Spartans still in hunt for share

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Raymar Morgan and Kalin Lucas made key free throws late to help No. 11 Michigan State pull out a 67-65 victory over Penn State (11-18, 3-14) on Thursday night at East Lansing, Mich., keeping the Spartans in the hunt for a share of the Big Ten title.

Morgan, who finished with 16 points, hit two free throws with 12 seconds left to give Michigan State (23-7, 13-4) a 66-62 lead.

The Spartans can earn a share of the title for the second consecutive season with a victory against Michigan on Sunday. No. 6 Ohio State already has clinched a share of the championship, and No. 7 Purdue can share it with a victory over Penn State on Saturday.

No. 17 Pittsburgh 73, Providence 71: At Pittsburgh, Ashton Gibbs hit a 3-pointer several steps inside the midcourt line just ahead of the final buzzer and Pittsburgh (23-7, 12-5) avoided being upset by Providence (12-17, 4-13).

Pitt still has a chance to be seeded No. 2 in next week's Big East tournament.

PAC-10

Arizona State 59, USC 54: At Tempe, Ariz., Rihards Kuksiks scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including a pair of free throws with 14.6 seconds remaining, and Arizona State held on to beat the Trojans (16-13, 8-9).

Derek Glasser scored 11 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and Ty Abbott had nine for the Sun Devils (21-9, 11-6 Pac-10) who won for the seventh time in nine games to clinch second place in the conference.

Arizona 78, UCLA 73: At Tucson, Ariz., Kyle Fogg made 7 of 10 3-pointers en route to a career-high 27 points and Arizona (15-14, 9-8 Pac-10) rallied from 14 down in the second half to beat UCLA (13-16, 8-9).

Washington 86, Oregon 72: At Eugene, Ore., Quincy Pondexter had a career-high 34 points and 10 rebounds as Washington (20-9, 10-7) kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive with a victory over Oregon (14-15, 6-11 Pac-10).

Boise State 82, Hawaii 63: At Boise, Robert Arnold scored 19 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to lead Boise State past Hawaii.

Boise State (14-16, 4-11 Western Athletic) kept alive its hopes of qualifying for the conference tournament next week, while Hawaii (10-19, 3-12) needs a win Saturday against Idaho and some help to make it in.

Nevada 100, New Mexico State 92: At Reno, Nev., Brandon Fields scored a career-best 32 points to lead Nevada (18-11, 10-5) past New Mexico State (19-10, 11-4 WAC).

Fresno State 66, Louisiana Tech 59: At Fresno, Calif., Greg Smith scored 17 points and Paul George had 16 points and seven rebounds as Fresno State (15-17, 7-9) beat Louisiana Tech (22-8, 9-6 WAC).