College Basketball Roundup : Seton Hall Has No. 7 Pittsburgh’s Number, Gets 83-79 Victory

Mark Bryant had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Seton Hall upset seventh-ranked Pittsburgh, 83-79, Wednesday night at Pittsburgh. It was the Pirates’ second win over the Panthers this season.

“It’s a combination of our kids playing hard and a little luck,” Seton Hall Coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We’re playing very well, and this is the second time we’ve played Pitt where they’ve only had a day to prepare for us.”

The defeat ended Pitt’s 14-game winning streak at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse and prevented the Panthers (21-5, 11-4) from clinching at least a tie for the Big East title. Pitt plays Syracuse Sunday for the conference championship.

Seton Hall (20-10, 8-7), seeking its first National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament berth, won its fifth straight game. The Pirates last won 20 games in the 1955-56 season.

“We’re playing some great ball now,” Bryant said. “Even after they came back on us, we still felt that we were going to win.”

The Pirates held a 41-37 halftime lead and increased it to 60-45 six minutes into the second half before Pitt rallied with a 30-7 run to take a 75-67 lead with 4:46 left. Demetreus Gore scored 12 of his 14 points in the run.

Seton Hall outscored the Panthers, 16-4, in the last 3:35, making 12 of 13 free throws. The Pirates went ahead to stay with 57 seconds left when Ramos made a hook shot and converted the free throw after he was fouled by Bobby Martin.

Before the game, Pitt retired center Charles Smith’s jersey No. 32. Smith scored 25 points.

Clemson 79, Duke 77--Grayson Marshall made a short jumper with 1:11 left, and Tim Kincaid hit four free throws in the final minute as the Tigers handed the ninth-ranked Blue Devils their third straight defeat in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, S.C.

Marshall hit a 13-footer with 1:33 left to put Clemson (13-13, 3-10) ahead, 74-72, its first lead since midway through the first half. The Tigers made 5 of 6 free throws to protect the lead.

Quin Snyder and Danny Ferry scored 20 points each for Duke (20-6, 8-5), whose losing streak is its longest in four years.

North Carolina 97, Georgia Tech 80--J.R. Reid scored scored 24 points and the sixth-ranked Tar Heels wrapped up the ACC championship for the 20th time in 35 years by beating the 13th-ranked Yellow Jackets at Atlanta.

North Carolina (22-4, 11-2), which never trailed, extended a 67-61 lead to 90-65 with a 23-4 burst that finished off Tech (21-7, 8-5), which had won seven straight.

Scott Williams added 21 points for North Carolina, 17 in the first half. Duane Ferrell scored 23 points, and Dennis Scott added 21 for Tech.

Florida 81, Vanderbilt 65--Dwayne Schintzius had 28 points, 10 rebounds and blocked 3 shots, and Vernon Maxwell added 27 points as the Gators knocked off the No. 19 Commodores at Gainesville, Fla., to stay in the race for its first Southeastern Conference championship.

The Gators (20-9, 10-6) trail Kentucky by 1 1/2 games and can do no better than tying the Wildcats for the title.

Barry Booker scored 14 points for Vanderbilt (18-8, 10-7), which fell out of second place and was eliminated from title contention. Schintzius also held Vanderbilt’s Will Perdue scoreless for the first 13 minutes. Perdue finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds.

Kentucky 80, Georgia 72--Ed Davender scored 20 points and had 8 assists as the No. 8 Wildcats clinched a share of the SEC title by turning back the Bulldogs at Lexington, Ky.

Georgia (15-14, 7-10) rallied from a 39-33 halftime deficit to tie the score, 50-50, with 13:01 left on a basket by Toney Mack, who scored 21 points. But Rex Chapman, returning to the Kentucky lineup after missing a week with a broken bone in his back, scored five points, and the Wildcats went on an 8-0 surge to take command.

Rob Lock added 19 points and Chapman had 15 as Kentucky (21-5, 12-5) won at least a share of the SEC crown for the 37th time.

Southern Methodist 87, Texas Christian 54--Carlton McKinney scored 20 points, and Todd Alexander added 16 as the Mustangs routed the Horned Frogs at Dallas to claim at least a tie for the Southwest Conference championship since 1972.

The Mustangs (23-6, 12-4) haven’t won an outright SWC title since 1967. Arkansas must win its last two games, tonight at Houston and Sunday at Texas Tech, to tie for the championship.

John Lewis scored 21 points for TCU (9-17, 3-12).

Temple 75, St. Joseph’s 62--Mark Macon scored 35 points and the top-ranked Owls beat the Hawks in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Philadelphia.

The Owls (26-1, 18-0) finished the regular season by clinching Philadelphia’s Big 5 title for the second straight season in a game marred by several fights. At one point, Temple Coach John Chaney and Coach Jimmy Boyle of St. Joseph’s argued on the sidelines.

Ivan Brown and Henry Smith each had 15 points for the Hawks (14-13, 9-9). Tim Perry added 17 points and 9 rebounds for the Owls.

Michigan 105, Northwestern 67--Glen Rice scored 25 points, and Gary Grant added 24 to lead the No. 10 Wolverines to a Big Ten rout of the Wildcats at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Grant scored 17 points in the first half as Michigan (23-5, 12-3) took a 53-26 halftime lead. Reserve Loy Vaught had 22 points for Michigan.

Jeff Grose scored 14 points and Shon Morris added 13 for Northwestern (7-18, 2-13).