College Basketball: Penn St. almost bests Buckeyes

Talor Battle's three-pointer with 2 seconds left came up short, and No. 2 Ohio State managed a 69-66 home win over Penn State on Saturday.

The victory, on the heels of No. 1 Duke's 66-61 loss at Florida State on Wednesday night, could propel the Buckeyes (18-0, 5-0 Big Ten) to the top spot in the rankings.

Battle finished with 15 for the Nittany Lions (10-7, 3-3) who had a chance to upset three straight ranked teams.

Duke 76, Virginia 60 - Nolan Smith scored 29 points and the No. 1 Blue Devils (16-1, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) bounced back at home from their first loss in 10 months by pulling away to beat the 10-7, 1-2 Cavaliers. They trailed by 10 late in the first half but outscored Virginia 43-18 over the final 16 minutes to avoid their first losing streak in two years.

Louisville 71, Marquette 70 - Kyle Kuric's bucket with 4 seconds left capped a rally by the No. 18 Cardinals (14-3, 3-1 Big East) to stun the visiting Golden Eagles (12-6, 3-2). Louisville trailed by 18 with less than 6 minutes to go. Marquette had a final shot, but Jimmy Butler's runner in the lane glanced off the rim.

Syracuse 67, Cincinnati 52 - One of four unbeatens left in Division I, the fourth-ranked Orange (18-0, 5-0 Big East) used a 16-0 run to open the second half and dispose of the No. 25 Bearcats (16-2, 3-2) at home. Syracuse is one win from matching the best start in program history and plays at No. 5 Pittsburgh Monday.

Kansas 63, Nebraska 60 - Marcus Morris and Tyrel Reed hit free throws in the final seconds, and the third-ranked Jayhawks (17-0, 2-0 Big 12) rallied from 10 points down to remain unbeaten with a win over the visiting Huskers (13-4, 1-2).

Elsewhere: No. 22 Georgetown (13-5, 2-4 Big East) ended a three-game losing streak with a 74-65 win at 10-7, 1-4 Rutgers. . . . No. 14 Texas A&M (16-1, 3-0 Big 12) got its 13th straight win in a squeaker past No. 15 Missouri (15-3, 1-2) at home.

In the area: For the third time this season, Sharif Bray hit the game-winner in the waning seconds to lift Cheyney to an 80-79 victory over visiting Shippensburg (5-9, 0-2 PSAC). Bray finished with 33 points for Cheyney (11-1, 1-1). . . . Swarthmore (5-10, 2-6 ECAC) had four players score in double figures in a 73-59 home win over Dickinson. . . . Soudertown Area High grad Jim Connolly had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead Philadelphia University (9-5, 4-1 CACC) to a 75-61 victory at Holy Family (4-13, 2-5).

Ex-Academy of the New Church star Shannon Givens scored 22 points, but it was not enough for West Chester (10-4, 1-1 PSAC) to overcome East Stroudsburg (9-5, 2-0), which got an 82-69 road win. . . . In NJAC action in Glassboro, Rowan (6-9, 1-4) lost to 13-4, 3-2 Montclair, 75-56. . . . In Camden, Ramapo (14-3, 5-0 NJAC) ran out 2-12, 1-5 Rutgers-Camden, 72-57. . . . Stockton (8-5, 2-2 NJAC) fell to New Jersey City (6-6, 2-2) on the road.

BJ Smith hit a 65-foot shot at the buzzer to cap 9-6, 4-1 Widener's rally from a 16-point deficit for a 71-70 Commonwealth Conference victory over Lebanon Valley in Chester. . . . James Jones (Bok Tech) scored all 24 of his points in the second half to lead Delaware Valley (7-6, 4-1 Freedom) past visiting Eastern (8-5, 2-3). . . . Neumann (7-5, 4-1 CSAC) held off Rosemont (5-8, 3-4) for a home win, 73-64. Neumann's Mark Blount (William Penn) led all scorers with 21.

At the Palestra, Cabrini (8-4, 5-1 CSAC) dropped winless Philadelphia Biblical, 89-62. Dom Farrello (William Tennant) led all scorers with 17 off the bench for Cabrini. . . . An operation at Johns Hopkins (4-11, 2-6) was successful for 8-6, 5-3 Haverford, which came away with a 67-60 Centennial Conference win. . . . In Glenside, Arcadia (4-10, 0-5 Commonwealth) was defeated by 12-4, 2-4 Lycoming, 79-70. . . . The Green Terror's 13-1 second-half run helped McDaniel (8-7, 5-3 Centennial) top Ursinus (5-10, 2-6), 54-45, in Collegeville.