College Basketball Roundup : Henderson’s Buzzer Shot Saves Michigan, 61-59

Reserve Robert Henderson hit a double-pump, 16-foot shot at the buzzer Wednesday night, and second-ranked Michigan escaped with a 61-59 Big Ten victory over Illinois at Ann Arbor, Mich.

The No. 18-ranked Illini (10-4, 1-2) tied the score on a steal and layup by Bruce Douglas with eight seconds to play, capping a comeback from a 42-28 halftime deficit.

Michigan (15-0, 3-0) worked the ball to the 6-9 Henderson, who pumped, looked to pass and finally shot from the left side just before the buzzer.

Ken Norman scored 19 points to lead the Illini comeback.

Roy Tarpley scored 16 points for the Wolverines but had only two in the second half. Henderson had 12 points, 10 in the first half.

Glynn Blackwell scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, and Douglas added 12 for Illinois.

Kentucky 75, Mississippi 58--Kenny Walker scored 31 points, and the 11th-ranked Wildcats turned back the Rebels in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky.

The Rebels (7-5, 0-3), who have not won a game at Lexington since 1927, were led by Roderick Barnes with 15 points.

Mississippi pulled even, 32-32, with 17:55 left and went ahead, 36-34, with 15:02 remaining when Walker was called for goaltending on Barnes’ jumper.

Kentucky (11-2, 2-1) regained the lead on back-to-back baskets by Walker and a 16-4 spurt put the Wildcats ahead, 52-40, with 9:17 left.

Georgetown 70, Connecticut 66--Reggie Williams and Michael Jackson each scored 16 points to lead the 13th-ranked Hoyas past the Huskies in a Big East game that included a bench-clearing brawl in the second half at Landover, Md.

The fight erupted four minutes into the second half after Connecticut (8-3, 0-2) cut an 11-point halftime deficit to 40-37. Williams and Connecticut’s Gerry Besslink, warned for excessive bumping in the first half, battled for a rebound under the Georgetown basket and came up swinging. After both benches emptied, Besslink and Georgetown center Ralph Dalton were ejected for fighting.

After the fight, Connecticut got within 46-44 with 12 minutes left before Georgetown (11-2, 2-1) ran off a 14-5 streak to pull away at 59-49 with 8:23 remaining.

Syracuse 90, Fairfield 67--Rafael Addison and Wendell Alexis scored 14 points apiece, and the No. 4 Orangemen romped past the Stags at Hartford, Conn., for their 12th victory without a defeat.

Tony George scored 22 points for Fairfield (8-4), which had a six-game winning streak halted.

Georgia Tech 72, Wake Forest 58--Duane Ferrell scored 16 points as the fifth-ranked Yellow Jackets handled the Demon Deacons in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Atlanta for their 11th straight victory.

Ferrell scored the game’s first five points to give Tech (12-1, 2-0) a lead it never relinquished. Mark Cline scored 14 points for Wake Forest (6-8, 0-3).

Duke 84, St. Louis 58--Mark Alarie scored 21 points, and Johnny Dawkins had 20 as the third-ranked Blue Devils routed the Billikens at Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils (13-0) scored the first 13 points and the Billikens (6-6) never got closer than six as Duke equaled its best start ever, at the outset of the 1935-36 season.

Oklahoma 109, Denver 64--Anthony Bowie scored 24 points, and Darryl Kennedy added 22 as the seventh-ranked Sooners trounced the Pioneers at Norman, Okla.

The Sooners (14-0) won their 41st straight game at home. Stan Adams had 14 points for Denver (6-9).

Virginia Tech 88, Southern Mississippi 72--Dell Curry scored 24 points and the 19th-ranked Hokies opened their Metro Conference season by beating the Golden Eagles at Blacksburg, Va.

Keith Colbert added 18 points for the Hokies (12-2), while sophomore Randolph Keys had 24 points and nine rebounds for Southern Mississippi (8-5, 0-2).

Florida 86, Vanderbilt 55--Andrew Moten scored 19 points to lead the Gators past the Commodores in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla.

Vernon Maxwell scored 14 points, all in the second half, and Pat Lawrence had 12 for Florida (8-3, 3-0). Barry Goheen scored 12 for Vanderbilt (8-5, 1-2).

Texas A&M; 73, SMU 61--Todd Holloway scored 26 points, and the Aggies surprised the Mustangs in an Southwest Conference game at Dallas.

Don Marbury added 23 points for the Aggies (8-6, 2-0). Kevin Lewis had 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Mustangs (10-3, 2-1).