA — James Bell had 25 points and 14 rebounds, JayVaughn Pinkston scored 27 points, and Villanova beat Saint Joseph to remain unbeaten.

Darrun Hilliard scored 14 points to help the Wildcats (9-0) win their second game this week since joining The AP Top 25. Pinkston and Hilliard pounded the Hawks from inside and out, and the Wildcats dominated the second half to thump their city rival.

Langston Galloway led the Hawks (4-4) with 18 points and DeAndre Bembry had 17.

The Hawks hung around early with some quick 3-pointers before falling into a shooting funk, finishing at 37 percent overall.

The Wildcats kept rolling this week since wins over nationally-ranked Kansas and Iowa secured their Battle 4 Atlantis championship.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shaq Goodwin scored a career-high 21 points and Memphis shot 54 percent in defeating Northwestern State.

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

Jalan West had 15 points for Northwestern State (3-4), which lost for the fourth time in its last five. DeQuan Hicks scored 13 points and Patrick Robinson had 12 points for the Demons, who shot 40 percent from the field, including 3 of 18 from beyond the arc.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Melvin Eim scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half and overtime, and Iowa State rallied from 18 points down to beat Northern Iowa for its best start in 10 years.

Georges Niang added a career-high 22 points for the Cyclones (7-0), who also snapped a 3-game losing streak against the rival Panthers (3-5).

Iowa State went on a 23-2 run midway through the second half to erase a 49-31 deficit. But Northern Iowa’s Seth Tuttle banked in a 3 with 1.3 seconds left to force OT.

Ejim responded with back-to-back 3s to put the Cyclones ahead 82-75 with 1:18 left.

Nate Buss had 23 points and Wes Washpun scored 18 with eight assists for Northern Iowa.

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Jabari Brown scored 22 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 to help Missouri upset 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 3-pointer with 14:46 left.

The win extended Missouri’s NCAA-best, home-court winning streak to 24 games and the Tigers’ run of 79 consecutive wins against nonconference opponents at Mizzou Arena. The victory was the first in that stretch against a nationally ranked team.

Jordan Adams scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds for UCLA (8-1), which dropped its first road game this season. Kyle Anderson and Zach LaVine each added 13 points

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Chaz Williams had career highs of 32 points and 15 assists, and Sampson Carter scored 20 to help Massachusetts remain undefeated with a victory over Brigham Young.

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 3-point range, and he hit all nine of his foul shots 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 were against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25.

The Minutemen are off to their longest winning streak since 1998 and their best start since winning their first 26 games in 1995-96 en route to a since-vacated appearance in the Final Four.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Nik Stauskas scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half, and Michigan overwhelmed Houston Baptist, reaching its highest point total in over 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 3-point range — and committing only one turnover.

The Wolverines ended up tying a school record for 3-pointers with 16.

Glenn Robinson III scored 17 points for Michigan, which picked Houston Baptist’s zone apart and punished the Huskies (3-6) in transition.

Michigan had not scored this many points since a 112-64 win over Indiana on Feb. 22, 1998.

Rob Lewis and Ricmonds Vilde scored 10 points each for Houston Baptist.