College Basketball Roundup : Washington Hot as Syracuse Beats Villanova

Dwayne (Pearl) Washington scored a career-high 33 points and had 7 assists Wednesday night as 12th-ranked Syracuse overcame defending national champion Villanova, 77-72, in a Big East Conference game at Syracuse, N.Y.

Washington, whose previous high was 30 points, made 10 of 15 shots and 13 of 17 free throws.

The Orangemen (19-3 overall, 10-1 in the conference) trailed, 64-62, with 6:32 left after freshman Kenny Wilson gave the Wildcats (17-11, 7-5) their final lead on a three-point play.

Syracuse center Rony Seikaly tied the score, 64-64, with a rebound basket, and Washington followed with two free throws to put the Orangemen ahead to stay.

Wendell Alexis added 19 points for the Orangemen, while Mark Plansky scored 21 points for Villanova (17-11, 7-5).

North Carolina 79, Clemson 64--Brad Daugherty had 23 points and 10 rebounds as the top-ranked Tar Heels handed the Tigers their ninth loss in 10 games in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C.

Kenny Smith added 16 points, and Warren Martin had 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Tar Heels (25-1, 9-1).

Michael Best had 20 points for Clemson (14-10, 2-10), and Horace Grant added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

LSU 75, Tennessee 50--John Williams and Derrick Taylor each scored 21 points as the Tigers overwhelmed the Volunteers in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rogue, La.

The Tigers (19-7, 7-6) threw up a zone defense that frustrated SEC scoring leader Tony White, who scored 15 points, 8 below his average. White went 21 minutes without a field goal in one stretch.

LSU, which gave Coach Dale Brown his 250th career victory, built a 39-26 lead at halftime and blew away the Volunteers (12-10, 5-8) with a 15-2 surge at the outset of the second half.

Virginia 69, Wake Forest 53--Olden Polynice and Andrew Kennedy scored 16 points apiece as the Cavaliers dealt the Demon Deacons their 15th straight defeat in an ACC game at Greensboro, N.C.

Wake Forest (7-17, 0-12) was within 54-49 with 4:01 left when the Cavaliers (16-6, 5-4) put away the victory by scoring eight straight points.

Georgia 101, Vanderbilt 70--Joe Ward scored 17 points as the Bulldogs routed the Commodores in an SEC game at Athens, Ga.

It was the first time Georgia (14-8, 7-6) had topped the 100-point mark in a conference game since beating LSU, 115-95, during the 1971-72 season.

Brett Burrow scored 23 points for Vanderbilt (11-11, 5-8).

Navy 78, Fairfield 53--David Robinson scored 19 points and grabbed a school-record 25 rebounds as the Midshipmen rolled past the Stags at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Midshipmen (20-4), who won their sixth straight game and 13th in the last 14, became the first service academy team to win 20 games in three consecutive seasons. Navy was 26-6 last season and 24-8 in 1983-84.

Tony George had 23 points for Fairfield (17-6).

Auburn 69, Mississippi State 64--Chuck Person sank four free throws in the last two minutes and scored 23 points as the Tigers held off the Bulldogs in an SEC game at Auburn, Ala.

Person’s rebound basket gave Auburn (14-9, 8-5) a 54-41 lead with 11 minutes left before the Bulldogs (4-18, 1-12) rallied and pulled within 62-60 with 2:20 left.

Texas 55, Baylor 50--John Brownlee scored 21 points, and the Longhorns stretched their winning streak to six games by beating the Bears in a Southwest Conference game at Waco, Tex.

The Longhorns (15-8, 10-2) remained tied with TCU for the SWC lead. Michael Williams had 22 points for Baylor (9-14, 1-11).