College Basketball Roundup : Jenkins Rallies Tennessee Past No. 10 Illinois, 54-51

Junior guard Fred Jenkins, hitting 8 of 14 shots, scored 21 points and made 3 key steals as Tennessee rallied for a 54-51 win over 10th-ranked Illinois Tuesday night in a nonconference game at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and took its first lead since the opening basket when 6-foot-5 freshman Elvin Brown hit a short jumper with 6:19 remaining to put the Volunteers up, 46-45.

Illinois, which was led by Tony Wysinger’s 14 points and Anthony Welch’s eight rebounds, failed to score during a 5:21 cold streak late in the game and never regained the lead after Brown’s jumper.

Bruce Douglas, the Illini’s 6-3 senior guard, put a rebound back in with 1:30 left to cut Tennessee’s lead to 52-51.

After a miss by each side, there was a scramble for a loose ball at midcourt, and the ball was given to Tennessee on the alternate possession rule.

After three time outs--two by Illinois and one by Tennessee--for strategy, Brown tossed the ball inbounds to Mark Griffin, who hit Rob Jones for a dunk to provide the final margin.

The win lifted the Volunteers’ to 3-1. The Illini fell to 5-2.

Indiana 78, Kansas State 71--Guard Steve Alford, returning to the lineup after a one-game suspension by the NCAA, scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half at Bloomington, Ind., as the 18th-ranked Hoosiers raised their record to 3-1. Alford sank four free throws in the final 36 seconds to ice the Hoosier victory.

Indiana trailed, 46-36, with 17:34 to play after Joe Wright hit a layup for the Wildcats (4-2). But the Hoosiers outscored Kansas State, 21-10, in the next 3 1/2 minutes, grabbing their first lead, 57-56, since midway in the first half.

Alford, the team’s leading scorer at 28 points a game, sat out Saturday’s 63-58 loss at Kentucky after being suspended. His picture had been used, in violation of NCAA rules, in a calendar that was being sold to raise money for a summer camp for girls.

Alabama Birmingham 62, Auburn 56--Guard James Ponder scored 14 points and three other Alabama Birmingham figures hit double figures as the 16th-ranked Blazers downed Auburn in a nonconference game at Birmingham, Ala.

Michael Charles had 12 points, Steve Mitchell 11 and Jerome Mincy had 10 points and 8 rebounds for the Blazers (6-1). Auburn (3-3) was led by Chuck Person with 17 points and Frank Ford with 12.

Louisville 88, Iona 75--Freshman center Pervis Ellison scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to ignite No. 15 Louisville to a runaway victory at Louisville, Ky.

The victory raised Louisville’s record to 4-2. Iona slipped to 2-4.

Holding a slim 32-30 lead after a sluggish first half, Louisville uncorked its running game and took advantage of its superior height to put the game away early in the second half.

Virginia Tech 84, Virginia 66--Bobby Beecher scored all 17 of his points in the second half and keyed a 22-8 run that put Virginia Tech in control as the Hokies hammered the Atlantic Coast Conference Cavaliers at Roanoke, Va.

Virginia Tech improved to 6-1 while the Cavaliers dropped to 4-2. It was only the second time in the last 12 games between the two teams that the Hokies had won.

Virginia played without Coach Terry Holland, who became ill before the game and was taken to the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was diagnosed as having an acute viral infection.

Iowa State 74, Iowa 61--The Cyclones, led by Jeff Grayer’s 22 points, hit Iowa with a 20-3 first-half blitz, then held off a late rally by the Hawkeyes to prevail at Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones scored 10 of the 20 points after steals and got another two baskets on fast break layups.

Iowa State sent its record to 5-1 with its third straight victory over Iowa, the first time the Cyclones have ever accomplished that feat. Iowa is 6-2.

Delta State 56, Mississippi State 53--Delta State used a pressure defense to defeat the Bulldogs for the first time in 15 meetings in basketball in this upset at Starkville, Miss.

The Statesmen are 6-1. Mississippi State, coached by former USC Coach Bob Boyd, is 2-2. The Bulldogs were plagued by cold shooting as they hit only 21 of 54 attempts for 38.9%.