College Basketball Roundup : Alabama Keeps Vanderbilt Out of SEC Lead

Alvin Lee scored 36 points and led Alabama to an 88-77 upset of No. 16 Vanderbilt Wednesday night at Tuscaloosa, Ala., preventing the Commodores from moving into a tie for the Southeastern Conference lead.

Lee made 8 of 12 shots, including 6 of 9 three-pointers, and made six free throws in the final 1:28.

Vanderbilt (16-6, 9-5) could have moved into a tie for first with Kentucky, which lost to Tennessee.

Lee converted a four-point play with 4:01 left to give Alabama (12-13, 4-9) a 72-63 lead. He made an 18-foot jumper, was fouled and made the free throw. He got another free throw when Scott Draud got a technical for protesting.

Tennessee 72, Kentucky 70--Greg Bell’s only basket of the second half, a 10-foot jumper with one second left, gave the Volunteers an SEC upset of the No. 9 Wildcats at Knoxville, Tenn.

Kentucky (18-4, 10-4) overcame a 44-36 halftime deficit and took a 67-74 lead on Rex Chapman’s basket with three minutes left. Tennessee (13-9, 6-7) rallied to tie the score, 70-70, on a free throw by Dyron Nix with 47 seconds left and forced a Kentucky turnover with 10 seconds remaining.

Ed Davender scored 27 points for Kentucky, and Nix had 20 for the Volunteers.

Iowa State 102, Missouri 89--Lafester Rhodes scored 34 points, and Jeff Grayer added 27 as the Cyclones broke a seven-game losing streak by knocking off the No. 15 Tigers in a Big Eight game at Ames, Iowa.

Elmer Robinson scored 18 points for the Cyclones, including 16 during a 5:18 span in the second half when Iowa State (17-9, 3-7) rallied from an eight-point deficit to take the lead for good.

Lee Coward scored 24 points, and Derrick Chievous added 21 for Missouri (16-6, 5-4).

Oklahoma 79, Oklahoma State 75--Stacey King scored 22 points, and Dave Sieger made two free throws with 12 seconds left as the fourth-ranked Sooners beat the Cowboys at Stillwater, Okla.

Oklahoma State (12-11, 3-6) trailed by 11 points with 15:10 left but got within 77-75 on two free throws by John Starks with 2:24 to play. But the Cowboys missed five shots in the final 2:24 until Sieger clinched the victory for Oklahoma (23-2, 9-1).

Michigan 82, Minnesota 78--Terry Mills scored five of Michigan’s final six points, including two free throws with four seconds left, and the 10th-ranked Wolverines overcame the Gophers in a Big Ten game at Minneapolis.

Minnesota (9-13, 3-9) rallied from a 13-point deficit with 12:36 left to pull within 82-80 with 19 seconds remaining and had a chance to tie the score, but Ray Gaffney’s 10-foot shot missed with four seconds left. Mills, who scored 19 points, was fouled when he grabbed the rebound and sank both free throws.

Glen Rice scored 25 points for Michigan (21-4, 10-2), and Gary Grant added 22. Minnesota’s Willie Burton scored 26 points.

Duke 73, Virginia 54--Danny Ferry scored 28 points, including 12 of Duke’s first 14, to lead the No. 6 Blue Devils past the Cavaliers in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Durham, N.C.

Virginia (12-13, 4-5) fell behind by 12 points but got back within 40-33 before Duke (19-3, 8-2) regained control when Ferry hit a basket and added two free throws after Cavalier Coach Terry Holland was hit with a technical foul.

North Carolina 80, Wake Forest 62--Steve Bucknall and Kevin Madden scored 15 points each, and the fifth-ranked Tar Heels rolled past the Demon Deacons in an ACC game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Tar Heels (19-3, 8-2) trailed, 29-23, in the first half but outscored Wake Forest, 15-3, to take a 38-32 halftime lead. North Carolina built a 14-point lead.

Syracuse 82, St. John’s 68--Stephen Thompson scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and the No. 12 Orangemen trounced the Redmen in a Big East game at Syracuse, N.Y.

The Orangemen (19-6, 8-4) built a 45-35 lead as Thompson scored their first seven points of the second half.