College Basketball Roundup : Duke, Dawkins Block Irish, 75-74

Johnny Dawkins, who had shown North Carolina State one side of his talent the night before, showed Notre Dame another Sunday at Durham, N.C.

With one second left Sunday, Duke’s senior guard blocked a 15-foot jump shot by Irish guard David Rivers to preserve the second-ranked Blue Devils’ 75-74 victory over No. 14 Notre Dame.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Dawkins had scored 24 points, including two free throws with two seconds left, to give the Blue Devils a 72-70 victory over the 17th-ranked Wildcats.

“Rivers was penetrating,” Dawkins said of Sunday’s game-saving block. “I cut him off. He went up before me, but I went up for the block and, fortunately, I got it.

“I figured it would be either him or Ken Barlow. I knew I’d have to play some defense.”

Said Rivers: “He definitely got a part of the ball, but there was contact. But you’re not going to get those foul calls down the stretch.”

Duke (25-2) has won 9 straight games and 12 in a row at home.

Dawkins, who scored 18 points, also led Duke with 8 rebounds and assumed point-guard duties in the second half when Tommy Amaker was forced to the bench with four fouls.

The Blue Devils led, 73-65, with 2:16 left, but Notre Dame (17-5), aided by missed Blue Devil free throws, rallied. A three-point play by Jim Dolan with 29 seconds left pulled Notre Dame within one point.

Duke’s Billy King, a 50% free-throw shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13 seconds left, giving the Fighting Irish their final opportunity. After a timeout, Rivers drove to the right of the foul line, but Dawkins slapped the ball away as the final seconds elapsed.

Dawkins hit three baskets and fed King for a dunk as Duke stretched a seven-point halftime lead to 51-41 with 14:27 left. Notre Dame cut the lead to four several times, but was unable to get closer until a 9-2 run in the final 1:44.

Mark Alarie scored 22 points for Duke. Barlow had 21 points for the Irish, and Rivers added 20.

Indiana 78, Ohio State 71--Steve Alford scored 32 points and the No. 16 Hoosiers remained close to the Big Ten lead by beating the Buckeyes at Columbus, Ohio.

The Hoosiers (17-5, 9-3) crept back to within one-half game of Big Ten leader Michigan.

Alford scored 19 points in the second half, but it was a six-point flurry in the first half that gave the Hoosiers the lead for good.

The 6-foot 2-inch junior guard hit two free throws to draw Indiana even, 22-22. After a free throw by Ohio State’s Dennis Hopson with 5:47 left in the half gave the Buckeyes (12-10, 6-6) their final lead, Alford made four consecutive free throws, two after a technical foul against Brad Sellers.

Indiana never trailed again, taking a 38-34 lead at the half. Ohio State got as close as three points several times in the second half, but Indiana hit 16 of 20 free throws down the stretch to pull away.

For the game, Ohio State was 13 for 18 at the line while Indiana was 26 for 33, with Alford hitting on 14 of 15 attempts.

Rick Calloway added 16 points, Andre Harris had 14 and Daryl Thomas had 13 for the Hoosiers.

Sellers had 25 points for Ohio State, and Hopson added 18.

Washington 73, Oregon 67--Al Moscatel scored 19 points and the Huskies turned back the Ducks at Seattle to take over first place in the Pacific-10 Conference.

The Huskies (16-9, 10-3) broke a 63-63 tie on two free throws by Paul Fortier with 4:21 left, and Fortier increased the lead to 69-63 with a 15-foot jumper that clinched the victory with 51 seconds remaining.

Jerry Adams scored 21 points and Anthony Taylor added 18 for the Ducks (8-15, 3-10), who lost for the seventh time in nine games.

Oregon State 66, Washington State 49--Darrin Houston scored 22 points and the Beavers coasted past the Cougars in a Pac-10 game at Pullman, Wash.

Houston scored 12 of OSU’s first 20 points in the second half as the Beavers (10-11, 6-6) rolled to a 24-point lead on Houston’s jumper from the top of the key with 13:59 remaining.

Oregon State, which led, 31-23, at halftime, took advantage of 21 Cougar turnovers.

Washington State shot 35% from the field, and Keith Morrison, the Cougars’ leader scorer, was shut out. Otis Jennings scored 16 points for the Cougars (13-13, 6-7).