Monday’s college basketball: Oakland pulls away late

Chicago – Kendrick Nunn had 18 of his 32 points in the first half and grabbed nine rebounds on Monday night to help Oakland beat Illinois-Chicago 78-68.

The Golden Grizzlies (12-8, 4-3 Horizon) pulled away for good with an 8-0 run that made it 73-65 on Martez Walker’s 3-point play with 1:58 left. Tarkus Ferguson cut the deficit to five with a 3-point play before Oakland made 5 of 6 free throws in the final minute.

Oakland trailed only once in the second half when UIC (8-11, 3-3) had a 6-0 run to make it 54-53 with 9:42 left. Oakland responded with a 7-0 run and extended the lead to 65-58, but the Flames had a 7-0 run to tie it at 65 all.

Walker added 18 points, Jalen Hayes scored 15 and Nick Daniels 11 for Oakland.

Dikembe Dixson and Tai Odiase scored 13 each and Marcus Ottey added 12 for UIC.

Big Ten

(At) Nebraska 64, Illinois 63: James Palmer Jr. hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Michael Finke had converted a 4-point play with 8.1 seconds left to give Illinois the lead. After a Nebraska timeout, Isaac Copeland inbounded to Glynn Watson Jr., who found Palmer on the left wing for the winning shot.

The Huskers had led 61-57 with under a minute to play when Palmer dunked off a steal. But Finke scored in close on Illinois’ next possession, and after Palmer missed the front end of a one-and-one, Illinois called timeout with 18.7 seconds left. Finke hit his 3 in front of the Illini bench, got fouled by Isaiah Roby and made the free throw for what looked to be the play that would give Illinois its first Big Ten win under first-year coach Brad Underwood.

Palmer finished with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting after a dismal 1-for-9 outing in a loss at Penn State on Friday. Evan Taylor added 13 for the Huskers (13-7, 4-3 Big Ten).

Trent Frazier scored 19 points, Finke added 16 and Leron Black had 13 for the Illini (10-9, 0-6), who are winless in six true road games.

Minnesota 95, (at) Penn State 84, OT: Dupree McBrayer scored 14 of a career-high 24 points in the second half and overtime.

Nate Mason added 25 points and Jordan Murphy scored 22 and grabbed 19 rebounds for the Golden Gophers (14-6, 3-4 Big Ten) who ended a three-game losing streak.

Tony Carr scored 33 points, Mike Watkins added 20 and 11 rebounds and Lamar Stevens chipped in 12 for Penn State (13-7, 3-4).

Top 25

(At) No. 10 Kansas 71, No. 6 West Virginia 66: Svi Mykhailiuk scored 17 points, including 12 over the final seven minutes, and Kansas roared back from a big deficit. Devonte Graham added 16 points and Udoka Azubuike scored 10 for the Jayhawks (15-3, 5-1 Big 12).

Kansas has won four straight and broke a four-game losing streak in Morgantown to West Virginia (15-3, 4-2). The Mountaineers have lost two straight for the first time this season.

Sagaba Konate had 16 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for West Virginia. But he didn’t score over the final seven minutes. Esa Ahmad added 15 points and Jevon Carter scored 14.

Kansas trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half before whittling away at the deficit and going on a 15-3 run to take its first lead since early in the game, capped by two free throws by Mykhailiuk for a 61-60 lead with 3:49 left. He put the Jayhawks ahead to stay, 65-64, with two more free throws with 1:42 left.

Daxter Miles scored off a missed free throw with a minute left to pull West Virginia within 67-66, but the Mountaineers didn’t score again.

No. 5 Duke 83, (at) No. 25 Miami 75: Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 30 points and No. 5-ranked Duke needed less than three minutes to erase a 13-point second-half deficit, scoring 18 consecutive points.

The Blue Devils scored 15 points in only six possessions to rally, and the comeback included a trio of 3-pointers by Trent. He shot 9 for 14, including 6 for 9 from beyond the arc.

Duke (16-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) extended its winning streak against ranked teams to seven games, including four this season. Miami (13-4, 2-3) lost at home for the first time this season.