College Basketball Roundup : A Surprise Caper(s) Helps Florida Upset No. 4 Kentucky, 58-56

Florida rolled out its secret weapon for fourth-ranked Kentucky.

Chris Capers, starting in place of injured Livingston Chatman, had 8 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes Wednesday night to lead the Gators to a 58-56 Southeastern Conference upset victory at Lexington, Ky.

“I’m proud of the whole team,” Florida Coach Norm Sloan said. “But the guy I’m most proud of is Chris Capers. He just played his heart out. I have to go with Chris Capers as the man of the hour.”

Capers scored six points on offensive rebounds and helped Florida (13-4 overall, 4-1 in the SEC) control the backboards, 40-33.

Kentucky (12-2, 5-2) made just 16 of 57 shots (28.1%) over the Gators’ 2-1-2 zone defense that also helped keep Kentucky off the offensive boards.

“When the game started, I just decided to go to a zone,” Sloan said. “I had no idea we’d stay in it the whole game.”

Dwayne Schintzius’ dunk with 3:24 left gave Florida a 58-51 lead before a futile Kentucky rally.

Richard Madison hit a five-footer at 2:33, and Winston Bennett added a three-point play on an inside power move with 1:20 left, but there was no more scoring.

Vernon Maxwell scored 19 points and Schintzius added 18 for Florida. Bennett had 19 points for Kentucky.

Purdue 78, Michigan State 67--Melvin McCants scored 17 points, and the fifth-ranked Boilermakers increased the nation’s longest winning streak to 15 games by downing the Spartans in a Big Ten game at East Lansing, Mich.

Todd Mitchell scored 9 of his 21 points during a five-minute run at the beginning of the second half in which the Boilermakers (16-1, 6-0) outscored the Spartans, 14-4, to build a 56-40 advantage.

Purdue scored 10 points in succession after a technical foul was called on the Michigan State bench with 18:06 left. The Spartans are 6-9 and 1-4.

Iowa State 114, Nebraska 76--Jeff Grayer scored 37 points to power the No. 10 Cyclones past the Cornhuskers (9-8, 1-1) in a Big Eight game at Ames, Iowa.

The margin of victory equaled the 38-point bulge registered against Colorado in a 1957 game, the largest in Iowa State history.

Lafester Rhodes, who did not start because he was late to the arena, added 23 points as Iowa State (16-2, 2-0) topped the 100-point mark for a school-record seventh time this season.

Oklahoma 96, Colorado 76--Harvey Grant scored 24 points, and Stacey King added 21 as the 11th-ranked Sooners overpowered the Buffaloes in a Big Eight game at Boulder, Colo.

The Sooners (15-2, 2-1) had a 63-60 lead with eight minutes left when Ricky Grace scored 12 points in the next three minutes to ignite a 16-2 spree that broke it open.

Scott Wilke had 25 points and 10 rebounds for Colorado (4-11, 0-2).

St. John’s 65, Georgetown 58--Michael Porter scored 6 of his 21 points during an 11-2 second-half run that carried the Redmen past the 15th-ranked Hoyas in a Big East game in New York.

The setback was the third straight for Georgetown (11-4, 1-3), defending Big East champion.

St. John’s (11-3, 2-2) held a 49-37 lead with 10 minutes left, but the Hoyas got seven points from Charles Smith in a 13-0 surge to take a 50-49 lead with 5:49 remaining. Porter then hit two straight baskets, and the Redmen charged to a 60-52 lead with 2:32 left.

Shelton Jones had 16 points and 14 rebounds for St. John’s.

Wake Forest 71, North Carolina State 67--Cal Boyd hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left and added two free throws with four seconds to play as the Deacons knocked off the No. 20 Wolfpack in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Greensboro, N.C.

The Deacons (6-8, 1-3) hit 12 of 14 free throws in the last 6:37. Boyd’s game-winning jumper was the only field goal in that stretch.

The Wolfpack (10-3, 2-1) led, 67-62, on two free throws by Vinny Del Negro at 1:31, but a free throw by Boyd and two more by Sam Ivy started Wake Forest’s rally.

Ivy scored 25 points for Wake Forest.

Texas A&M; 75, Rice 70--Freddie Ricks scored 20 points, and the Aggies protected their Southwest Conference lead by turning back the Owls at College Station, Tex.

Donald Thompson added 14 points for A&M; (12-6, 4-0). Andy Gilchrist scored 29 points for Rice (5-10, 2-3).

Northwestern 65, Minnesota 61--Shon Morris scored 21 points at Evanston, Ill., and the Wildcats handed the Gophers their 20th consecutive Big Ten defeat.

Minnesota (6-8, 0-4) built a 19-4 lead in the opening minutes and had a 51-42 lead when Northwestern (7-8, 2-3) went on a 14-2 surge to take the lead for good.

Virginia 84, Maryland 72--Mel Kennedy scored 30 points and John Johnson added 28 to lead the Cavaliers past the Terrapins in an ACC game at Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers (9-8, 2-2) scored the first 13 points of the second half to take a 47-25 lead.

Steve Hood scored 19 points for Maryland (10-5, 3-2).