College Basketball Roundup : Minnesota Breaks Michigan’s 32-Game Streak

Marc Wilson scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half Thursday night as Minnesota stunned second-ranked Michigan, 73-63, in a Big Ten game at Minneapolis.

Michigan (16-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten), had its 32-game regular-season and 19-game conference winning streaks halted.

The Wolverines led, 35-34, with 15:18 left in the game when Wilson scored 15 points during a 25-12 Minnesota run that gave the Gophers a 60-46 lead with 6:33 to play. Michigan never came closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Todd Alexander scored 16 points for the Gophers (11-6, 1-3).

Minnesota secured the victory by making 15 of its 17 free throws in the closing minutes.

The Gophers threatened to run away with the game in the first half, scoring 10 straight points for a 24-14 lead. However, Michigan answered with another 10 straight for a 24-24 tie before Minnesota took a 30-26 halftime lead.

Wilson and Alexander outplayed the more heralded Michigan guards, Gary Grant and Antoine Joubert. Grant scored 19 points, Joubert 12.

Western Kentucky 75, Alabama Birmingham 72--Bill Gordon hit a 15-foot jumper with 18 seconds left in overtime to give the Hilltoppers a Sun Belt Conference upset of the 12th-ranked Blazers at Birmingham, Ala.

The Blazers (16-3, 4-1) held a 33-32 halftime lead but trailed most of the second half and forced overtime on an 18-foot jump shot by Steve Mitchell that tied the score, 66-66, with 1:25 left in regulation.

After Gordon’s shot, Kannard Johnson added a free throw for the Hilltoppers (12-3, 3-1) with three seconds left.

Mitchell scored 24 points for the Blazers.

Alabama 60, Auburn 56--Terry Coner made four free throws in the last 37 seconds, and the Crimson Tide denied the Tigers a share of the Southeastern Conference lead at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Coner, who had 18 points and 8 assists, hit both ends of one-and-one situations with 37 and 3 seconds left, and Alabama (10-4, 3-2) held off a rally by the Tigers (9-6, 3-2) in the final minutes.

Alabama’s win left idle Kentucky (4-1) alone in the SEC lead, with six teams at 3-2.

Chuck Person scored 23 points for Auburn, which trailed by six points with 8:23 left but made it close at the finish. Buck Johnson had 16 points and 12 rebounds for Alabama.

Duke 92, Wake Forest 63--David Henderson scored 17 points, and Johnny Dawkins added 14 as the third-ranked Blue Devils coasted past the Demon Deacons in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Durham, N.C.

The victory set up Saturday’s battle between Duke (16-0, 4-0) and unbeaten, top-ranked North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Mark Alarie scored 12 points, and Jay Bilas had 10 for Duke.

Mark Cline scored 15 points for Wake Forest (6-10, 0-4).

Purdue 85, Northwestern 64--The No. 19 Boilermakers scored 14 straight points early in the second half to pull away from the Wildcats in a Big Ten game at West Lafayette, Ind.

Leading, 35-30, at halftime, Purdue (15-3, 4-1) applied a trapping full-court press that forced Northwestern into numerous mistakes.

Troy Lewis and Todd Mitchell had 19 points each for Purdue, and Shon Morris scored 20 for the Wildcats (6-8, 0-4).

Illinois 73, Wisconsin 54--Glynn Blackwell scored 18 points, and the Illini broke a three-game Big Ten losing streak by turning back the Badgers at Champaign, Ill.

Blackwell made 9 of 11 shots from the field for the Illini (11-5, 2-3), who raced to a 33-22 halftime lead. Wisconsin (9-5, 1-3) cut the lead to 39-34 with a 12-4 burst early in the second half, but Bruce Douglas hit two straight shots, and Anthony Welch added a three-point play as Illinois regained control.

Bradley 78, West Texas State 53--Sophomore guard Hersey Hawkins scored 21 points to lead the 20th-ranked Braves past the Buffaloes in a Missouri Valley Conference game at Peoria, Ill.

The Braves (17-1, 4-0) made 63% of their shots in the first half while building a 34-25 lead. Bradley had leads of up to 30 points by making 75% of its shots after halftime to finish at 68%.

William Childs had 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Buffaloes (8-7, 2-3).

Iowa 82, Michigan State 71--Gerry Wright scored 19 points, and ex-Michigan prep stars Roy Marble and Bill Jones had 18 and 13 points, respectively, as the Hawkeyes beat the Spartans in a Big Ten game at Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes (13-4, 3-1), who led, 34-29, at halftime, dominated the Spartans (11-4, 2-3) inside through the early part of the second half to open a 20-point lead.