College Basketball Roundup : Pittsburgh Topples Georgetown, 80-76

Curtis Aiken scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half as Pittsburgh built a 14-point lead on its home court Thursday night and held on to hand 11th-ranked Georgetown its second consecutive loss, 80-76, in a Big East Conference opener.

The Hoyas (9-2) pulled within 76-72 in the final minute, but Reggie Williams missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and Michael Jackson missed two free throws to halt the comeback.

“I was very pleased with the way our kids played,” Georgetown Coach John Thompson said. “We never gave up. We missed a few crucial free throws at the end, but as long as the kids work hard, that is fine with me.

“We’re not ready to fold up our tents yet.”

Demetreus Gore scored 20 points, including half of Pitt’s points in a 16-4 scoring run at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second. The spurt gave the Panthers a 42-34 lead with 16:38 to play.

Pitt (9-2) led, 63-49, with 7:02 to play when Aiken hit a 15-footer.

Georgetown, which lost at Texas El Paso, 78-64, last Friday, was led by Michael Jackson’s 19 points. Ralph Dalton added 14 and David Wingate had 12.

Michigan 74, Indiana 69--Gary Grant scored 21 points at Bloomington, Ind., as the second-ranked Wolverines won their 29th straight regular-season game by fighting off the No. 15 Hoosiers on opening night in the Big Ten.

Roy Tarpley scored 20 points for Michigan (13-0), which held off Indiana (8-3) by scoring its last seven points on free throws.

Two free throws by freshman Rick Calloway, who finished with 17 points, pulled the Hoosiers to within 71-67 with half a minute to play. Antoine Joubert hit four free throws to seal the victory for Michigan.

Steve Alford had 20 points for Indiana.

Syracuse 68, Boston College 52--Wendell Alexis scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half and the fourth-ranked Orangemen overpowered the Eagles in the Big East game at Syracuse.

The Orangemen (9-0) trailed, 31-26, at halftime, but outscored the Eagles, 42-21, after intermission to hand Boston College (8-3) its second straight loss.

Dominic Pressley scored 21 points for the the Eagles. Rony Seikaly had 15 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks for Syracuse.

St. John’s 95, Providence 90--Walter Berry scored 35 points, including a pair of free throws to tie the score with one second left in regulation, and the 10th-ranked Redmen pulled out an overtime victory over the Friars in the Big East game at Providence, R.I.

Berry’s free throws tied the score at 86-86 after Providence (8-3) took the lead with three seconds left on Billy Donovan’s 18-foot jumper. Berry, who also had 12 rebounds, was fouled by Donovan on the inbounds pass.

Mark Jackson scored six points and Berry added three in overtime, when St. John’s (13-1) outscored Providence, 9-4.

Purdue 76, Iowa 73--Troy Lewis scored 24 points and Doug Lee added 16 as the Boilermakers rallied to beat the Hawkeyes in overtime in the Big Ten game at West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers (12-2) trailed by nine points with 9:21 left in the second half but tied the score at 68-68 on Lewis’ 10-foot jumper with one second left in regulation.

Iowa (10-4) led, 71-70, in overtime, but Purdue took the lead for good on two free throws by Todd Mitchell. Lewis added a basket and Lee made two free throws to put away the victory.

LSU 85, Georgia 73--Nikita Wilson scored 19 points, 13 in the second half, to lead the eighth-ranked Tigers past the Bulldogs at Baton Rouge, La., on opening night in the Southeastern Conference.

Wilson helped the Tigers hold off a second-period surge by the Bulldogs (7-3), who pulled within 53-50 with 12:02 remaining. LSU (13-0) went on an 8-1 surge to put away the game.

Illinois 76, Minnesota 57--Tony Wysinger scored 19 points to lead the 14th-ranked Illini past the Gophers in the Big Ten game at Champaign, Ill.

For Illinois (10-2), it was the 31st straight home-court victory, one short of the school record.

Marc Wilson scored 15 points for Minnesota (10-4).

Alabama 71, Mississippi State 62--The Crimson Tide made 9 of 10 free throws in overtime to sink the Bulldogs in the SEC game at Starkville, Miss.

Alabama (8-2) led by seven points several times in the second half, but Mississippi State (3-7) rallied to tie the game at 68-68 in the final seconds on a jump shot by Mark Peters.

Ohio State 84, Michigan State 73--Dennis Hopson scored 32 points and Brad Sellers added 22 as the Buckeyes turned back the Wolverines in the Big Ten game at Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State (7-3) pulled away in the second half as Sellers, a 7-foot senior, hit four consecutive shots and the Buckeyes turned a 62-57 lead into 71-59 advantage.

Scott Skiles had 33 points for Michigan State (9-2).

SMU 71, Arkansas 66--The Mustangs made their last 12 free-throw attempts to hold off the Razorbacks at Fayetteville, Ark., on opening night in the Southwest Conference.

The Mustangs (9-2) hit 18 of 20 free throws in the second half, 12 in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

Kevin Lewis had 19 points for the Mustangs and Byron Irvin scored 13 for the Razorbacks (8-3).

Villanova 62, Seton Hall 56--Freshman forward Doug West scored eight points in the final 4:19 to rally the defending national champion Wildcats past the Pirates in the Big East game at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Wildcats (8-6) have 11 straight wins over the Pirates (9-5).

TCU 66, Rice 64--Greg Grissom had 15 points and Norman Anderson 14 to lead the Horned Frogs past the Owls in the SWC game at Fort Worth.

The Frogs (9-3) led all the way, but needed a 15-foot jump shot from Jamie Dixon and a free throw by Larry Richard in the last 23 seconds to outlast Rice (6-5).

Vanderbilt 81, Mississippi 70--Darrell Dulaney scored 17 points to lead the Commodores past the Rebels in the SEC game at Oxford, Miss.

Vanderbilt (7-3) broke away from a 32-32 halftime tie by scoring five points in the first 14 seconds and shot 62% from the field in the second half.

Curtis Ritchwood had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Ole Miss (7-3).

Florida 77, Tennessee 75--Andrew Moten scored 26 points and the Gators hit 9 of 11 free throws in overtime to edge the Volunteers in the SEC game at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee (7-3) twice missed the front end of 1-and-1 free throws in overtime. Vernon Maxwell 24 points for the Gators (6-3).

Texas A&M; 62, Baylor 48--Winston Crite had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Aggies past the Bears in the Southwest Conference game at College Station, Tex.

The Aggies (7-6) also got 14 points from Don Marbury. Brandon Taylor had 14 points and 9 rebounds for Baylor (8-4).

Texas El Paso 69, BYU 64--Jeep Jackson scored the final four points to give the Miners an overtime victory over the Cougars in a Western Athletic Conference opener at El Paso, Tex.

The Miners (12-1) built several nine-point leads in the second half, but BYU (3-8) pulled even, 59-59, on Jeff Chatman’s basket with two seconds left.

San Diego State 69, Air Force 50--Anthony Watson scored 16 points to lead the Aztecs (2-9) past the Cadets (6-6) in the WAC opener at San Diego.