College Basketball Roundup : Irish, Digger Bury a Few Demons, 70-54

David Rivers scored 24 points, and Ken Barlow added 18 to lead Notre Dame to a 70-54 victory over cold-shooting DePaul in a nationally televised game Saturday at Rosemont, Ill., ending a six-game Irish losing streak against the Blue Demons.

Reserve Joseph Price added 11 for the Irish (9-1), who had not won at DePaul since the 1976-77 season. It also marked the first time since that year that the Blue Demons (9-4) have lost two games at home in the same season. Notre Dame had not defeated DePaul since 1980, when the Irish beat the Blue Demons, 76-74, in a double-overtime game at South Bend, Ind.

Freshman guard Rod Strickland paced the Blue Demons with 14 points and Dallas Comegys added 12, but DePaul could not overcome a poor shooting effort against a tough Notre Dame defense.

The Irish took a 15-point lead, 48-33, with 14:24 left in the game after outscoring DePaul, 8-1, in a three-minute stretch early in the second half.

Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps said: “We thought we would have emotion on our side and we just knew it was time to stop losing to DePaul. Forget the margin of the game. We would have taken a one-point win.”

Said DePaul Coach Joey Meyer: “They had good perimeter shooting, and Rivers was too much. We thought if we could hold them under 50% shooting, we would have a chance. We didn’t.”

Notre Dame shot 59% to only 38% for DePaul. The Irish also outrebounded the Blue Demons, 37-29.

St. John’s 79, Georgetown 74--Walter Berry scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds at Madison Square Garden as the Redmen raised their record to 15-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big East.

“Walter is a perfect example of a guy who knows his time has come,” Georgetown Coach John Thompson said. “He’s the man now, and with his shot selection, it’s very difficult to defend him.”

St. John’s led, 30-26, at halftime and led by 10 points four times in the second half in front of a crowd of 19,591.

Reggie Williams had 25 points and 9 rebounds for the Hoyas who dropped to 11-3 and 2-2. Willie Glass (SJ) 17; Shelton Jones (SJ) 16; Horace Broadnax (G) 14.

Syracuse 78, Pittsburgh 68--After their 17-point halftime lead was whittled to four points, the Orangemen (11-0, 4-0) went on an 11-0 tear to put away the Panthers (10-3 and 2-2) before 32,054 fans at Syracuse. Wendell Alexis (S) 21; Demetreus Gore (P) 21; Curtis Aiken (P) 16; Rafael Addison (S) 15.

Connecticut 80, Boston College 69--Earl Kelley scored 25 points and Phil Gamble added 20 as the Huskies (9-3, 1-2) turned back the Eagles (10-4, 2-2) at Storrs, Conn. Dan Barros (BC) 19.

Villanova 78, Providence 77--Kenny Wilson hit two free throws with 19 seconds left in the second overtime at Providence, R.I., as the Wildcats (10-7, 2-1) handed the Friars (8-6, 0-3) their fifth straight loss. Harold Pressley (V) 17; Mark Planski (V) 16; David Kipfer (P) 15.

Georgia Tech 68, Maryland 67--Mark Price hit a game-winning 20-footer with 24 seconds left at Atlanta as the Yellow Jackets, after squandering a 21-point lead in the first half, tied a school record with their 13th straight win.

Price had 24 points for Georgia Tech which is 14-1 overall, 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maryland is 10-4 and 0-2. Len Bias (M) 26; Derrick Lewis (M) 16.

Duke 74, North Carolina State 64--Mark Alarie scored 24 points and Johnny Dawkins added 17 at Durham, N.C., as the Blue Devils raised their record to 14-0 and 3-0, the best start in school history. Ernie Meyers had 16 points for the Wolfpack (9-5, 1-2).

North Carolina 89, Wake Forest 65--Brad Daugherty had 31 points (12 of 18 shots) and 14 rebounds at Greensboro, N.C., as the top-ranked Tar Heels raised their records to 16-0 and 4-0. Mike Scott had 17 points for Wake Forest (6-9, 0-4).

Michigan 75, Purdue 71--The Wolverines (16-0, 4-0 in the Big Ten) scored six straight points after the Boilermakers (14-3, 3-1) closed to 63-61 with 2:32 left at Ann Arbor, Mich. It was the first loss in 10 games for Purdue, which was outrebounded, 41-26. Troy Lewis (P) 20; Roy Tarpley (M) 18.

Indiana 80, Wisconsin 69--Steve Alford scored a career-high 38 points, hitting 17 of 25 shots, as the Hoosiers (10-4, 2-2) breezed past the Badgers (9-4, 1-2) at Madison, Wis. Shelton Smith (W) 19; Rick Olson (W) 16.

Iowa 75, Minnesota 62--Freshman forward Roy Marble had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore center Al Lorenzen had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawkeyes (12-4, 2-1) at Iowa City, Iowa. Kevin Smith and John Shasky each had 18 points for the Gophers (10-6, 0-3).

Ohio State 79, Northwestern 77--Dennis Hopson scored 18 points, including a clutch jumper with 51 seconds left in overtime, as the Buckeyes (9-4, 3-1) survived a scare by the Wildcats (6-7, 0-3) at Evanston, Ill. Shon Morris (N) 20.

Kentucky 76, Alabama 52--Kenny Walker had 24 points for the Wildcats, who held high-scoring Tide forward Buck Johnson to 10 points at Lexington, Ky. Kentucky is 12-3 and 3-1 in the Southeastern Conference; Alabama 9-4 and 2-2.

Tennessee 88, LSU 77--Junior guard Tony White scored 34 points as the Volunteers (9-4, 2-2) overcame a 43-39 halftime deficit at Knoxville, Tenn. It was the second loss in three days for the previously unbeaten Tigers (14-2, 2-2). LSU’s John Williams, who scored 13 points in the first half, fouled out with 10 minutes left in the game.

Mississippi 79, Florida 67--Eric Smith scored 29 points at Oxford, Miss., as Ole Miss (8-5, 1-3) handed the Gators (8-4, 3-1) their first conference loss. Vernon Maxwell (F) 28; Roderick Barnes (M) 25 and 11 rebounds; Joe Lawrence (F) 19.

Texas A&M; 64, TCU 60--Todd Holloway hit a jumper with 37 seconds left as the Aggies, 8-6 and 3-0 in the Southwest Conference, turned back the Horned Frogs (11-4, 3-1) at College Station, Tex. Donnie Marbury (A&M;) 16; Carl Lott (TCU) 15.

Texas 65, Baylor 40--Patrick Fairs scored 19 points at Austin, Tex., as the Longhorns (9-6, 4-0) routed the Bears (8-7, 0-4), who made only three baskets in the first half committed 22 turnovers in the game.

Texas Tech 48, Arkansas 46--Tony Benford hit an eight-footer, his third game-winning shot in three conference games, with eight seconds left as the Red Raiders (8-6, 3-0) kept the Razorbacks (8-6, 0-4) winless in the conference at Fayetteville, Ark. Arkansas’ Mike Ratliff hit a 30-footer with two seconds left but was called for traveling. Benford led all scorers with 19 points.

BYU 82, San Diego State 70--Bob Capener scored 21 points for the Cougars, who used a 9-0 spurt to take a 42-29 halftime lead at Provo, Utah. BYU is 9-9 and 2-2 in the Western Athletic Conference; San Diego State 3-11 and 2-2. Anthony Watson (SDS) 22; John Martens (SDS) 16; Bobby Owens (SDS) 14.