College Basketball Roundup : Kentucky Edges LSU, 54-52, on Harden’s Basket at Buzzer

Roger Harden hit a 20-foot jumper at the buzzer to give No. 8-ranked Kentucky a 54-52 Southeastern Conference victory over 17th-ranked LSU Wednesday night at Baton Rogue, La.

Harden wasn’t at all surprised.

“I knew I was going to shoot the minute I got my hands on it,” he said. “To be honest, I knew it was down the minute it left my hands.”

LSU (16-4 overall, 4-4 in the SEC) appeared to have sent the game into overtime when Derrick Taylor sank a 20-footer to tie the score with three seconds left.

The Tigers played without forwards Nikita Wilson and John Williams. Wilson lost an appeal of his academic ineligibility earlier Wednesday, and Williams is convalescing from chicken pox.

Kentucky (17-2, 8-1) had a chance to wrap up the game with 18 seconds left, but Winston Bennett made only one of two free throws for a 52-50 lead.

Georgia Tech 67, North Carolina State 54--Mark Price scored 20 points, and the third-ranked Yellow Jackets beat the Wolfpack in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Raleigh, N.C.

Tech (17-2, 6-1) trailed, 16-8, after 16 1/2 minutes but took a 33-29 halftime lead, and the Wolfpack (13-6, 5-3) never caught up.

Chris Washburn scored 18 points for N.C. State. John Salley and Duane Ferrell added 14 points each for the Yellow Jackets.

Duke 89, Clemson 78--Mark Alarie scored 29 points, and Johnny Dawkins added 26 as the fifth-ranked Blue Devils turned back the Tigers in an ACC game at Durham, N.C.

The Blue Devils (19-2, 6-2) shot 70% from the floor in the first half to build a 51-34 lead, but they nearly let Clemson (14-6, 2-4) back into the game by hitting just two field goals in the last two minutes. Glen McCants and Larry Middleton had 20 points each for Clemson.

St. John’s 81, Villanova 61--Walter Berry had 28 points and 11 rebounds as the seventh-ranked Redmen ran away from the Wildcats in the final minutes of a Big East game at New York.

The victory was the sixth straight for the Redmen (20-2, 7-1), who moved into a first-place tie with Syracuse.

Villanova (14-9, 5-3) was hanging tough at 61-57 with 7:36 left when St. John’s broke open the game with a 14-2 surge.

Notre Dame 94, Utah 64--Scott Hicks and Ken Barlow scored 14 points each as the No. 14-ranked Irish overpowered the Redskins at South Bend, Ind.

The Irish (13-3) opened a 43-28 halftime lead and boosted the margin to 80-48 late in the game.

Kelvin Upshaw scored 17 points for Utah (12-8).

Oklahoma 87, Nebraska 60--Darryl Kennedy and Tim McCalister scored 20 points apiece, and the sixth-ranked Sooners moved into a tie for the Big Eight Conference lead by overwhelming the Cornhuskers at Norman, Okla.

The victory was the 44th straight at home for Oklahoma (19-1, 4-1), which is tied for the league lead with Kansas.

Dave Hoppen had 28 points and 11 rebounds for Nebraska (12-6, 2-3). Oklahoma’s David Johnson added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Auburn 97, Vanderbilt 70--Chuck Person scored 24 points, including four straight first-half free throws on technical fouls, and the Tigers routed the Commodores in an SEC game at Auburn, Ala.

The Tigers (12-6, 6-2) had a 27-20 lead with 5:50 remaining in the first half when Vanderbilt Coach C.M. Newton was hit with two technical fouls. Person made the four free throws, and Johnny Lynn added a basket for a 33-20 lead.

Vanderbilt is 9-9 and 3-5.