College Basketball Roundup : North Carolina Rallies to Win Over Maryland

Sophomore forward Dave Popson didn’t know how much time was left in the closing seconds against Maryland, but he knew what to do with the ball once he got it--shoot.

Popson hit a jumper with seven seconds left, and Curtis Hunter made two free throws to lift North Carolina to a come-from-behind 75-74 Atlantic Coast Conference victory Wednesday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.

“I put a lot of arch, but I felt good about it,” Popson said. “I didn’t know how much time was left. Players are supposed to know that.”

Popson, a 6-10 210-pounder from Ashley, Pa., said the play was not designed to go to him. It just worked out that way.

“It is part of our offense. A guy stops at the foul line (on the fast break) and if he is open, he takes the shot. I was open and I took the shot. It was a big shot,” he said.

Maryland Coach Lefty Driesell said neither team deserved to lose.

“We just missed free throws and let them back in the game,” said Driesell, whose team made only 4 of 11 free throws in the second half and 12 of 21 in the game. “I feel our kids played well enough to win, but so did North Carolina’s.”

Maryland led, 72-69, with 36 seconds left after Keith Gatlin hit the front end of a one-and-one, but guard Kenny Smith hit a 15-foot jumper with 18 seconds left to cut the lead to one.

After Adrian Branch missed a free throw with 15 seconds left, the Tar Heels rushed down court, and Popson hit the 15-footer at the foul line to give North Carolina a 73-72 lead.

The game, in which the Tar Heels shot 61.5% and Maryland 58.5, was tied 15 times, the final one at 67-67 with 2:35 left.

The Tar Heels are 11-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, Maryland is 11-4 and 1-1.

Tulsa 104, Oklahoma 89--Steve Harris scored 35 points, and Herb Johnson added 24 to lead the Hurricane to the upset at Tulsa, Okla. The Sooners are ranked eighth by AP and seventh by UPI. Oklahoma All-America Wayman Tisdale had 26 points and 17 rebounds despite three- and four-man coverages. But the defensive pressure slowed the Sooners and forced turnovers in the first half.

The Hurricane (10-2) built a 21-point lead less than two minutes into the second half against the Sooners (10-4).

SMU 95, Baylor 63--Jon Koncak, Terry Williams and Carl Wright each scored 14 points as the Mustangs, ranked third by UPI and fourth by AP, beat the Bears. It was the worst defeat SMU has ever inflicted on Baylor at Dallas. SMU improved its record to 12-1 overall and 3-0 in SWC play. Baylor is 7-6 and 0-2.

Koncak, the Mustangs’ 7-foot center, had four blocked shots and seven rebounds. Williams hit all seven of his shots from the field.

Ohio State 99, Wisconsin 88--Brad Sellers scored 22 points against his former teammates and substitute Joe Concheck led a first-half spurt that carried Ohio State to a Big Ten victory at Columbus, Ohio.

Concheck, a starter all season until this game, pumped in six points to lead the Buckeyes, 9-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference, on a 16-6 spree within three minutes.

That gave Ohio State a 44-30 lead with 3:20 left in the first half. The Badgers (10-2 and 1-1) were never closer than eight points after the streak.

Sellers, who played his first two collegiate seasons at Wisconsin, and Ron Stokes each had four points in the winning spurt.

Ohio State put six players in double figures. Besides Sellers, Dennis Hopson and Clarence McGee scored 16 each, Concheck 15, Troy Taylor 14 and Stokes 12.

Louisville 52, Tulane 51--Billy Thompson, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, delivered an alley-oop dunk with 1:07 remaining to give the Cardinals the winning margin in their Metro Conference opener at Louisville, Ky. Manuel Forrest and Jeff Hall scored 18 points each for the winners.

The Cardinals (8-4) have never lost to Tulane (7-6, 0-2) in 18 games.

Arkansas 67, TCU 59--Joe Kleine scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the Razorbacks to a Southwest Conference victory at Fayetteville, Ark.

Arkansas, 11-4 overall and 2-1 in the SWC, broke a sluggish game open early in the second half by hitting its first five shots. The Horned Frogs fell to 8-6 and 0-3.

Kentucky 57, Mississippi 45--Junior forward Kenny Walker scored 24 of his game-high 28 points in the second half to lead the Wildcats to a Southeastern Conference victory at Jackson, Miss.

The 6-foot-8 Walker, who had only four points in the first half, scored 24 after the Wildcats broke an 18-18 halftime tie and went on to their seventh consecutive victory. Kentucky is 8-4 overall and 3-0 in the SEC. The Rebels are 6-6 overall and 0-4 in conference play.

Houston 83, Texas Tech 74--Reid Gettys had 11 assists to become the all-time Houston assist leader and guide the Cougars to a Southwest Conference victory at Houston.

Gettys has a career mark of 631 assists, breaking the Houston record of 629 set by Ken Ciolli from 1975-79.

Alvin Franklin finished with 24 points and Rickie Winslow had 21 on 9-of-9 shooting. Houston is 9-2 overall and 2-1 in the SWC. Tech dropped to 8-4 and 1-1.

Alabama 79, LSU 67--Terry Coner scored 22 points to lead the Crimson Tide past the Tigers in a Southeastern Conference game at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama (10-3 and 2-2) was led by Coner, followed by Buck Johnson with 16. LSU, 9-3 overall and 3-2 in the SEC, beat the Crimson Tide, 63-61, last month in Baton Rouge, La.

Duke 87, East Carolina 63--Mark Alarie scored 22 points to pace No. 2 Duke to a romp at Durham, N.C. The Blue Devils (11-0) played their reserves much of the way and pulled away in the second half. East Carolina (5-6) has never beaten Duke in 13 meetings.

Memphis State 90, Tennessee State 57--Reserve forward Willie Becton scored 19 points and 7-footer William Bedford added 18 to lead the Tigers, ranked fifth by UPI and sixth by AP, to their 10th win in 11 games. All 11 players on the Memphis State squad scored. Memphis State scored the first six points and built its lead to 42-19 at halftime.