Notre Dame's top scorer suspended

NOTRE DAME will enter its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference without leading scorer Jerian Grant.

The university posted a statement from Grant on its website last night that said he is no longer enrolled at Notre Dame "due to an academic matter that I did not handle properly."

"I take full responsibility for my lack of good judgment and the poor decision that I made. I have no one to blame but myself for the situation," he wrote. "I know and understand the expectations that go with being a student at Notre Dame and I did not live up to those standards."

Grant is the second high-profile athlete to be suspended from Notre Dame in the past year for academics. Quarterback Everett Golson was suspended from school for the fall semester for academic impropriety, but was readmitted on Dec. 13.

Coach Mike Brey scheduled a teleconference today to talk about the loss of Grant. The news comes a day after the Irish (8-4) squandered an eight-point lead in the final 50 seconds in a loss to No. 3 Ohio State at Madison Square Garden.

Grant, the son of former NBA player Harvey Grant, was averaging 19 points a game. He is a senior academically, but has a year of eligibility left because he did not play as a freshman. Grant said in his statement he plans to try to return to school after the spring semester and "finish out my college basketball career here." He said he had been on track to graduate in May with a degree in sociology.

He also apologized to his teammates.

"I was looking forward to being in the lineup when our team started play in the Atlantic Coast Conference," he said.

The Irish play at home against Canisius on Dec. 29 before beginning ACC play at home against eighth-ranked Duke (9-2) on Jan. 4.

* At Waco, Texas, Isaiah Austin had 14 points and 10 rebounds as No. 12 Baylor won its 10th straight home game, beating Southern University, 81-56.

Austin had his first double-double of the season while leading five players in double-figure scoring for the Bears (10-1).

Brady Heslip had 13 points for Baylor, while Cory Jefferson and Rico Gathers both had 12. Kenny Chery had 10 points.

Tre Lynch had 27 points, including five three-pointers, to lead Southern (3-9).

* At Seattle, Shabazz Napier scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half and grabbed six rebounds to lead No. 10 Connecticut to an 82-70 victory over Washington.

Fellow guard Ryan Boatwright had 16 points and five rebounds and Lasan Kromah scored 14 points for Connecticut (10-1), which fell into a double-digit hole early in its first true road game of the season but controlled the game in the second half.

C.J. Wilcox led Washington (6-5) with 19 points on 6-for-15 shooting and had four assists and four fouls. Darin Johnson had 13 points for Washington and Mike Anderson, who is from Hartford, Conn., added 10 points.

Connecticut was coming off its first loss of the season, 53-51, to Stanford at home Wednesday.

* At Iowa City, Josh Oglesby scored 13 points in his season debut and No. 25 Iowa rolled to an 85-61 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Hawkeyes (11-2) opened their final nonconference game with a 39-5 run. Jarrod Uthoff scored 16 points and Adam Woodbury added 10.

Oglesby missed Iowa's first 12 games with a broken foot. He made his first four three-pointers during a 6-minute stretch in the first half.

Tevin Hammond scored 19 points for Pine Bluff (2-9), which lost its ninth straight.

* At Honolulu, Georges Niang scored 22 points and No. 17 Iowa State beat George Mason, 79-67, in the first round of the Diamond Head Classic.

The Cyclones (9-0) had their second-lowest scoring game of the season but still managed to extend their winning streak. Iowa State - the top scoring team in the country - was one of 10 undefeated teams in Division I at the start of play yesterday.

Melvin Ejim, Iowa State's leading scorer going into the game, had 14 points and 11 rebounds while DeAndre Kane had 13 points and eight assists.

Patrick Holloway scored 19 points for George Mason (5-5) and Byron Allen had 14.

The game was played amid tight security among arrangements made by the White House for President Barack Obama to attend the tournament's second game, Oregon State against Akron. Obama's brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, is the head coach of the Beavers.

* At Wichita, Darius Carter scored 19 points to help No. 11 Wichita State survive Jeremy Ingram's 37-point night in a 77-66 win over North Carolina Central.

Cleanthony Early had 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Shockers (12-0) extended the best start in school history. Ron Baker scored 15 for Wichita State and Fred VanVleet added 14.

North Carolina Central (7-3) was outrebounded 37-22, including a 15-3 disparity on the offensive glass. Ingram was 12 of 21 from the floor and 7 of 13 from the three-point line. He scored 27 points in the second half.