- LOUISVILLE: Russ Smith scored 23 points and No.
- 4 Louisville overcame a sleepy start and rallied from an 8-point deficit in the second half to beat Western Kentucky 70-60 on Friday night.
Gorgui Dieng had 13 points and 15 rebounds - his fifth straight double-double - for the Cardinals (12-0) who remained one of the nation's six unbeaten Division I teams. Kyle Kuric added 15 points, 12 coming in the first half.
Derrick Gordon and Jamal Crook had 13 points each for the Hilltoppers (4-9).
Trailing 50-47 following a layup by Jamal Crook with 8:49 remaining, Louisville reeled off 14 straight points, half from Smith. Western Kentucky went on a 7-0 run with Nigel Snipes' 3-pointer making it 61-57 at the 1:14 mark. Western Kentucky would draw no closer as Louisville scored its last nine points on free throws.
At Las Vegas, Pierre Jackson scored eight consecutive points during regulation and overtime for Baylor in the Las Vegas Classic championship game.
Jackson finished with 23 points while Brady Heslip added 19 and Quincy Acy had 15.
Baylor (12-0), one of six unbeaten team in Division I, tied the game at 76 on Jackson's 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in regulation.
The Bears led 83-78 with 2:02 left in overtime following another 3 by Jackson and field goals by Gary Franklin and Acy.
Jabarie Hinds' 3-pointer brought the Mountaineers (9-3) within 83-81, but his shot at the buzzer fell short of the rim.
Kevin Jones had 28 points and 17 rebounds for the Mountaineers while Hinds had 18 points and seven assists and Darryl Bryant had 16 points.
At Madison, Jordan Taylor scored 17 points to lead Wisconsin.
Playing for the first time in more than a week, the Badgers (11-2) showed no signs of rust, taking a 20-4 lead in the game's first 8 minutes.
The Delta Devils (1-10) were able to cut the lead to 11 points twice in the first half, but Mississippi Valley State was called for 29 fouls, with one player fouling out and three ending the game with four fouls.
The Badgers were 31 of 44 from the free throw line. Their season high for attempts coming in was 21.
Paul Crosby and Terrence Joyner both scored 14 points for the Delta Devils.
At Honolulu, Joston Thomas made a layup from the baseline with 0.8 seconds left in overtime to give Hawaii a comeback victory over Xavier in the Diamond Head Classic, the Musketeers' third straight loss since a bench-clearing brawl Dec. 10 against Cincinnati.
Hawaii, down by 15 early in the second half of the consolation semifinal, tied it at 77 on Hauns Brereton's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2.0 seconds left in regulation.
Thomas finished with 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting and had nine rebounds. Vander Joaquim added 20 points for Hawaii (6-5), Zane Johnson had 14 and Brereton 13.
Tu Holloway led Xavier (8-3) with 26 points, Mark Lyons had 18 and Kenny Frease 13.
The Rainbow Warriors will face Clemson in the fifth-place game Sunday, and the Musketeers will play Southern Illinois for seventh place.
The victory was Hawaii's first over a ranked team since it beat then-No. 4 Michigan State in November 2005.
At Pittsburgh, Latif Rivers scored all 18 of his points in the second half - including six free throws in the final minute - to lead Wagner to the upset.
Kenneth Ortiz had 12 points for the Seahawks (8-3), who won their first game over a ranked opponent since knocking off then-No. 15 Alabama on Nov. 24, 1978.
Pitt (11-2) saw its nine-game winning streak snapped. Ashton Gibbs scored 14 points for the Panthers, who turned it over 18 times while losing to a Northeastern Conference opponent for the first time ever.
The Panthers came in 70-0 all-time against NEC foes, but struggled against Wagner's pressure and never led over the game's final 33 minutes.
Pitt drew as close as three points twice in the final 36 seconds but Rivers hit six straight free throws.
Pitt started the season with just one loss at home to a non-Big East opponent in the Petersen Events Center first nine seasons but has lost to Long Beach State and Wagner this season.
In Las Vegas, Anthony Marshall had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead UNLV.
Chace Stanback had 15 points and Mike Moser added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Rebels (13-2), who have won all eight games this season at the Thomas & Mack Center and 11 overall in Las Vegas.
Oscar Bellfield had 11 points and 11 assists for UNLV, which shot 49 percent from the field and had 22 assists.
Justin Cobbs had 20 points and five assists for the Golden Bears (10-3), while Allen Crabbe had 13 points and six rebounds and Harper Kamp added 12 points and nine rebounds.

