Irish rally past Pittsburgh

Tory Jackson wouldn't let himself stumble. He made sure Notre Dame didn't either.

Jackson was dribbling toward the basket when his foot hit a Pittsburgh player's foot near the free-throw line and he appeared to lose control of the ball. Suddenly, he pulled it in, squeezed between two defenders and went in for a layup that cut the lead to 3 points.

"He just came out of nowhere with the ball and put it in," said teammate Luke Harangody, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the 21st-ranked Irish (20-5, 10-3) on Thursday night in their 82-70 Big East victory over the visiting Panthers.

"That was a huge play for us and got us into that mode we needed to be in to make some energy plays."

Jackson finished with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as Notre Dame overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half.

Pitt was frustrated by the ability of the 5-foot-11 Jackson to rebound. "The little guard had 13 rebounds," said Panthers freshman DeJuan Blair, who had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

Jackson and Harangody, both sophomores, remain undefeated at home as the Irish ran their Joyce Center winning streak to 35 games.

"We kept finding a way, and I think Tory Jackson's will at key times made his teammates believe," Irish coach Mike Brey said.

Sam Young had 20 points for the Panthers (19-7, 7-6), who lost two straight for the first time since December 2006.

Xavier 75, Duguesne 48: Derrick Brown and C.J. Anderson had double-doubles night and No. 10 Xavier rolled past visiting Duquesne for its ninth straight victory.

The Musketeers (23-4, 11-1) solidified their hold on first place in the Atlantic 10 with one of their more impressive performances.

Reggie Jackson had 12 points for Duquesne (16-9, 6-6).

IPFW 85, Western Illinois 62: David Carson scored 22 points, and Chris Perkins added 20 as IPFW routed Western Illinois in Summit League play at Fort Wayne, Ind.

Jakari Johnson had 15 points and Ben Botts added 13 for the Mastodons (12-14, 9-6), who shot 57.1 percent compared to 33.3 percent for the Leathernecks (12-15, 7-9), who were led by James Washington with 19 points.

Women

Tennessee 85, Alabama 58: On the day she announced that she's leaving for the WNBA draft and Olympic play after the season, junior Candace Parker scored 19 points to help lead visiting Tennessee over Alabama.

The No. 3 Lady Vols (24-2, 10-1 Southeastern Conference) opened fast and had a 21-point lead, 31-10 with 8:41 left in the first half.

Tierney Jenkins was the only player in double figures with 12 points. The Crimson Tide (8-19, 1-11).

North Carolina 79, Miami 61: Erlana Larkins scored 18 points to lead No. 2 North Carolina over host Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

North Carolina (25-2, 12-0) has won eight straight and 16 of its last 17. Maurita Reid scored 18 points to lead Miami (9-17, 2-9).