College Basketball Roundup : Eighth-Ranked Pittsburgh Fights Off No. 18 Georgetown, 70-65

Pittsburgh finally found a way to beat Georgetown but, as usual, the Hoyas didn’t go down without a fight.

Charles Smith scored 25 points, the final 10 on free throws, and the eighth-ranked Panthers knocked off the No. 18 Hoyas, 70-65, at Pittsburgh Saturday in a Big East game that was halted with four seconds left by a full-scale brawl.

Georgetown Coach John Thompson pulled his team off the floor after a fight between Pitt’s Jerome Lane and the Hoyas’ Perry McDonald on a rebound touched off three separate fights.

“I was disappointed it ended the way it did because I thought it was a real good game, a competitive game,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t the way the game was played. You try to avoid these things but sometimes they happen.”

Added Pitt Coach Paul Evans: “It made for a bad ending after a good game. But sometimes in a very physical game it gets to where it goes over the line.”

Smith, who scored all 16 of his second-half points in the final 12:10, sank what proved the two deciding free throws with 15 seconds left to give Pitt (19-3 overall, 9-2 in the Big East) a five-point lead.

Sam Jefferson missed two free throws for Georgetown (17-7, 7-6), and the fight broke out on the second miss when McDonald shoved Lane in the back of the head and Lane responded by throwing a roundhouse right after McDonald turned his head.

Pitt’s Demetreus Gore and Jefferson tangled on the floor in one fight and Smith and the Hoyas’ Johnathan Edwards exchanged blows in front of press row as spectators streamed onto the floor.

“They play very physical basketball and if you back down against them, you lose,” said Lane, who had 15 points and 7 rebounds. “You have to give right back what they give.”

Lane and Mark Tillmon fought in Georgetown’s 62-57 victory in Landover, Md., on Jan. 6. Georgetown also was involved in a fight against Boston College.

Pitt ended a five-game losing streak against Georgetown and beat the Hoyas for only the second time in 11 games. The Panthers took the lead for good, 61-60, on Gore’s backdoor layup with 1:44 left.

Smith made two free throws seven seconds later, Lane added a foul shot and Smith made two more free throws with 56 seconds left to cap a 7-1 Pitt run that made it 66-60.

The Hoyas pulled within three points on a three-pointer by Tillmon, who scored 21 points, but Smith then sealed the win with his final two foul shots. He made 12 of 13 free throws in the second half and 15 of 17 for the game as Pitt made 27 of 35 free throws to 8 of 11 for the Hoyas.

Florida 83, Kentucky 76--Vernon Maxwell scored 32 points, including three breakaway layups midway through the second half at Gainesville, Fla., and the Gators dropped the No. 9 Wildcats into a tie with Vanderbilt for the Southeastern Conference lead.

Kentucky (18-5, 10-5) had a 25-22 lead but went scoreless over the final six minutes of the first half and never caught up. Florida (19-8, 9-5), tied for third in the SEC with LSU, took a 37-30 halftime lead and wasn’t threatened in the second half.

Rex Chapman had 24 points and Ed Davender added 17 for Kentucky. Livingston Chatman scored 18 for Florida.

Vanderbilt 77, Georgia 71--Eric Reid hit a three-point shot in a string of seven straight points that carried the 16th-ranked Commodores past the Bulldogs in an SEC game at Athens, Ga.

The Commodores (17-6, 10-5) overcame a nine-point deficit early in the second half and took the lead for good, 66-65, with 5:20 left on a layup by Frank Kornet. Reid followed with his three-pointer.

Toney Mack had 26 points for Georgia (14-12, 6-8), and Will Perdue scored 17 for Vanderbilt.

Duke 74, Kansas 70--Quin Snyder scored 21 points, including 7 in overtime, and the sixth-ranked Blue Devils rallied to beat the Jayhawks at Lawrence, Kan.

The Blue Devils (20-3) trailed by 15 points in the first half and were behind, 65-60, in overtime before taking the lead for good, 69-68, on Kevin Strickland’s follow shot with 54 seconds left.

Danny Manning scored 31 points for Kansas (17-90) before fouling out in overtime. The Jayhawks raced to a 23-8 lead, but Duke got back into the game with a 13-0 surge.

North Carolina 74, Maryland 73--Ranzino Smith sank two free throws with four seconds left and the fifth-ranked Tar Heels held off the Terrapins in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Teyon McCoy sank a three-pointer at the buzzer for Maryland (13-10, 4-7).

J.R. Reid scored 21 points, 16 in the second half, and Scott Williams added 16 points and 5 blocked shots for North Carolina (20-3, 9-2), which twice squandered 15-point leads. Rudy Archer scored 15 points for Maryland.

Oklahoma 120, New Mexico 100--Stacey King scored 31 points and the fourth-ranked Sooners outgunned the Lobos at Norman, Okla.

King, who chose Oklahoma over New Mexico out of high school, scored 18 of his points in the first half when the Sooners (24-2) overcame a sluggish start and broke away to a 50-38 lead by finishing the half with an 18-8 run.

Harvey Grant and Mookie Blaylock added 22 points each as Oklahoma won its 10th straight game. Charlie Thomas scored 25 points for New Mexico (19-10).

Georgia Tech 87, North Carolina State 84--Tom Hammonds and Duane Ferrell scored 28 points each and the Yellow Jackets knocked off the No. 14 Wolfpack in an ACC game at Raleigh, N.C.

N.C. State (18-6, 6-4) trailed, 47-28, at halftime, but rallied to take a 57-56 lead on a basket by Charles Shackleford with 11:06 left. Ferrell immediately regained the lead for Tech (19-6, 6-4), and Hammonds added a three-pointer. The Wolfpack never caught up.

Chucky Brown scored 23 points and Shackleford had 19 points and 16 rebounds for N.C. State.

Syracuse 73, Connecticut 71--Steven Thompson stole an inbounds pass at midcourt and drove for a dunk with four seconds left to give the No. 12 Orangemen a Big East victory over the Huskies at Hartford, Conn.

The Orangemen (20-6, 9-4) were behind three times in the final two minutes, but came back to tie each time, the last on two free throws by Rony Seikaly that made it 71-71 with 16 seconds left.

Syracuse had a 44-34 halftime lead, but Connecticut (13-10, 4-9) got back into the game with a 13-1 surge.

Iowa 107, Minnesota 86--Jeff Moe and Roy Marble each scored 24 points and the No. 13 Hawkeyes rolled past the Gophers in a Big Ten game at Minneapolis.

Moe hit 6 of 7 three-point shots and 6 of 6 free throws for Iowa (18-7, 8-4). He didn’t miss a shot until a three-point shot went long late in the game.

Tim Hanson scored 22 points for Minnesota (9-14, 3-10), which had a 35-25 lead before Iowa turned the game around with a 22-4 run.

Bradley 78, Illinois State 71--Hersey Hawkins scored 34 points, including 9 in overtime, to lead the 17th-ranked Braves to a 78-71 Missouri Valley Conference victory over the Redbirds at Normal, Ill.

Hawkins, the nation’s leading scorer, had 24 points in the second half to help keep the Braves (18-4, 9-2) in the MVC lead.

Donald Powell had 20 points and 7 rebounds for Illinois State (14-10, 7-4), which had a 52-43 lead with 12:34 left in regulation.

Wyoming 57, Colorado State 50--Reggie Fox scored 13 points and led the No. 19 Cowboys past the Rams in a Western Athletic Conference game at Laramie, Wyo.

The Cowboys (20-5, 8-5) took command with seven straight points that gave them a 42-33 lead with 11:08 left..

Pat Durham scored 19 points for Colorado State (13-10, 4-7).

Alabama 72, LSU 59--Craig Dudley scored 21 points, and the Crimson Tide prevented the Tigers from moving into the SEC lead at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

LSU (14-9, 9-5) held a 32-28 halftime lead, but Alabama (13-13, 5-9) went ahead for good, 48-46, on two free throws by Melvin Cheatum. The Crimson Tide was coming off an upset of No. 16 Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.

LSU’s Darryl Joe had 21 points.