USA - Mbah a Moute bails out Bruins

ANAHEIM (NCAA) - Cameroonian Luc Richard Mbah a Moute came up big to prevent a second straight defeat for No. 8 UCLA.

After the Bruins lost their No. 1 ranking by losing to Texas last week, they were staring another loss in the face Saturday night as Davidson took a 32-14 lead.
But Mbah a Moute led the comeback, scoring 21 points as UCLA emerged 75-63 winners.

The Bruins used a 15-0 run to get back into the game and were down by only 34-30 at the break. They then started the second half on an 8-3 run as Mbah a Moute and Russell Westbrook nailed three-pointers.

Four other Bruins joined Mbah a Moute by scoring in double figures. Josh Shipp had 15 points and Westbrook added 14, while star freshman Kevin Love collected 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Brandon Rush scored eight of his 13 points in the first half as No. 3 Kansas rolled to an 84-66 win over DePaul.

Extending their best start since the 2004-05 season, the Jayhawks (9-0) improved to 8-1 all-time against the Blue Demons.

Rush was the star of the show in the first half despite not starting the game - the junior guard was punished by coach Bill Self for his arrest Thursday night for failing to appear in court on traffic charges.

Even so, the Jayhawks raced out to an 8-2 lead, only to let DePaul take a 13-12 lead. Rush then took over to spark a decisive 24-1 burst which ended the game as a contest before half time.

No. 4 Georgetown saw DaJuan Summers collect nine of his 14 points in the first half as they downed Jacksonville 87-55 in the nation's capital.

Freshman Austin Freeman had a season-high 15 points and fellow first-year player Chris Wright added 14 for the Hoyas (7-0), who continued their best start since a 10-0 beginning in the 2003-04 season.

Also off to a hot start are No. 5 Texas, who improved to 9-0 with an 80-54 rout of Rice. It is the first time the Longhorns have won nine in a row to start a season since 1981-82, when they began 14-0.

DJ Augustin, AJ Abrams and Damion Jones each scored 18 points for Texas.

Aron Baynes shot a perfect nine of nine from the field, scoring 23 points, as No. 6 Washington State beat Portland 72-60. The Cougars junior center was 5-of-5 in the first half and ended the game with nine rebounds.

No. 6 Duke continued its mastery of non-conference opponents in general and Michigan in particular on Saturday.

Freshman Nolan Smith came off the bench to score 17 points and lead the Blue Devils to a 95-67 rout of the Wolverines.

It was the sixth straight win for Duke over Michigan and extended its lead in the all-time series to 18-7. The Blue Devils also won their 56th consecutive non-conference home game.

While there were no upsets among the top 10 teams, No. 9 Pittsbugh only got away with it upon further review.

With the Panthers leading, 75-74, Levance Fields missed the front end of a one-and-one with six seconds left, allowing Huskies guard Justin Dentmon to race up the court, get into the lane and throw up a runner as the buzzer sounded to seemingly win the game.

The officials went to the replay as the Washington crowd started to celebrate on the court.

However, after several minutes, the referees overturned the final basket when they saw the 5-11 junior still had the ball on his fingertips as the game clock reached zero.

Despite that late miss, Fields finished as the Panthers' top-scorer with a season-high 20 points.

Team USA prospect scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half to lead a big comeback for No. 10 Michigan State in a 68-61 win over 22nd-ranked Brigham Young.

Raymar Morgan added 15 points while Bosnian Goran Suton had 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Trent Plaisted led BYU with 17 points.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino was looking for win No. 500 but instead came away a loser as his No. 11 Cardinals were upset 70-65 by Dayton on their home court.

Brian Roberts poured in 28 points to lead the Flyers to a second-straight victory over Louisville.

While Dayton's win came on the road, the Ohio city they call home was the scene of an upset as No. 13 Butler went down 43-42 to Wright State as AJ Graves was held to a season-low six points. Graves made just two of 11 from the field, missing all six of his shots from three-point range.

Sophomore Donald Sloan and freshman DeAndre Jordan both scored 18 points as No. 14 Texas A&M beat Texas State 109-73, while Dominic James had 20 points for No. 15 Marquette in an 81-76 win over 23rd-ranked Wisconsin, the first time the Badgers have lost at home in 29 games.

Oregon coach Ernie Kent won his 200th game as the No. 18 Ducks got 20 points from Bryce Taylor in a 75-62 win over Utah, while Micah Downs scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half as No. 19 Gonzaga rolled past Cal State Northridge 85-59.

Scottie Reynolds scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half to lead Villanova to a 101-93 win over Temple, while Chase Budinger left it late to make a difference for No. 24 Arizona, scoring his only two field goals of the game in overtime as the Wildcats beat Illinois 78-72.

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