College Basketball Roundup : Cardinals Get Hot at Line, Stun Hoosiers

Louisville saw something free and took it.

The Cardinals made 30 of 31 free throws in the second half Saturday night and upset fifth-ranked Indiana, 81-69, at Louisville, Ky.

“Not bad for a bad free-throw shooting team,” said Louisville Coach Denny Crum, whose squad came into the game hitting just 63% at the line and made only 1 of 5 in the first half.

“If you’re going to be a pressing team, you better make your free throws.”

Freshman LaBradford Smith hit his all 14 of his free throws in the second half as the Cardinals (2-2) made 28 in a row to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit.

Indiana (6-2) made six more field goals than the Cardinals, but the Hoosiers only had 11 free-throw attempts and made seven.

“We practice them a lot in practice,” said Smith, who had 15 of his 32 points in the second half. His previous high was 21 points.

Trailing, 32-22, at halftime, Louisville went on a 19-9 scoring run at the outset of the second half to tie the game, 41-41, on Keith Williams’ three-point play with 14:34 remaining.

Louisville took the lead for good at 53-51 with 8:16 left in the game on Herbert Crook’s short jump shot. The Cardinals then went on a 26-11 run over the next six minutes to take their largest lead at 79-62 with 2:12 remaining on Pervis Ellison’s free throw.

“I really think in the second half Louisville, at least from my standpoint, showed by some degree they are a better team,” Knight said. “They were getting stronger and stronger, and we were getting weaker and weaker.”

Louisville’s press forced Indiana into 19 turnovers, which Louisville converted into 20 points.

Ellison added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Louisville. Keith Smart scored 24 points and Ricky Calloway added 22 for Indiana.

Iowa State 102, Iowa 100--Lafester Rhodes scored 8 of his 54 points in overtime, and the No. 20 Cyclones upset the seventh-ranked Hawkeyes at Ames, Iowa.

Rhodes hit a three-pointer early in overtime and scored the final three points for Iowa State (8-1) on a 12-foot jumper with 24 seconds left and a free throw with one second to left.

The Cyclones, who led by nine points with six minutes left, missed a chance to clinch the victory in regulation when Mike Born missed two free throws with 54 seconds left and Iowa State leading, 90-87.

The Hawkeyes (6-2), who trailed by nine points with six minutes left and by 90-87 with 54 seconds remaining, tied the score, 90-90, and forced overtime on a free throw by Ed Horton with 12 seconds to play.

Bill Jones scored 23 points and Ed Horton had 19 for Iowa. Jeff Grayer added 23 points for Iowa State.

North Carolina 85, Illinois 74--J.R. Reid scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as the fourth-ranked Tar Heels recovered from an early 11-point deficit and turned back the Illini at Champaign, Ill.

Illinois still held a 58-54 lead with 10 minutes left, but North Carolina (7-1) turned the game around with a 14-1 surge.

Reid made 12 of 14 shots, including several key baskets down the stretch.

With 9:28 left and the score tied, 58-58, Reid scored five of the Tar Heels’ next seven baskets. When the run was over, there was 3:26 left and North Carolina (7-1) was ahead by nine points.

Kendall Gill scored 25 points and Ken Battle added 16 for Illinois.

Kentucky 84, N.C. Charlotte 81--Rex Chapman and Ed Davender scored 24 points apiece, and the top-ranked Wildcats held off the hot-shooting 49ers in the championship game of the Kentucky Invitational at Lexington, Ky.

Davender hit a pair of free throws with two seconds left to seal the victory and give Kentucky (6-0) its 27th Kentucky Invitational title.

UNCC (6-1) hit 59% of its shots and was 10 of 15 from three-point range.

Kentucky led, 82-81, but Davender missed from the lane with 40 seconds to go. UNCC held the ball until Jeff West missed from the left side with six seconds left. UNCC got the ball back, but Byron Dinkins, who scored 28 points, was called for a traveling violation.

Winston Bennett, the tournament’s most valuable player, scored 17 points for Kentucky.

Kansas 74, North Carolina State 67--Danny Manning scored 32 points and rallied the No. 17 Jayhawks from a nine-point deficit to a victory over the Wolfpack at Raleigh, N.C.

N.C. State (2-1) ran off to a 41-36 halftime lead and led, 45-36, on Vinny Del Negro’s layup with 18:29 left.

But Kansas (7-2) slowed the game into a half-court battle and Manning took charge, scoring half the points in a 10-2 run that got Kansas to within 47-46 with 14:48 left.

The lead changed hands until Manning scored four straight points to give Kansas a 68-65 lead, and the Wolfpack couldn’t catch up.

Del Negro scored 17 points, and Chucky Brown added 16 for N.C. State.

Temple 63, South Carolina 50--Mike Vreeswyk scored 18 points, and Tim Perry had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocked shots as the eighth-ranked Owls overcame the Gamecocks at Philadelphia.

Temple (5-0) led, 40-37, with 10:36 left when the Owls went on an 8-2, with Vreeswyk scoring the last four points to break open the game.

Terry Dozier had 18 points for South Carolina (1-5).

Wyoming 87, Nebraska 58--Fennis Dembo scored 24 points, and the No. 6 Cowboys downed the Cornhuskers at Laramie, Wyo.

The Cowboys (6-0) struggled to a 38-34 halftime lead, but put Nebraska (5-5) away with a 19-8 run in the first six minutes of the second half en route to a 49-point second half--scoring 17 straight points in one stretch.

Michigan 111, N. Michigan 87--Gary Grant and Glen Rice scored 29 points apiece, and the 13th-ranked Wolverines downed the Wildcats at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Rice had 18 points and Grant had 15 points and 6 assists, helping Michigan (8-1) to an 56-28 halftime lead.

Damon Tidwell scored 25 points, and Carl Strong added 20 for Northern Michigan (2-8).

Oklahoma 124, Georgia State 81--Harvey Grant scored 34 points, and Stacey King added 15 points and blocked 8 shots as the No. 14 Sooners trounced the Panthers at Norman, Okla.

The Sooners (7-0), averaging 113 points per game, forced 35 turnovers. Tyrone Jones added 20 points for Oklahoma.

James Andrews had 16 points for the Panthers (2-4).

Dayton 81, Ohio State 80--Troy McCracken sank a free throw with six seconds left, and the Flyers (6-1) surprised the Buckeyes at Columbus, Ohio. After McCracken missed the second free throw, Curtis Wilson of Ohio State (4-2) missed a 25-footer at the buzzer.

Notre Dame 88, Valparaiso 49--David Rivers collected 23 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists as the Irish made Digger Phelps the winningest basketball coach in Notre Dame history by overwhelming the Crusaders at South Bend, Ind.

Phelps is 328-148 in 17 seasons with the Irish. George Keogan had a 327-97 mark in 20 seasons, ending in 1943. Phelps’ overall record is 354-151.

Joe Frederick and Keith Robinson came off the bench to score 14 points each for the Irish (4-2). Harry Bell scored 12 points for the Crusaders (4-2).

Montana State 77, Alabama 69--Tom Domako scored 29 points, and the Bobcats stunned the Crimson Tide at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

The Bobcats (5-3) jumped ahead, 17-2, in the first five minutes and built its lead to 22 points late in the half. Alabama (5-2) closed to 67-63 before Domako hit seven straight free throws in the final minutes.

Michael Ansley had 21 points for Alabama.