College Basketball Roundup : Defense Pays Off in St. Louis Upset of Memphis State

To hear Coach Rich Grawer tell it, St. Louis University had no business beating 20th-ranked Memphis State Monday night.

But when it was over, the Billikens’ patience and stingy zone defense paid off with a 55-50 upset victory at St. Louis.

“We’re not big, we’re not strong, we’re not quick and we’re not smart,” Grawer said he told his team. “I told them that one of those things we can improve on is smartness and we did.

“Our defense was the key. It really had them baffled. We also used the clock well. We milked the clock and got the good shots, but most of all the players executed.”

Anthony Bonner finished with 18 points, and St. Louis (2-2) took a 14-point lead in the second half before holding off the Tigers (2-1).

The Billikens scored the first 12 points of the second half to break away from a 22-22 tie, and increased their lead to 42-28. Memphis State went 9 1/2 minutes before scoring in the half, but rallied with a 13-3 run to pull within 45-41 with 4 1/2 minutes left.

Bonner, a 6-7 sophomore, answered with a three-point play, and a three-point shot by Monroe Douglass gave St. Louis a 51-42 lead with 1:56 left.

Memphis State hit three three-pointers in the final minute to make it close, but Roland Gray sealed the victory with two free throws.

Syracuse 95, Cornell 59--Stephen Thompson scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half and the No. 4 Orangemen cruised past the Big Red at Syracuse.

Rony Seikaly added 17 points for the Orangemen (5-2), who ran off 22 consecutive points in the first half to take a 40-10 lead with 2:58 left in the half. Josh Wexler had 16 points for Cornell (2-1).

Derrick Coleman and Derek Brower of Syracuse were ejected along with Greg Gilda of Cornell after a fight broke out with 6:53 left.

Kansas 73, Appalachian State 62--Danny Manning scored 19 points, and Archie Marshall had 10 of his 14 in the second half as the 18th-ranked Jayhawks rallied past the Mountaineers at Lawrence, Kan., for their 51st straight home-court victory

Marshall and reserve guard Scooter Barry each scored eight points during a 20-7 Kansas burst that began with 7:20 remaining and the Jayhawks (5-2) trailing, 55-53.

Kemp Phillips scored 20 points for Appalachian State (3-2).

Pitt 89, Chicago State 63--Charles Smith scored a career-high 34 points, and Jerome Lane had 13 points and 16 rebounds as the second-ranked Panthers routed the Cougars at Pittsburgh.

Smith also had 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in 28 minutes for the Panthers (3-0). Kenton Terrell had 17 points for Chicago State (1-4).

Oklahoma 111, Sam Houston State 69--Stacey King had 20 points and 9 rebounds, and the No. 16 Sooners routed the Bearcats at Norman, Okla.

Rickey Grace added 19 points and 6 assists for the Sooners (4-0), while Tracy Peterson had 22 points and 14 rebounds for Sam Houston State (2-3).

Michigan 113, Western Michigan 66--Glen Rice scored 32 points and Gary Grant had 16 points and a school-record 14 assists as the 15th-ranked Wolverines overpowered the Broncos at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sophomore Terry Mills added 19 points for Michigan (5-1), which made 77% of its shots en route to a 55-24 halftime lead. Freshman Greg Rapp scored 15 points for Western Michigan (2-2).

Temple 89, Massachusetts 71--Tim Perry collected 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the No. 11 Owls at Amherst, Mass.

Freshman guard Mark Macon added 22 points, including four three-pointers, for Temple (2-0). Freshman guard Rafer Giles had 26 points, including 7 of 13 3-pointers, for Massachusetts (1-2).

Purdue 72, Colorado 54--Troy Lewis had 20 points, 12 on three-pointers, for the No. 13 Boilermakers, who breezed past the Buffaloes at West Lafayette, Ind.

Everette Stephens added 16 points for Purdue (5-1), while Scott Wilke had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Colorado (1-5).