STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- A rally to close the first half enabled Purdue to ultimately pull away from Penn State in the second half as the Boilermakers evened their Big Ten Conference record at 5-5 with a 58-49 victory Tuesday night over Penn State.
The Nittany Lions (8-14) are now 0-10 in conference play despite outrebounding the league's top rebounding team 42-37 and watching Purdue (12-11) shoot 0 for 10 from 3-point range.
Ronnie Johnson scored 16 points, 12 of them in the second half for Purdue. A.J. Hammons, a 7-foot freshman center, added 15 for the Boilermakers, who took control of a back-and-forth game with about 9 minutes to play after a first-half rally from a nine-point deficit.
"We need to keep it simple," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "We get ahead of ourselves a bit too much and we force and we try to take on the world."
Both coaches agreed on two things: Johnson was the spark behind the Boilermakers' victory and the game turned during the final 4 minutes of the first half and opening 4 minutes of the second.
"We played a great 32 minutes," said Penn State coach Patrick Chambers. "We had a couple of great looks and the shots just didn't fall."
TOP 25
ARKANSAS 80, NO. 2 Florida 69
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- BJ Young led three players in double figures with 13 points as Arkansas opened quickly and never let up in a shocking 80-69 victory over No. 2 Florida on Tuesday night.
The win improves the Razorbacks (14-8, 5-4 Southeastern Conference) to 14-1 at home this season, and it snaps a 10-game winning streak for the Gators -- who had ascended to the No. 2 spot in The AP Top 25 one day earlier.
Mike Rosario led Florida (18-3, 8-1) with 15 points, while Scottie Wilbekin had 14.
No. 8 MIAMI 72,
BOSTON COLLEGE 50
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Kenny Kadji scored 10 points during a span of four possessions to start a second-half surge and Miami remained unbeaten in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Reserve junior Rion Brown tied a career high with 22 points, and Kadji had 16 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes for the Hurricanes, who went 11 for 22 from 3-point range. They held an ACC opponent to 50 points or less for the fourth time.
The Hurricanes (18-3, 9-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have won 10 consecutive games and are 10-0 in their on-campus arena, winning each of the past three home games by at least 22 points. Nine victories in the ACC matches their highest total ever and they are the last unbeaten team in league play among the major conferences.
Olivier Hanlan scored 16 points for Boston College (10-12, 2-7), which lost to Miami for the second time in three weeks, and for the sixth straight time.
NO. 13 KANSAS STATE 68,
TEXAS TECH 59
LUBBOCK, Texas -- Rodney McGruder had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Kansas State to its third straight victory.
Angel Rodriguez added 13 points and Thomas Gibson had 12 for the Wildcats (18-4, 7-2 Big 12).
McGruder was 6 of 11 from the field, while Rodriguez was 3 of 6 from 3-point range and was flawless in four free throws attempts.
Jordan Tolbert scored 19 points and Dejan Kravic added 12 for Texas Tech (9-11, 2-7), which finished with four turnovers, its fewest of the season.
Kansas State finished with 38 rebounds, 23 defensive, while Texas Tech had a total of 20.
For Texas Tech it was its seventh loss in the past eight games after opening Big 12 play with a win at TCU.
MAC
AKRON 68, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 56
AKRON -- Alex Abreu scored 15 points and dished seven assists as Akron extended the nation's longest active winning streak to 14 games, downing Mid-American Conference-foe Central Michigan 68-56 Tuesday night.
Demetrius Treadwell, who entered with four double-doubles in his past five games for the Zips (18-4, 9-0), added 12 points and five rebounds.
Chris Fowler's layup pulled Central Michigan (9-13, 2-7) within 57-56 with 2:23 left, but a dunk and layup by Treadwell sparked Akron's 11-0, game-ending run.
Akron's winning streak is now the longest by any Division I team this season.
Akron trailed 46-42 with 9:13 left until Reggie McAdams' free throw sparked a 13-4 Akron run.
Kyle Randall scored 22 points for the Chippewas, surpassing the 20-point mark for the third straight game and scoring in double figures for the 17th consecutive time.
OHIO COLLEGES
CLEVELAND STATE 66,
YOUNSTOWN STATE 60
CLEVELAND -- Devon Long made 9 of 11 shots en route to a career-high 23 points and Cleveland State defeated Horizon League-rival Youngstown State 66-60 Tuesday night.
Sebastian Douglas, Charlie Lee and Junior Lomomba added 10 points apiece for Cleveland State (12-12, 4-6), which hit 14 of 17 free throws compared to 11 of 22 for Youngstown State.
Cleveland State led by as many as nine in the second half but Youngstown State (13-10, 5-5) rallied to regain the lead 43-42 on a Damian Eargle layup with 10:36 left to play.
From there, the teams exchanged baskets and the lead seven times before Lee and Bryn Forbes converted back-to-back 3-pointers to put Cleveland State up for good.
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