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Rush, Kansas Edge Arizona In OT

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A Tribune staff, wire report

Published: November 26, 2007

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Brandon Rush sneaked along the baseline behind Arizona's defense, sprang off both legs and threw down an alley-oop, bringing the crowd to its feet and sending vibrations across the floor.

Rush left no doubt: He's back.

Rush scored five of his 17 points in overtime, including two dunks on his surgically-repaired knee, helping fourth-ranked Kansas pull out a tough 76-72 victory over Arizona.

Rush expected to be playing in the NBA this season, but a torn ACL during a pickup game over the summer changed his plans.

After being eased back into the lineup his first two games back, he was much more of a factor against the Wildcats, driving hard to the basket, and bouncing up quickly after hitting the floor hard twice.

WASHINGTON STATE 71, AIR FORCE 62: Derrick Low made six second-half 3-pointers and scored 19 points to help No. 9 Washington State beat Air Force in the Cougar Hispanic College Fund Challenge.
Taylor Rochestie led all scorers with 22 points and Kyle Weaver added 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for Washington State, which trailed at halftime.

Low, who sat out most of the first half after two quick fouls, made six of eight 3-pointers for Washington State (6-0), which won all three games in its round-robin tournament.
Tim Anderson scored 15 for Air Force (5-2), which lost its second consecutive game. Evan Washington added 14.

Air Force led 30-26 at halftime, thanks to 6-for-12 shooting from 3-point range. It led into the second half before a sudden drought allowed the Cougars to storm back.

A 3-pointer by Low allowed Washington State to tie the game at 37. After Washington's 3 for Air Force, Low hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 40 with 13:13 left.

Robbie Cowgill's free throw gave WSU its first lead of the game at 41-40, and Low's fourth 3-pointer of the second half extended the lead to 44-40.

Washington State built a 51-40 lead during a 14-0 run in which Air Force was held scoreless for nearly seven minutes.

DUKE 78, EASTERN KENTUCKY 43: Freshman Taylor King scored a career-high 27 points to lead No. 13 Duke to a rout of Eastern Kentucky.

DeMarcus Nelson had 12 points and Gerald Henderson added 10 for the Blue Devils (6-0), who played their first game on the mainland since winning the Maui Invitational and showed no effects of jet lag.

KANSAS STATE 82, RIDER 69: Andre Gilbert scored 22 and Jacob Pullen added 19 points and five assists as No. 18 Kansas State held off Rider in the Old Spice Classic.

Three people were ejected in the game's last minute - K-State forward Bill Walker, Rider coach Tommy Dempsey and Broncs leading scorer Jason Thompson.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE 69, VILLANOVA 68: Gavin Grant hit two of three free throws with 0.4 seconds left and North Carolina State beat No. 20 Villanova to win the Old Spice Classic championship.

Villanova (4-1) seemed to clinch the win when Dante Cunningham tipped in a missed layup with 2.2 seconds remaining, but Cunningham fouled Grant the next trip down.

He missed the first one, then drained the other two. Villanova threw a long inbound pass, but it bounced up and off the backboard as time expired.

Courtney Fells had 21 points for N.C. State (4-1), while J.J. Hickson and Grant each added 15.

USF Adds Former Georgia Point Guard

Former Georgia point guard Mike Mercer is transferring to the University of South Florida, FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman reported. He will have 1 1/2 years of eligibility starting in December 2008.

The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Mercer was Georgia's second-leading scorer with a 13.6 average last season, but he was dismissed from the team by Coach Dennis Felton last week.

Rated the nation's No. 5 point guard out of high school, Mercer missed the final 10 games of last season with a knee injury and was suspended for the first 15 games after violating the school's academic policy.

In 2005-06, he was named to the coaches' SEC all-freshman team.

Brett McMurphy

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