College Basketball : Hoyas Defeat Syracuse

The second-ranked Georgetown Hoyas, led by Patrick Ewing, left little doubt that they are the nation’s best team by defeating Syracuse, 90-63, in a Big East Conference game Sunday before a capacity crowd of 19,035 at Landover, Md.

Ewing, who had 15 points, 5 dunks, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, keyed a 10-point explosion in the first half that turned the game into a runaway.

Georgetown, which figures to move up to No. 1 this week since it beat No. 1 St. John’s by 16 points last Wednesday, will play Connecticut in the opening round of the Big East tournament on Thursday.

The defending national champion Hoyas, winners of nine straight, finished the regular season at 27-2 overall and 14-2 in the Big East. St. John’s won the regular-season conference championship with a 15-1 record. Georgetown’s only two losses were to Syracuse and St. John’s. The Hoyas lost to the Orangemen, 65-63, on Jan. 28.

Syracuse, ranked No. 12 in both wire-service polls, finished in a third-place tie with Villanova in the Big East at 9-7. A coin flip conducted after Sunday’s game determined the Orangemen’s first-round opponent in the Big East tournament will be Boston College.

Syracuse, which was led by Dwayne Washington’s 19 points, has lost three of its last four games and is now 20-7 overall.

David Wingate led Georgetown in scoring with 17 points, and Reggie Williams added 16.

Oklahoma 87, Georgia Tech 80--Oklahoma’s Wayman Tisdale scored 28 points as the sixth-ranked Sooners overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to win a nonconference game at Norman, Okla.

Big Eight champion Oklahoma won its 32nd game in a row at home and improved to 25-5 overall. Georgia Tech, co-champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranked 10th and 13th in the polls, dropped to 21-7.

Oklahoma trailed, 72-60, with 7:58 to play after Georgia Tech, behind Mark Price and Duane Ferrell, ran off an 18-6 spurt. But in the next 4:06, the Sooners outscored Georgia Tech 13-0 to grab a 73-72 lead with 3:52 remaining.

Darryl Kennedy scored 22 points and Anthony Bowie had 14 for the Sooners. Georgia Tech got 20 points from Price.

Notre Dame 57, Washington 50--The Irish, shaking off a horrendous start, hit seven of their first eight shots from the field in the second half at South Bend, Ind., as Coach Digger Phelps recorded his 300th collegiate victory.

The Irish (18-8) shot only 28% in the first half, but led, 29-26, mainly because of 13-of-17 foul shooting and 11 Washington turnovers.

Freshman David Rivers led Notre Dame with 21 points. Detlef Schrempf led Washington (20-9) with 18 points.

Houston 79, SMU 76--Greg Anderson scored 20 points and Alvin Franklin, who made four free throws in the final 38 seconds, added 16 as the Cougars came from behind to win in a Southwest Conference game at Houston.

The same two teams will meet next Friday night in the first round of the SWC tournament.

SMU, once ranked No. 2, lost six of its last nine games to finish 21-8 overall and 10-6 in the SWC. The Mustangs slipped back into a tie for second place in the SWC with Arkansas and Texas A&M.; The Cougars finished at 16-12, 8-8.

Iowa 70, Indiana 50--At Iowa City, Greg Stokes scored 16 points, 11 in the first half, to lead the Hawkeyes over the Hoosiers, who played without suspended Coach Bob Knight. Knight was absent after being handed a one-game suspension for throwing a chair across the court Feb. 23 during a loss to Purdue.

Assistant coach Jim Crews, a member of the 1976 Indiana national championship team, directed the Hoosiers in Knight’s absence.

Indiana shot only 38%, the seventh time in 11 games they have shot below 50%. Steve Alford and Steve Eyl each scored 12 points to pace the Hoosiers. Center Uwe Blab was held to only six points, 10 below his average.

Iowa is now 21-8 overall, 10-6 in the Big Ten. Indiana, losing for the fourth time in five games, fell to 15-11, 7-9.

Alford said Knight’s suspension was a psychological blow to the team. “It definitely had an effect,” he said. “We weren’t playing well and the coach’s suspension just added to our frustration.”

Maryland 60, Virginia 55--Adrian Branch scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to lead the Terrapins at Charlottesville, Va., in the final ACC regular-season game for both schools.

The Terrapins (23-10, 8-6) finished in a tie for fourth place in the ACC with Duke. The Cavaliers finished at 15-14, 3-11.

Va. Commonwealth 87, Old Dominion 82--With the five starters accounting for all 87 points and hitting 27-of-29 free throws, the Rams defeated the Monarchs in the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament at Hampton, Va.

The Rams (25-5) shot 58% from the field, and Old Dominion 62%. Old Dominion is 19-11.

Rolando Lamb scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Rams, with Michael Brown adding 19. The Monarchs’ Mark Davis led all scorers with 23 points.