San Diego State Moves Into Tie for Lead

San Diego State defeated Texas El Paso, 76-63, Thursday night at San Diego to move into a tie for first place in the Western Athletic Conference.

Both teams are 10-3 in conference play with three games left. The Aztecs are 20-5 overall, the Miners 18-7.

Senior center Leonard Allen scored 17 points and grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds to pace the Aztecs, who led, 68-52, with four minutes left. Guard Anthony Watson scored 25 points for the Aztecs. Forward Juden Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Miners.

BYU 77, Colorado State 69--Brigham Young scored 16 of its final 20 points on free throws to win the WAC game at Provo, Utah. Timo Saarelainen led the Cougars (14-10, 8-5) with 18 points. The Rams are 12-11, 4-7.

LSU 87, Tennessee 82--John Williams scored a game-high 23 points and Jerry (Ice) Reynolds added 18 as LSU overcame a 10-point, first-half deficit to win the Southeastern Conference game at Knoxville, Tenn.

The Tigers (15-7, 9-5) are in sole possession of second place in the SEC. It was the third straight loss at home for the Volunteers (15-10, 6-7). Earlier they had won 12 straight at home.

The Vols led at halftime, 44-38, but went ahead for good at 50-48 with 15:16 left to play. Fred Jenkins scored 22 points for Tennessee.

Syracuse 94, Seton Hall 62--Reserve Wendell Alexis scored 17 points at Syracuse, N.Y., as the No. 8-ranked Orangemen gave Coach Jim Boeheim his 200th career victory.

Boeheim joined a select group of five Division I coaches who have won their 200th game in 266 or fewer games. Since the 40-year-old former Syracuse player returned to coach in 1976, his record is 200-66. Adolph Rupp, the game’s winningest coach, was 200-53, Denny Crum 200-54, Jerry Tarkanian 200-58 and Hank Iba was 200-66.

The Orangemen are 18-4 overall and 8-4 in the Big East. The Pirates are 9-15, 0-13.

Michigan 56, Iowa 52--Roy Tarpley scored 21 points, including 17 in the first half, and Antoine Joubert hit a basket that put Michigan ahead for good late in the Big Ten game as the Wolverines won at Iowa City.

Michigan (19-3, 10-2) had to rally from a five-point deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes to win its 10th straight game. The Wolverines, in first place in the Big Ten, are ranked No. 3 and No. 7. Iowa, ranked No. 11, is 19-5, 8-3.

Greg Stokes led Iowa with 15 points and Gerry Wright had 14. Wright scored 12 of his points in the second half.

Ohio State 72, Indiana 63--Senior guard Ronnie Stokes had 17 points, including a 15-foot jumper in the first half to give Ohio State the lead for good, as the Buckeyes won the Big Ten game at Bloomington, Ind. The shot by Stokes broke a 13-13 tie at 14:35 in the first half.

Indiana’s Steve Alford was held to only seven points.

Junior center Brad Sellers had 16 points for Ohio State, including 12 in the second half. Troy Taylor had 14 points for the Buckeyes (15-6, 7-5). Indiana (14-8, 6-6) was led by Uwe Blab, who scored 28 points, and Stu Robinson, who had 18.

Illinois 64, Northwestern 42--Bruce Douglas scored 17 points and reserve Tony Wysinger added 10 at Champaign, Ill., as the Illini, ranked 15th and 17th, snapped a three-game losing streak. Illinois is 19-7 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten. Northwestern is 5-17, 1-11.

Purdue 67, Wisconsin 52--Wisconsin turned the ball over 20 times against a tight Purdue defense as the Boilermakers (16-6, 7-5) won the Big Ten game at West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue, led by Troy Lewis with 17 points, was ahead, 31-21, at the half. Top scorer for the Badgers (11-11, 2-10) was Rick Olson, who had 18 points.

Western Kentucky 67, South Florida 61--Western Kentucky outscored South Florida, 20-4, in the last 5:49 behind Tellis Frank and Billy Gordon to give the Hilltoppers a Sun Belt Conference victory at Bowling Green, Ky. Tellis Frank scored 18 points and Billy Gordon 12 for the Toppers (13-11, 4-7). The Bulls (14-9, 4-7) got 26 points from Charlie Bradley.