UCF whips Marshall; Ohio falls

Published 1:35 am Thursday, February 9, 2012

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Keith Clanton scored 20 points and Isaiah Sykes added 15 points and 10 rebounds as Central Florida hung on for a 67-60 win over Marshall on Wednesday night.

The Knights (18-6, 7-3 Conference USA) needed a 3-pointer from Marcus Jordan with 14.3 seconds to play to stop a Thundering Herd rally that had cut a 14-point deficit to just two in the final minute.

Marshall (14-10, 5-5) was led by Damier Pitts with 18 points and seven assists.

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Clanton was the driving force for Central Florida in both halves. His follow shot completed a 13-2 run early in the second half that allowed the Knights to pull out to a 44-34 lead with 11:54 left.

Marshall was down 58-44 when Pitts started and finished a 16-4 run with 3-pointers that got the Thundering Herd within 62-60 with 49.7 seconds left in the game.

Toledo 77, Ohio 73

TOLEDO (AP) — Rian Pearson notched a double-double and Toledo went on a 5-0 run in the game’s final minute to seal a 77-73 comeback win over Ohio on Wednesday night, snapping a three-game losing skid for the Rockets.

Down 73-72 with 1:08 to play, Curtis Dennis’ three-point play pulled the Rockets (11-13, 3-7 Mid-American Conference) ahead for good. The Bobcats then missed two jumpers and turned the ball over once down the stretch, and Matt Smith clinched the win for Toledo with a pair of foul shots in the game’s final second.

Toledo outrebounded Ohio 43-32, and outscored the Bobcats 36-20 in the paint.

Pearson finished with 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, and Smith also tallied 18 points for the Rockets.

D.J. Cooper also had 18 points to lead the Bobcats (19-5, 7-3), who had a six-game winning streak snapped in defeat.