Pittsburgh decks Duke in OT

By Associated Press     Dec 21, 2007

? Levance Fields had about as much on his mind as a player can.

His team was down two points with 16 seconds left in overtime. He had turned the ball over on Pittsburgh’s last two possessions. He was playing in front of a sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden, the arena the junior guard used to take the subway to from his home in Brooklyn. His best friend on the team, Mike Cook, had been helped from the court with what looked like a severe knee injury just minutes earlier.

Fields got the ball with about 10 seconds left. He went to his favorite spot, just behind the three-point line off to the left side of the head of the key and let fly.

His three-pointer went in with 4.7 seconds left, and – after Duke missed two final shots – No. 11 Pittsburgh had a 65-64 victory over the sixth-ranked Blue Devils on Thursday night in a matchup of unbeatens in the Aeropostale Classic.

“I needed a little space, and I got the space, and it went in,” Fields said. “When Mike went down, it brought tears to my eyes. It’s his last year, and he can’t go out like that. I knew I had committed the turnovers, and I knew I had to make up for it. I talk about game-winners all the time. I had to hit it for my teammates, myself and the city of Pittsburgh.”

Panthers coach Jamie Dixon began to choke up when he talked about Cook, who had started the last 48 games at small forward.

No. 7 Washington State 67, The Citadel 45

Seattle – Aron Baynes scored 16 points, Daven Harmeling added 11 off the bench, and Washington State routed The Citadel, improving to 10-0 for the first time in 16 years.

Robbie Cowgill added nine points for the Cougars, who have just two more nonconference games – at Idaho State and against North Carolina A&T – before opening Pac-10 play back in Seattle on Jan. 5 against rival Washington.

No. 15 Clemson 90, Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 73

Guaynabo, Puerto Rico – K.C. Rivers had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help Clemson beat Puerto Rico-Mayaguez in the San Juan Shootout.

Rivers, 9-for-12 from the floor, scored eight consecutive points in the second half to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the game, 78-51.

No. 22 Miami 85, North Florida 63

Coral Gables, Fla. – Jack McClinton and Dwayne Collins each scored 13 points to lead Miami.

The Hurricanes were never threatened after scoring 11 straight points midway through the first half.

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