College Basketball Roundup : Auburn Bomb Knocks Off No. 1 Kentucky

Auburn’s John Caylor had one chance and didn’t have time to think about it.

Caylor’s three-pointer with 10 seconds left Saturday night lifted the Tigers to a 53-52 victory over top-ranked Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky.

“It was a do-or-die situation, and it came to me and I took it,” Caylor said. “When the shot went up, I had no idea it would go in.

“It was one of the greatest feelings anybody could ever feel. When I saw it rolling around, I thought it would come out.”

Kentucky took a 52-50 lead with 28 seconds left when Rex Chapman hit two free throws. After a Kentucky timeout, Auburn (9-2 overall, 2-0 in the SEC) worked 18 seconds off the clock before Caylor made his winning basket.

Chapman shot a lunging 20-footer with four seconds left, but the ball bounced off the rim to cap a big week for Auburn, which beat No. 15 Florida on Wednesday night.

Kentucky (10-1, 3-1) lost for only the 17th time in 178 games over 12 seasons in Rupp Arena. It was only the second time in 37 games that the Tigers have beaten Kentucky in Lexington.

“We have bent so many times against Kentucky and broke,” Auburn Coach Sonny Smith said. “We bent this time but we didn’t break. It was one of our greatest victories.”

North Carolina 96, LaSalle 82--J.R. Reid scored 30 points, including 20 in the second half, and the fourth-ranked Tar Heels defeated the Explorers at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Lionel Simmons kept LaSalle (8-6) in the game with 37 points, and Rich Tarr added 20.

Reid scored seven points in a 12-2 run at the start of the second half to rally the Tar Heels (11-1) from a 47-42 halftime deficit.

LaSalle pulled within 85-80 with 2:18 left on two three-point baskets by Tarr, but Kevin Madden hit a free throw and Steve Bucknall scored in the lane to give the Tar Heels an 88-80 lead.

New Mexico 85, Wyoming 72--Charlie Thomas collected 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Lobos knocked off the fifth-ranked Cowboys in a Western Athletic Conference game at Albuquerque, N.M.

New Mexico (14-3, 2-0), which surprised then-No. 1 Arizona, 61-59, last Saturday night, also got 16 points apiece from Hunter Greene and Jimmy Rogers and 14 points from Rob Loeffel.

Eric Leckner had 19 points, and Fennis Dembo added 18 for Wyoming (11-2, 0-2), which wasbeaten by Texas El Paso Friday night.

The Lobos led, 71-55, with 7:30 remaining before the Cowboys fought back within 75-69 on a three-pointer by Turk Boyd with 2:45 remaining.

New Mexico then connected on 10 straight free throws.

Temple 79, George Washington 66--Mark Macon scored 12 of his 24 points in the first five minutes of the second half, and the sixth-ranked Owls rallied to beat the Colonials in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Landover, Md.

The freshman guard hit three three-point shots during a 16-2 surge that opened the second half and wiped out a Colonial lead that reached 10 points in the first half.

Tim Perry also scored 24 points for Temple (10-0, 5-0). Ellis McKinney and Gerald Jackson scored 16 points each for the Colonials (7-5, 1-2), who scored 10 straight points for a 23-13 lead with 9:01 left in the first half.

Oklahoma 108, Oklahoma State 80--Dave Sieger and Stacey King each scored 26 points as the eighth-ranked Sooners trounced the Cowboys in a Big Eight Conference opener at Norman, Okla.

Sieger tied his school and conference record by making 8 three-pointers, 6 of 7 in the first half.

Harvey added 21 points, and Ricky Grace had 17 points and 12 assists for Oklahoma (14-0), which scored more than 100 points for the 11th time this season.

John Starks scored 27 points for Oklahoma State.

Purdue 80, Iowa 79--Todd Mitchell sank two free throws with 28 seconds left to carry the 10th-ranked Boilermakers to a Big Ten Conference victory over the No. 16 Hawkeyes at West Lafayette, Ind., giving Gene Keady his 200th victory.

Mitchell’s free throws gave Purdue (12-1, 3-0) an 80-77 lead, and Iowa (9-4, 1-1) was unable to hit on two three-point shots in the closing seconds. Ed Horton did score from close range at the buzzer.

B.J. Armstrong scored 19 points for Iowa, and Roy Marble added 16. Melvin McCants added 17 points, and Lewis had 16 for Purdue.

Syracuse 84, Seton Hall 82--Sherman Douglas scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, and Derrick Coleman had 17 points and 16 rebounds as the seventh-ranked Orangemen outlasted the Pirates in a Big East Conference game at Syracuse.

Seton Hall (12-4, 1-1) pulled within 83-80 on James Major’s three-pointer in the final minute. Douglas sealed the victory for Syracuse (12-2) with 13 seconds to play by hitting one of two free throws. Seton Hall’s Michael Cooper scored at the buzzer.

Matt Roe added 17 points for Syracuse, making 5 of 7 from three-point range. Mark Bryant scored 16 points, and John Morton had 14 for Seton Hall.

Pittsburgh 81, St. John’s 70--Charles Smith scored 20 points, and Jerome Lane had 19 points and 15 rebounds as the second-ranked Panthers bounced back from their first defeat by overpowering the Redmen for a Big East victory at Pittsburgh.

The fast-breaking Panthers (10-1, 1-1), rebounding from a loss to Georgetown, scored the first 12 points and were never challenged.

Shelton Jones scored 16 points for St. John’s (8-3, 0-2).

Iowa State 84, Dayton 80--Lafester Rhodes scored 30 points, and the No. 17 Cyclones beat the Flyers at Dayton, Ohio.

Rhodes’ two free throws put Iowa State (13-2) ahead, 81-75, with 1:33 left, but Ray Springer’s layup and a three-point shot by Norm Grevey cut the lead to one point with 37 seconds left.

Mike Born and Gary Thompkins each hit free throws for an 83-80 lead with 10 seconds left, and Rhodes made a final free throw with five seconds left.

Anthony Corbitt scored 21 points for Iowa State (7-6).

Michigan 103, Minnesota 71--Glen Rice scored 40 points, including 25 when the 11th-ranked Wolverines scored 66 points in the second half, in a Big Ten victory over the Gophers at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Gary Grant added 25 points as Michigan (13-1, 2-0) won their 12th straight. The Wolverines went on a 12-2 run to break away from a 44-44 tie.

Willie Burton scored 17 points for Minnesota (6-6, 0-2).

Kansas 78, Missouri 74--Danny Manning scored 28 points, and Milt Newton added a career-high 21 as the No. 18 Jayhawks got past the Tigers in a Big Eight opener at Lawrence, Kan.

The victory gave Kansas (11-3) its 54th consecutive victory at Allen Field House.

Missouri (9-3) drew within a basket in the final minute on a three-point shot by Lee Coward, but Kevin Pritchard scored on a fast break, and Scooter Barry finished off the Tigers with a pair of free throws.

Florida 87, Georgia 70--Vernon Maxwell scored 17 of his 26 points in the first half, and freshman reserve Dwayne Davis had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the No. 15 Gators past the Bulldogs in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla.

Center Dwayne Schintzius had with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots for Florida (10-4).

Toney Mack scored 23 points, and Willie Anderson added 17 for Georgia (9-6).

Illinois 77, Michigan State 62--Kendall Gill scored 18 points, and Nick Anderson added 15 to lead the No. 19 Illini past the Spartans in a Big Ten game at Champaign, Ill.

The Illinois (11-3, 2-1) scored 11 straight points midway through the second half for a 57-38 lead with 9:56 remaining.

Ken Redfield had 13 points for Michigan State (5-7, 0-2).

Duke 77, Virginia 59--Danny Ferry scored a career-high 29 points, and the No. 9 Blue Devils downed the Cavaliers in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Charlottesville, Va.

Ferry also had 9 assists and 5 rebounds for Duke (9-1). John Johnson had 17 points for Virginia (7-7).

Brigham Young 92, San Diego State 65--Jim Usevitch scored 22 points, and Michael Smith added 20 to lead the Cougars past the Aztecs for a WAC victory at Provo, Utah.

Jeff Chatman added 17 points and 8 rebounds for BYU (11-0, 2-0). Mitch McMullen scored 14 points for San Diego State (6-7, 0-7).