College Basketball Roundup : Florida’s Moten Shoots Down LSU

Florida Coach Norm Sloan didn’t lose faith in point guard Andrew Moten despite his 40% shooting and subpar 13-point average in the first six games this season.

Tuesday night at Gainesville, Fla., the Gator senior proved he deserved his coach’s confidence. Moten scored 32 points to lead Florida to an easy 96-75 victory over Louisiana State in its Southeastern Conference opener.

Moten scored 13 of the Gators’ first 17 points in the second half as they stretched a 10-point halftime lead from 8 to 22 points.

“They were coming up to play me real tight in the second half and when anybody does that I feel like I can blow by them,” Moten said. “I was looking for my shot more in the second half.”

Moten’s heroics overshadowed a brilliant performance by LSU center Jose Vargas, who scored 33 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, both career-high figures.

Junior guard Vernon Maxwell added 18 points for the Gators, who won their sixth straight to improve to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

LSU, coming off a 52-49 victory over Georgia Tech, dropped to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC.

The Tigers’ Nikita Wilson, playing in his second game since returning from academic probation, contributed 14 points.

Dayton 89, Ohio State 86--Dan Christi scored 19 points and Anthony Grant 17 to pace the Flyers’ win at Dayton over the Buckeyes (6-1), despite Dennis Hopson’s 41 points. The loss ended Ohio State’s 11-game winning streak, longest in NCAA Division I-A.

Ed Young had 14 points and Smith and Noland Robinson had 12 each for Dayton (3-3).

Illinois Chicago 74, Michigan State 65--Nate Chambers scored a career-high 28 points, including 20 in the second half, to lead the Flames (3-4) over the Spartans (4-3) at Chicago.

Brigham Young 97, Utah St. 93--Junior center Jim Usevitch came off the bench and scored 20 points, including 17 in the second half, as the Cougars (3-4) downed the Aggies (3-5) at Logan, Utah.

Florida State 101, Western Carolina 76--Randy Allen and Jerome Fitchett each scored 21 points to help the Seminoles (4-1) snap a 22-game road losing streak at Cullowhee, N.C. It was their first road win since a Dec. 29, 1984 victory at Furman. Western Carolina (0-6) was led by Leroy Gasque with 18 points.

Missouri 79, Austin Peay 73--Derrick Chievous scored 29 points and Nathan Buntin added 20 to lead as the Tigers (7-2) downed the Governors (4-2) at Columbia, Mo. Chievous, who has scored at least 20 points in eight of nine games, has been Missouri’s leading scorer in all nine games this season.

Northwestern 56, Marquette 54--Jim Wyss sank a layup to break a 50-50 tie, and Shawn Watts added two free throws with 22 seconds remaining as the Wildcats (3-2) upset the Warriors (4-1) at Evanston, Ill. Watts led Northwestern with 16 points, and David Boone led Marquette with 17.

Davidson 58, Princeton, 56--Jeff Himes hit a layup with seven seconds remaining in overtime to give the Wildcats (4-3) the win over the Tigers (3-3) at Princeton, N.J. Himes, who led the Wildcats with 19 points, scored 6 of Davidson’s 8 points in overtime. Alan Williams led Princeton with 16 points, including all 6 of the Tigers’ points in overtime.