College Basketball Roundup : West Virginia ‘Wins’ Game, 51-50, but Then Loses It, 50-49

West Virginia seemed to have stolen a victory, but in the end, the Mountaineers felt as if they’d had their pockets picked.

The Mountaineers appeared to have scored a 51-50 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over St. Joseph’s Saturday at Philadelphia when Lester Rowe dunked a missed shot by Vernon Odom at the buzzer. The shot touched off a wild celebration by the WVU players.

Both teams returned to their locker rooms, and La Salle and Army warmed up for the second game of a doubleheader. However, officials Dutch Shample, Stan Rote and Ernie Cage conferred in their locker room and decided that Rowe caught and dunked the ball after the buzzer.

The basket was disallowed, and the Hawks (5-5) were ruled 50-49 winners, while the Mountaineers (4-6) suffered their fifth straight loss.

“I’ve been coaching 26 years and I’ve never seen points taken off the scoreboard 10 minutes after a game,” WVU assistant coach Gary McPherson said.

“We’re in the locker room getting dressed with a plane to catch, and the referee came in and told us we lost. The referee called it good, and no one went to the table to check. As far as we’re concerned, the game is over, and we won.”

The decision by the officials touched off a heated exchange among WVU Coach Gale Catlett, Shample and Lou Bonder, the conference’s supervisor of officials, in the corridor outside the Mountaineers’ locker room.

“You can’t take points off the board. I’ve never heard of that in college basketball. This is a first for college basketball,” contended Catlett, who refused to talk with reporters afterward.

Auburn 80, Florida 74-Freshman Chris Morris and junior Chuck Person each scored 25 points as the Tigers (9-2, 1-1) beat the Gators (8-2, 1-1) in a Southeastern Conference game at Auburn, Ala.

Alabama 87, Georgia 74-Bobby Lee Hurt scored 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Crimson Tide (9-3, 1-2) past the Bulldogs (8-3, 0-2) in an SEC game at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

South Carolina 60, Memphis State 58--The Gamecocks (7-2) hit six clutch free throws in the final 43 seconds to upset the third-ranked Tigers (9-1) in a Metro Conference opener at Columbia, S.C. All-American Keith Lee scored 11 of his 22 points in the final five minutes in a vain effort to stave off the Tigers’ first defeat.

Mississippi State 83, LSU 69--Jeff Norwood scored 16 second-half points--including 12 in the final 3 1/2 minutes--Saturday night to lift the Bulldogs (6-5, 2-0) to an upset of the Tigers (9-2, 3-1) in an SEC game at Starkville, Miss.

Dayton 67, Maryland 63--Sedric Toney scored 17 points, and Damon Goodwin added 16 as the Flyers (9-3) upset the Terrapins (11-3) at Dayton, Ohio.

Alabama Birmingham 66, DePaul 59--Steve Mitchell scored 18 points, and the Blazers (11-4) knocked off the slumping Blue Demons (9-3) at Birmingham, Ala.

Notre Dame 79, Davidson 62--Ken Barlow scored 23 points, and the Irish (6-2) rolled for an easy victory over the Wildcats (7-2) at Charlotte, N.C.

Purdue 74, Minnesota 65--James Bullock muscled in 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the Boilermakers (10-2, 1-1) scored a Big Ten victory over the Gophers (8-4, 1-1) at Minneapolis.

Kansas 90, Wichita State 83--Ron Kellogg scored 30 points, and the Jayhawaks (10-2) rallied in the second half to beat the Shockers (5-7) at Lawrence, Kan.

Wake Forest 68, Georgia Tech 54--Kenny Green hit five straight shots in the second half and scored 26 points as the Demon Deacons (8-4, 1-1) upset the Yellow Jackets (10-2, 1-1) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Greensboro, N.C.

Iowa 64, Illinois 60--Jeff Moe sank four free throws in the final 2 1/2 minutes, and the Hawkeyes (13-2, 2-0) handed the Illini (13-4, 0-2) their third straight defeat in a Big Ten game at Iowa City.

Duke 63, Virginia 58--David Henderson came off the bench to score 21 points as the second-ranked Blue Devils (10-0, 2-0) turned back the Cavaliers (7-5, 0-2) in an ACC game at Durham, N.C.

Kentucky 78, North Carolina State 62--Kenny Walker scored 28 points at Lexington, Ky., and the resurgent Wildcats (6-4) won their fifth straight game by handing the Wolfpack (7-4) its fourth setback in six games.

North Carolina 78, Florida State 69--Steve Hale scored 23 points, and Brad Daugherty added 21 as the Tar Heels (10-1) coasted past the Seminoles (6-3) at Miami.

Wisconsin 52, Northwestern 51--J.J. Weber scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Badgers (10-1) past the Wildcats (4-7) in a Big Ten opener at Evanston, Ill.

Michigan 87, Ohio State 82--Antoine Joubert scored 27 points, and backcourt mate Gary Grant added 16 as the Wolverines (9-2, 1-1) blew most of an 18-point lead but held on to beat the Buckeyes (8-3, 0-2) in a Big Ten game at Ann Arbor, Mich.

SMU 63, Arkansas 60--Butch Moore sank two free throws with two seconds remaining in overtime at Dallas as the Mustangs (11-1, 2-0) turned back the Razorbacks (10-4, 1-1) in a Southwest Conference game.

Michigan State 68, Indiana 61--Larry Polec scored a career-high 22 points, and the Spartans (11-1, 2-0) pulled ahead after 12 lead changes in the second half to upend the Hoosiers (9-3, 1-1) in a Big Ten game at East Lansing, Mich.

St. John’s 73, Seton Hall 57--Stumping All-American Chris Mullen scored just 10 points, but Bill Wennington scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Redmen (10-1, 2-0) routed the Pirates (9-4, 0-2) in a Big East game at New York.