WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana: E’Twaun Moore scored 20 points and No. 10 Purdue held off No. 16 Wisconsin 60-57 on Thursday night in a matchup of Big Ten contenders that came down to the final seconds.
JaJuan Johnson added 14 points and Robbie Hummel had 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers (17-3, 5-3 Big Ten), who won their third straight and moved within a half-game of Wisconsin for second place in the conference.
Trevon Hughes missed a contested runner in the closing seconds that could have won it for Wisconsin.
Keaton Nankivil scored a career-high 25 points and shot 7 of 8 on 3-pointers for the Badgers (16-5, 6-3), who used an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead on Nankivil’s 3 with 42 seconds to go.
Moore scored in the lane with 25.2 seconds left to put Purdue back in front, 58-57. Johnson hit two free throws with a second remaining and Chris Kramer intercepted Wisconsin’s long inbounds pass from under its basket to seal the win.
No. 13 Gonzaga 71 Santa Clara 64: In Santa, Clara, California, Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray each scored 19 points, and Gonzaga rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half to beat Santa Clara for its ninth straight victory.
Elias Harris had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs (17-3, 6-0 West Coast Conference), who closed with a 12-0 run over the final 5:55 and beat the Broncos for the eighth straight time.
Niyi Harrison scored 14 points to lead the Broncos (9-14, 1-5), who have lost seven of their past eight home games.
Mangisto Arop gave Gonzaga its first lead since early in the game on a putback with 4:03 to go. Gonzaga has not lost at Santa Clara since 2001.
No. 17 Pittsburgh 63 St. John’s 53: In Pittsburgh, Ashton Gibbs and Gary McGhee scored key baskets to start a game-ending 9-1 run and Pittsburgh overcame some poor shooting and a large rebounding disparity to beat St. John’s.
Brad Wanamaker scored 16 points, Gibbs added 14 and McGhee scored eight of his 10 points in the second half as the Panthers (16-4, 6-2 Big East) rallied from a six-point deficit to end their first two-game skid in nearly two years.
Justin Burrell scored 14 points for St. John’s (12-8, 2-6), which lost its seventh in 10 games. The Red Storm trailed only 54-52 after D.J. Kennedy’s two free throws with 1:56 to play.
No. 18 Mississippi 84 Auburn 74: In Auburn, Alabama: Chris Warren scored 20 points and Terrico White had 19 to lead Mississippi past Auburn. The Rebels (16-4, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) shot 57 percent and got 53 points from their three starting guards, including 14 from Eniel Polynice. They have already matched last season’s win total and won back-to-back league road games for the first time since 2001.
The Tigers (10-11, 1-5) stayed in it with 3-pointers but cooled off in the second half, launching 36 and making 11 in the game.
White and Terrance Henry hit consecutive 3s to start a 10-0 run that put Ole Miss up 78-65 with 4:26 left. Before that surge, the Rebels’ biggest lead was six points.
No. 22 Georgia Tech 79 Wake Forest 58: In Atlanta, D’Andre Bell led a balanced offense with 16 points, Derrick Favors blocked five shots and Georgia Tech pulled away early in the second half to rout Wake Forest.
Coming off a tough loss at Florida State, the Yellow Jackets (15-5, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) ripped off a 19-4 run to break open a tight game. As usual in its ACC victories, Georgia Tech did its best work at the defensive end, holding the Demon Deacons (14-5, 4-3) almost 19 points below their scoring average for the season.
Wake Forest shot just 33 percent from the field and had only two players in double figures: Al-Farouq Aminu with 15 points and Ishmael Smith with 12.
