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Syracuse rallies for eighth straight win

SYRACUSE, N.Y., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Scoop Jardine helped Syracuse recover from a sluggish start Wednesday and the No. 2 Orange won for the eighth straight time, 56-48 over South Florida.

After leading by as many as 13 points early in the contest, the Bulls endured a scoreless stretch of more than 11 minutes to fall short in their upset bid.

Jardine scored 15 points and C.J. Fair had 13. Syracuse has not lost since falling to Notre Dame Jan. 21.

South Florida took a 20-7 lead with 8:49 left in the first half and did not score another point before the break. The Bulls did not produce a point in the second half until 2:35 had elapsed, by which time Syracuse had built a 13-point cushion.

Syracuse improved to 28-1 and is 15-1 in Big East Conference action with a two-game lead over Notre Dame in the league race.

The Bulls (17-11, 10-5) had won four in a row. Anthony Collins scored 12 points for South Florida and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick had 11.

Donald out, Woods moves on in Match Play

MARANA, Ariz., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Luke Donald made an early exit Wednesday but Tiger Woods overcame a slow start to advance at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Donald, ranked No. 1 in the world and one of the event's four top seeds, never led in his match against Ernie Els, who trounced the defending champion 5 & 4.

Els, who made the tournament only when Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey withdrew, won the 11th, 12th and 14th holes to close out the match.

Donald was one of just two players from the world's Top 10 to be eliminated on the opening day of the year's first World Golf Championship event. No. 6 Webb Simpson was knocked out by Matteo Manassero 3 & 2.

Second-ranked Rory McIlroy was a 2-up winner over George Coetzee, No. 3 Lee Westwood got past Nicolas Colsaerts and No. 4 Martin Kaymer defeated Greg Chalmers 4 & 2.

Neither Woods nor first-round opponent Gonzalo-Fernandez Castano played solid golf, with Woods struggling through a three-hole stretch beginning at the ninth in 4-over par. The former top-ranked player took a 1-up lead to the final hole, however, and he closed out Castano by making a 12-foot par putt after putting his second shot into a greenside bunker.

Woods will face Nick Watney in the second round after Watney defeated reigning British Open champion Darren Clarke 5 & 4.

Thirteen of the 32 first-round matches at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club went to the 18th hole and seven other matches were not decided until the 17th.

Among the more entertaining matches was Ryo Ishikawa's 1-up win over Bill Haas, who was coming off his victory last week at the Northern Trust Open.

David Toms set up a meeting with Kaymer by downing Rickie Fowler 1-up and current FedEx Cup points leader Kyle Stanley was a 2 & 1 winner over K.J. Choi.

Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker and Keegan Bradley were also among the winners.

Oklahoma City lights up Boston

OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined to score 59 points Wednesday and bring Oklahoma City back from a slow start to a 119-104 win over Boston.

Boston had held 30 straight opponents to less than 100 points, but the Thunder's two stars pushed Oklahoma City to a big second quarter that broke open the game.

The Celtics had an early eight-point advantage before Oklahoma City raced to a 72-49 halftime lead.

Westbrook scored 31 points and Durant had nine rebounds, six assists and four steals to go with his 28 points. It was Oklahoma City's 11th straight home win, the franchise's longest in four years. The Thunder won their fourth consecutive game overall.

Boston, which will head into the all-star break with five consecutive losses, got 23 points from both Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

Westbrook was also the first player in 30 games to produce 30 points against the Celtics.

UConn's Calhoun to undergo surgery

STORRS, Conn., Feb. 22 (UPI) -- University of Connecticut men's basketball Coach Jim Calhoun will undergo back surgery and miss at least two more games, school officials said Wednesday.

Calhoun will have the procedure Monday to help alleviate spinal stenosis and will recover at home after several nights of hospitalization, UConn said.

"I'm glad we have finally determined the best course of treatment to deal with the problem," Calhoun said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to having the procedure done, hopefully recovering as quickly as possible, and putting it all in the past."

The Huskies' mentor has already missed six games behind the bench and will continue to be absent during contests Saturday against Syracuse and Feb. 28 against Providence.

After that, Calhoun will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis as associate head Coach George Blaney remains at the helm.

The Huskies (17-10) have dropped seven of their last 10 games.