College Basketball Roundup : Indiana’s Alford Beats Michigan on the Rebound and Shot

Everybody was talking about Steve Alford’s shot, but Bobby Knight liked the rebound.

Steve Alford took Gary Grant’s missed free throw with eight seconds to play Monday night and dribbled down court to hit the winning basket with one second left, giving fourth-ranked Indiana an 85-84 Big Ten victory over Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich.

“He (Alford) jumped back to the side of the rebound, and I don’t think many people would have got the ball in the position he did,” Knight said. “But Steve kept going and got the good shot. Hey, I don’t think it even hit the rim--only about four or five times.”

The All-American guard threw up a seven-foot shot that hit the back of the rim and nearly rimmed out before falling through.

The victory rescued the Hoosiers (12-1 overall, 3-0 in the Big Ten) after they squandered a 19-point lead in the second half.

“The only thing we didn’t do is get it done down the stretch,” Michigan Coach Bill Frieder said. “It started with Grant’s free throw and ended with Alford’s basket.

Alford, whose five-point play triggered a 28-8 surge in the first half, scored 23 points for Indiana, and Darryl Thomas added 22. Keith Smart scored 15 and Rick Calloway 13 for the Hoosiers.

Michigan (9-6, 1-3), which trailed, 53-34, when Indiana scored the first basket of the second half, got 20 points apiece from Garde Thompson and Antoine Joubert. Grant scored 18 points.

Grant gave the Wolverines their first lead, 83-81, since late in the first half with a shot from the left baseline with 1:08 left. Steve Eyl then tied it with two free throws before Grant hit the first free throw to put Michigan ahead, 84-83, but the second bounced out--right to Alford.

Georgetown 80, Villanova 73--Reggie Williams scored 20 points, and the ninth-ranked Hoyas built a 21-point lead midway through the second half and survived a rally by the Wildcats to win a Big East Conference game at Philadelphia.

The Hoyas (12-1, 3-1) led, 66-45, with 9:32 left when Villanova (10-5, 3-2) ran off 11 straight points to get back into the game.

Georgetown regained control briefly and upped its lead to 74-58 with 5:25 remaining. But Villanova scored 13 points to make it 74-71 with 1:35 left.

Dwayne Bryant made four free throws, and Mark Tillmon hit two more to seal the victory for Georgetown.

Mark Plansky scored 22 points for Villanova, and Harold Jensen and Kenny Wilson each scored 18.

Clemson 108, Florida International 55--Horace Grant had 24 points and 13 rebounds in 20 minutes as the undefeated and 12th-ranked Tigers routed the Sunblazers at Clemson, S.C.

The Tigers (14-0) had a school-record 15 blocked shots and went over 100 points for the fourth time this season. Elden Campbell, the freshman center from Morningside High in Inglewood, added 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots.

Bernie Cantens scored 11 points for the Sunblazers (4-7).

Alabama 73, South Carolina 63--Jim Farmer had 24 points and 9 rebounds as the 15th-ranked Crimson Tide won its eighth straight game by turning back the Gamecocks at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama (11-2) never trailed in the game en route to a 38-26 halftime lead and increased the lead to 55-38 with just under 11 minutes left.

South Carolina (7-6) cut Alabama’s lead to 65-57 when forward Tony Shaw scored on a dunk with 3:26 remaining. But Farmer capped a six-point run with a pair of free throws to wrap up the victory with 1:55 left.

Pittsburgh 102, Duquesne 77--Charles Smith had 27 points and 17 rebounds as the 18th-ranked Panthers overpowered the crosstown rival Dukes at Pitt.

Jerome Lane added 21 points and 12 rebounds and Curtis Aiken, snapping out of a shooting slump, added 20 points for the Panthers (11-3).

Duquesne (6-8) scored the first seven points but fell behind when Pitt went on a 22-7 run and built a 46-32 lead just before halftime.

Navy 59, George Mason 57--David Robinson scored 21 points to help the No. 19 Midshipmen hold off the Patriots at Fairfax, Va.

Robinson, who was triple-teamed throughout the game, accounted for 13 of Navy’s 28 second-half points, but the Midshipmen (9-3, 4-1) needed two free throws by Carey Manhertz with 14 seconds left to clinch the victory.

Oklahoma 94, LSU 85--Tim McCalister scored 29 points to lead the 16th-ranked Sooners to a victory over the Tigers at Oklahoma City.

McCalister connected on five three-point shots, four of them in the first half when Oklahoma (10-3) took a 15-point lead.

Jose Vargas and Nikita Wilson scored 20 points each for LSU (9-6).

Kentucky 57, Mississippi State 49--The Wildcats made seven three-pointers and held the Bulldogs scoreless from behind the line to register a Southeastern Conference victory at Lexington, Ky.

Freshman Rex Chapman scored 16 points--including two three-pointers--for the Wildcats (8-4, 2-3). Reginald Boykin scored 16 points for the Bulldogs (4-9, 0-4).

In a women’s game:

Long Beach 91, Fullerton 61--Cindy Brown had 32 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 49ers past the Titans in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at Fullerton.

Penny Toler added 20 points for the seventh-ranked 49ers. Long Beach is 12-1 overall, 4-0 in conference. Fullerton is 3-9, 0-3.