Cowboys Extend Streak to 14

Dominating the first few minutes of each half against Texas Tech allowed No. 13 Oklahoma State to extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 14 games.

Melvin Sanders was the key man at the start and Victor Williams starred at the beginning of the second half of the Cowboys’ 79-70 victory Sunday at Lubbock, Texas.

“They just beat us badly in both situations,” Texas Tech Coach Bob Knight said. “And we couldn’t come back from that. They played really well in those periods.”

Sanders, who finished with 17 points, made three consecutive three-point baskets in the first four minutes. Williams scored seven of his 24 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the second half.

The Cowboys (16-1, 5-0 Big 12) scored on seven of their first nine possessions in the second half and used a 14-0 run to take a 54-39 lead. Many of the points came after turnovers and rebounds. They outscored the Red Raiders, 18-4, in fastbreak points.

Texas Tech (11-4, 1-3) used a 21-11 run to get to within 65-64 with 3:13 remaining, but the Cowboys used a 10-1 run to take a 75-65 lead with 31 seconds left.

No. 10 Creighton 89, Texas Christian 79 -- The Bluejays (17-2), who last week reached the top 10 for the first time in school history, averted losing consecutive games to teams with sub-.500 records. They lost at Evansville, 74-66, Thursday night.

Kyle Korver helped Creighton rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half at Omaha. He scored seven points in a decisive three-minute stretch that saw the Bluejays stretch a 78-77 lead to 87-77 and extend their home winning streak to 10 games. The Horned Frogs are 7-10.

No. 17 Wake Forest 71, Florida State 60 -- Josh Howard had an unusually poor game for the Demon Deacons, but he played well when he had to at Winston-Salem, N.C., scoring 24 points.

The only senior in the starting lineup for Wake Forest (13-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), Howard scored 24 points to help defeat the Seminoles (10-7, 1-5).

Howard committed seven turnovers and played spotty defense, giving up 27 points to Tim Pickett -- the most an opponent has scored against Wake Forest this season.

Syracuse 54, Miami 49 -- The Orangemen shut out the Hurricanes in the last 8:38 at Coral Gables, Fla. Miami (8-8, 1-4 Big East) missed its last 15 shots and failed to score on its last 14 possessions. The Orangemen (13-2, 4-1) finished with a 9-0 run.

Michigan 60, Michigan State 58 -- At Ann Arbor, Mich., the Wolverines (13-6, 6-0 Big Ten) played well enough to end an eight-game losing streak in the rivalry and extended their winning streak to 13 games.

The Spartans (10-8, 2-4) have lost six of their last eight and lost to Michigan for the first time since Jan. 10, 1998.