College Basketball Roundup : Michigan Rallies to Beat Georgia Tech, 49-44

Antoine Joubert scored 21 points, including a pair of free throws in the final minute, as No. 3-ranked Michigan rallied from 18% shooting in the first half to defeat No. 2 Georgia Tech, 49-44, in the seventh annual Hall of Fame Tip-Off game Saturday at Springfield, Mass.

Michigan finished with 31% shooting from the floor, while Georgia Tech managed only 30%.

Wolverine Coach Bill Frieder said: “It was a great game--maybe it didn’t look it to the public, but they don’t understand defense.”

But Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins said: “It was embarrassing. I’d like to apologize for our play. It’s probably the worst performance by any team I ever coached.

“That was not Mark Price, that was not the Georgia Tech basketball team. Something was missing. We’ve got to find out what it is.”

The Wolverines, who trailed most of the game and made only 4 of 22 field-goal attempts in the first half, rallied behind Joubert’s 14 second-half points.

The 6-5 junior forward, who hit 7 of 12 shots from the outside, gave the Wolverines the lead for good, 37-35, on a 12-foot jump shot with 5:04 left. With 56 seconds left, Joubert hit both ends of a one-and-one free-throw opportunity to give Michigan a 45-41 lead.

Said Joubert: “This was like an NBA game--very physical. There was a lot of bumping and getting knocked down. And we missed a lot of shots we normally make.”

Roy Tarpley, who hit only 1 of 8 shots in the first half, finished with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for Michigan (3-0).

Price, the Yellow Jackets’ offensive leader, managed just six points, hitting only 2 of 13 field-goal attempts. “Price put too much pressure on himself, trying to prove he’s the best guard in the country,” Cremins said.

Georgia Tech (1-1), which scored 119 points against South Carolina Aikens in its first game, connected on only 16 of 54 shots from the field. Tommy Hammonds, a 6-8 freshman who held Tarpley in check in the first half, led the Yellow Jackets with 14 points. John Salley had 10 points.

New Mexico 81, Oregon State 63--At Albuquerque, N.M., Johnny Brown scored a game-high 30 points as New Mexico (4-0) broke the NCAA’s field goal shooting percentage record against the Beavers (0-3).

The Lobos made 35 of 43 field-goal tries for 81.4%--breaking the previous record of 81%, set by Fresno State in 1977.

Brown hit 13 of 15 from the field and Kelvin Scarborough added 16 points on 5-for-5 field-goal shooting. New Mexico was only 11 of 21 from the free-throw line.

In the first half, New Mexico hit 18 of 21 shots (85.7%) and took a 40-26 lead.

New Mexico’s previous shooting high was 70% in a victory over Oregon State last year.

Washington St. 69, BYU 65--Keith Morrison scored 21 points and hit six foul shots in the final 21 seconds to lead Washington State at Provo, Utah. Brian Quinnett, who hit 10 of 15 from the field, had 22 points for the Cougars (2-1).

Oregon 74, Pacific 52--Sophomore guard Rick Osborn scored 15 points to pace a balanced Oregon attack at Eugene. Ten players scored for the Ducks (2-0).

California 88, UC San Diego 46--Junior guard Chris Washington scored 17 points to lead the Golden Bears (1-1) at Berkeley.

E. Washington 81, San Diego St. 79--Junior forward David Banks tipped in a missed shot with one second left in the second overtime to give Eastern Washington a victory over San Diego State and third place in the Sun Met tournament at Fresno. In the championship game, Fresno State defeated Louisiana Tech, 65-64.

Loyola Chicago 60, No. Carolina St. 58--Bernard Jackson’s 17-foot jump shot with 51 seconds left and his ensuing free throw broke a 54-54 tie as Loyola of Chicago knocked off No. 15 North Carolina State at Rosemont, Ill.

Carl Golston led Loyola with 18 points and Jackson finished with 15. Loyola is now 1-2 while North Carolina State fell to 2-1.

Ohio State 78, Maryland 66--Dennis Hopson scored 16 of his 18 points in the final 12:48, leading five Ohio State players in double figures as the Buckeyes (2-0) won at Columbus, Ohio. Len Bias scored 23 points for Maryland (2-1).

DePaul 63, No. Illinois 61--At Rockford, Ill., DePaul’s Dallas Comegys scored 28 points and put up the game-winner with 17 seconds left after grabbing an offensive rebound. The 6-9 junior hit 11 of 19 from the floor and had 10 rebounds.

Oklahoma 59, Illinois 57--Senior forward Anthony Bowie scored 19 points, including the game-winner with one second left, and senior guard Linwood Davis had 18 as the 13th-ranked Sooners upset No. 7 Illinois in the championship game of the Thanksgiving tournament at Honolulu.

Davis was named tournament Most Valuable Player.

Illinois shot 41% from the field, Oklahoma 43%. The Sooners are now 4-0, the Illini 2-1.

In the semifinals played Friday night, Oklahoma defeated Marshall, 81-70, and Illinois beat Hawaii Loa, 72-45.

Wisconsin 75, Marquette 74--Junior forward Rod Ripley, who scored 20 points in the second half, put in a basket and two free throws in the final seconds as the Badgers won at Madison, Wis.

Ripley wound up as Wisconsin’s leading scorer with 22 points. He hit 12 of 12 free throws.

The Badgers are 3-0, Marquette 1-1.

Indiana 89, Kent State 73--Steve Alford scored 24 points and Ricky Calloway added 23 to lead the Hoosiers to a season-opening victory at Bloomington, Ind.

Notre Dame 87, Butler 56--The Irish basketball team fared better at South Bend, Ind., than the football team did at Miami, Fla., as David Rivers scored 22 points to lead the No. 11-ranked Irish over Butler.

Notre Dame held a 54-26 advantage in rebounding.