College Basketball Roundup : Mullin Tops 2,000; St. John’s Wins

Chris Mullin became the first St. John’s player to reach the 2,000-point career mark Wednesday night, but afterward, he shrugged off the achievement.

“It doesn’t really mean anything. The biggest thing was that we won the game,” the 6-6 senior said after scoring 29 points as the third-ranked Redmen extended their winning streak to nine with an 82-80 overtime victory over Syracuse before a sellout crowd of 19,591 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Mullin had five of his points in overtime after teammate Walter Berry sent the game into the extra session by scoring with one second remaining to make it 72-72.

“I think the people who saw this game got their money’s worth five times,” St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca said. “I had a feeling these kids would come back.”

Syracuse guard Dwayne (Pearl) Washington, who had been listed as a doubtful starter because of a swollen ankle, played 41 minutes and hit 9 of 16 from the field in pacing the Orangemen with 26 points.

The victory gave St. John’s a 14-1 overall record and a 6-0 conference mark heading into Saturday’s game against top-ranked Georgetown. Syracuse, ranked No. 11 by AP and No. 12 by UPI, fell to 11-3 and 3-3.

Villanova 65, Providence 57

Senior Dwayne McClain scored 18 points in leading the Wildcats (13-4, 5-2) to the Big East Conference victory at Philadelphia.

Only a late 10-2 spurt made the final score close for Providence (8-10, 1-5).

Oklahoma 81, Iowa St.

74--Wayman Tisdale, bed-ridden by the flu for two days earlier in the week, scored eight straight points late in the game to rally the Sooners, ranked seventh by UPI and ninth by AP, past the Cyclones in a Big Eight Conference game at Ames, Iowa.

Tisdale did not start but played all except four minutes in the game, finishing with 20 points, as Oklahoma racked up its 16th straight Big Eight victory, three short of Kansas State’s record for consecutive league wins.

Oklahoma is 14-4 overall and 3-0 in the league, while Iowa State, the last team to beat the Sooners in a conference game, fell to 13-5 and 1-2.

Memphis St. 74, Florida St. 69

Vincent Askew scored 16 points and snared seven rebounds as the fourth-ranked Tigers (14-1, 4-1) held off the Seminoles in Metro Conference play at Tallahassee, Fla.

Illinois 84, Ohio State 66

The sixth-ranked Illini held the Buckeyes to their lowest output all season to climb into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten at Champaign, Ill.

Illinois (16-4, 5-2) leads second-place Michigan by a half-game in the conference. Ohio State (11-4, 3-3) was led by Troy Taylor’s 17 points.

Southern Methodist 54, Texas 46

The Longhorns tried to control the tempo in an effort to stop the second-ranked Mustangs but failed to hit enough baskets to make the scheme work in the Southwest Conference game at Austin, Tex.

Olympian Jon Koncak of SMU led all scorers with 18 points. The 7-foot senior also pulled down 10 rebounds and scored three consecutive field goals in the last five minutes.

SMU improved its record to 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the SWC, while Texas fell to 10-7 and 3-4.

Mississippi St. 82, Tennessee 66

The Bulldogs gave Coach Bob Boyd his 300th career victory as they took sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference with the win at Starkville, Miss.

Chauncey Robinson scored a career-high 23 points, and reserve Ervin Dillon added 14 as Mississippi State improved its record to 9-7 overall, 5-2 in conference play. Tennessee, which came in tied for the conference lead, fell to 13-6 and 4-3.

Georgetown 79, Connecticut 66

Bill Martin scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the pivotal second half, and Reggie Williams added 18 points to lead the top-ranked Hoyas to the Big East win at Landover, Md.

The victory improved the Hoyas’ record to 18-0, 7-0 in the Big East.

Connecticut, which entered the game off an upset of Syracuse, fell to 6-8 and 2-4, despite getting 18 points from guard Earl Kelley.

Georgia Tech 64, Clemson 59

Guard Mark Price and center Yvon Joseph went to the foul line in the closing 17 seconds to thwart a Clemson rally and give the Yellow Jackets the Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Clemson, S.C.

The win made up for an earlier loss to Clemson at Atlanta and gave Tech, ranked 16th by AP and 17th by UPI, a 14-3 overall record and a 3-2 ACC mark. Clemson is 10-6 overall and 2-4 in the conference.

N. Carolina St. 89, Duke 71

Lorenzo Charles scored 20 points, while Spud Webb and Ernie Myers added 18 points apiece to lead the Wolfpack over the fifth-ranked Blue Devils in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Raleigh, N.C.

The victory improved the Wolfpack’s record to 11-5 and 3-3. The Blue Devils have lost three of their last four, all within the ACC, to fall to 13-3 and 3-3.

Georgia 81, Kentucky 73

The Wildcats lost to the Bulldogs for only the 11th time in 81 meetings and also lost a share of the Southeastern Conference lead in the game at Athens, Ga.

It was the fourth victory in a row for the Bulldogs, 12-4 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. Kentucky, losing for the third time in four games, fell to 9-7 and 4-3.