College Basketball Roundup : The Irish Foul Alford and Regret It, 67-62

Notre Dame tested Steve Alford’s hot hand on the free-throw line, and lost.

With 11 seconds left, Scott Hicks fouled the Indiana senior guard to set up the last two of his game-high 26 points, clinching the No. 3 Hoosiers’ 67-62 victory at South Bend, Ind.

“I really couldn’t believe they fouled me,” Alford said.

Alford’s points total included 10 for 10 from the line and a pair of three-point field goals for Indiana (2-0).

Hicks said he had little choice. “I was waiting on someone else to get fouled, but he would have just kept the ball and the clock would have run out, so I just tried to foul him,” he said.

Notre Dame hit only 10 of 22 free throws.

Notre Dame (0-2) got in position for an upset by coming back from a 12-point halftime deficit. The Irish pulled within one point, 63-62, when Hicks picked up a loose ball and scored on a slam dunk.

Seconds later, Hicks fouled Alford. Kreigh Smith then added two more points from the line to seal the victory for Indiana.

Guard David Rivers, the Irish’s leading scorer last season, was held to three points in the first half and nine overall.

Kentucky 66, Texas Tech 60--Freshman guard Derrick Miller scored three baskets in the final 7:22, including two three-point shots, to help the 13th-ranked Wildcats win at Lexington, Ky.

Guard Ed Davender led Kentucky (2-0) with 23 points, and forward Irv Thomas added 11.

Texas Tech (1-1) was paced by guard Sean Gay with 18 points and Nelson with 10.

DePaul 63, North Carolina Wilmington 44--Leading only 27-22 at halftime, the Blue Demons, sparked by three baskets by Dallas Comegys, scored 15 straight points to put away the Seahawks at Rosemont, Ill.

Comegys, held to six first-half points, connected on a layup to start the second half, and in rapid order, he, Terence Greene, Rod Strickland and Kevin Edwards propelled DePaul to a 42-22 advantage.

St. John’s 80, Fordham 61--Mark Jackson scored a game-high 25 points, 14 in the second half, as the undefeated Redmen scored their 17th straight win over the Rams. It was the 25th straight home victory for St. John’s on their New York court.

Shelton Jones added 14 points for the Redmen (3-0), followed by Willie Glass with 13 and John Hempel with 11. Joe Franco led the Rams (2-1) with 16 points, one more than Frank Williams.

Jackson shot 10 for 13 from the floor, including a three-point shot, and added 8 assists and 3 steals.

Ohio State 98, Western Michigan 92--Dennis Hopson scored 33 points, and Tony White scored all 12 of his points in the second half, including what proved to be the winning points, as the Buckeyes won their second straight under new Coach Gary Williams at Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State trailed, 86-80, with 4:24 remaining, but guards Jay Burson and Curtis Wilson each scored three points to pull the Buckeyes even.

With 1:26 remaining, White, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward, hit a short shot off an assist from Wilson, and the Buckeyes had the lead for good. Western Michigan is 0-2.

Michigan State 80, Brooklyn College 62--Forward Carlton Valentine, in a rare starting role, made all 11 of his shots and scored a career-high 23 points as the Spartans ran away in the second half at East Lansing, Mich.

Valentine, a 6-foot-5 junior, made five baskets in the first half and six in the second to help the Spartans climb to 2-1. Most of his baskets came on offensive rebounds. Brooklyn is 0-2.

Western Kentucky 90, Kentucky State 58--Senior forward Kannard Johnson scored 19 points to lead five players in double figures at Bowling Green, Ky., as the 14th-ranked Hilltoppers won for the fourth time in five games.

Kentucky State is 2-3.

California 64, Missouri 63--Forward Leonard Taylor sank a pair of free throws with two seconds left at Berkeley to give the Bears the victory.

Cal trailed, 63-62, when Missouri’s Michael Ingram missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity with 10 seconds left.

California’s Chris Washington dribbled up court and passed to Taylor inside, who was fouled by Missouri’s Nathan Buntin, setting up the winning free throws.

Guard Kevin Johnson led Cal (2-1) with 14 points, and forward Jon Wheeler added 13. Missouri forward Derrick Chievous had a career-high 33 points, including Missouri’s last 12 points. Missouri is 2-2.

Washington 75, Southeastern Louisiana 61--Chris Welp’s 22 points led the Huskies to a nonconference victory in their home opener at Seattle. Welp was one of four Huskies scoring in double figures as Washington evened its record to 2-2. The Lions are 0-4.

San Jose State 72, Stanford 63--Bobby Evans scored a career-high 16 points, and George Puou added 14 points, as the Spartans won at home to even their record at 1-1. Todd Lichti led Stanford (1-2) with 23 points. Nine of his points came on three-point goals.

Oklahoma 93, Texas A&M; 79--Harvey Grant scored 14 points, and Stacey King had 11 points and 12 rebounds during a second-half rally at Norman, Okla., that carried the 11th-ranked Sooners to a nonconference victory.