College Basketball Roundup : Villanova Bounces Back and Beats Boston College

Villanova Coach Rollie Massimino said he was pleased with his team’s quick return to form in a 85-66 victory over Boston College Tuesday night at Villanova, just three days after a tough 52-50 overtime loss to top-ranked Georgetown.

Villanova limited Boston College to 39% shooting from the floor.

“They really responded well, especially on defense,” Massimino said. “The defense was excellent.”

Junior forward Harold Pressley scored 22 points and senior guard Gary McLain had a career-high 20 in leading Villanova, ranked 18th by Associated Press and 16th by United Press International, to victory in the Big East contest. Ed Pinckney had 12 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners.

Boston College Coach Gary Williams, whose team is ranked 15th by AP and 17th by UPI, lamented missed opportunities.

“I think we missed six layups in the first half,” he said. “You don’t get those shots very often, and you’ve got to take advantage when you can, but we didn’t.”

Villanova, which never trailed, raced to a 39-23 lead on a layup by McLain with 1:12 remaining in the first half. Boston College scored the final six points, four by Troy Bowers, to close to within 39-29 at the intermission and in the second half came within six points, at 57-51, before Villanova pulled away.

Roger McCready had 16 points for the Boston College, 11-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big East. Michael Adams, Boston College’s leading scorer, was held to eight points, half his season’s average.

Virginia 60, Penn 50--Olden Polynice scored 15 points and Mel Kennedy had 11 and sparking a second-half spurt that carried Virginia to the nonconference win at Philadelphia.

The Cavaliers (8-7) went scoreless for 7:24 during the first half while the Quakers (2-9) ran off 17 straight points on their way to a 30-28 halftime lead.

Virginia trailed, 37-31, before Kennedy scored five points during a 12-0 spurt.

La Salle 85, Manhattan 74--Seniors Steve Black and Ralph Lewis each scored 26 points and freshman Rich Tarr added 15 as La Salle won at Philadelphia to raise its record to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Manhattan, 4-10 and 0-4, was led by Tim Cain’s 25 points.

Dayton 53, Western Kentucky 51--Sedric Toney scored 16 points and Larry Schellenberg hit two clinching free throws with four seconds left at Dayton, Ohio, to lead the Flyers (11-3) to their eighth straight victory. Western Kentucky (9-5) was led by Kannard Johnson, with 13 points.

Weber State 90, USIU 51--Randy Worster scored 17 points and Weber State outrebounded USIU, 51-23, at Ogden, Utah, in running its record to 11-4. USIU is 1-15.