NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : East Regional at Hartford, Conn. : Richmond Upsets Georgia Tech, Faces Temple

Richmond is on the run, and now faces the biggest challenge of its March dash--top-ranked Temple.

The Spiders shut down Georgia Tech’s fastbreak Sunday and beat the Yellow Jackets, 59-55, in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. East Regional.

Richmond defeated defending champion Indiana, 72-69, Friday in the first round.

Sunday, Peter Woolfolk scored 27 points for the Spiders (26-6), who have won nine in a row. Richmond also has beaten Georgia Tech three straight times over the past two years, including a 73-67 victory last Dec. 23 in Atlanta.

Trailing by as many as 11 in the first half, Georgia Tech pulled to within 57-55 when freshman Dennis Scott made his third three-point shot of the second half, but Richmond guard Benjy Taylor made two free throws with 11 seconds left.

Able to score just 9 points off its fast break, Tech’s 55 points ties its season low.

In the East semifinals on Thursday night in East Rutherford, N.J., the Spiders will play Temple, which defeated Georgetown, 74-53, Sunday. The Owls (31-2) have won 17 in a row.

Richmond is the Colonial Athletic Assn. regular-season and tournament champion.

Against Georgia Tech, center Steve Kratzer grabbed 12 rebounds and was responsible for stifling Tom Hammonds, the Yellow Jackets’ leading scorer.

Hammonds, who averaged 19 points a game and scored a season-high 33 in Georgia Tech’s first-round win over Iowa State, scored just 8 points. Duane Ferrell, the team’s second-leading scorer, had nine points as the Yellow Jackets made just 33% of their field-goal attempts.

Scott, who fouled out near the end of the game, and guard Brian Oliver each had 15 points for Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets (22-10) were held to 18 points in the first half, making just 5 of 23 shots for 21.7%.

The Spiders led, 53-43, with 2:42 remaining, but the Yellow Jackets scored 12 of the game’s final 18 points. In the final 3:03, Richmond missed 8 of 13 foul shots, including the front end of five one-and-ones.

Georgia Tech was seeded fifth in the East bracket. Richmond was seeded 13th.

Temple 74, Georgetown 53--Georgetown’s 21-point loss to Temple was the Hoyas’ worst defeat of the season.

Mark Macon, Temple’s star freshman, had a poor first half. The Owls took care of that in the second half--they got him the ball.

Macon scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half. Macon, averaging 20.7 points a game, appeared tight in the first half, making just 2 for 7 shots.

Georgetown Coach John Thompson said: “They distribute the ball so well to the open person, they play so well as a team, I don’t think you can shut anyone down.”

Macon’s first shot was blocked by Charles Smith, but he followed with a short jumper. He later tossed up an air ball and was called for traveling.

Macon’s only other points in the half came when a loose ball was batted to him alone under the basket.

Macon, who scored 18 first-half points to lead Temple past Lehigh in the opening round, fouled out for the first time this season in that game.

Sunday, he earned his second foul for a reach with 4:54 to play in the first half and sat out until halftime.

Macon came out shooting in the second half. He forced an off-balance jumper under heavy pressure on Temple’s first possession but then hit a 10-footer baseline jumper to ignite a 24-9 run. He also followed his own miss for a basket and hit a three-point shot in the surge.

Temple Coach John Chaney said the Owls were not looking for Macon in the first half.

“In the first half we tried to establish the down-low game,” Chaney said. “If you want to go down low at any stage in the game, you have to establish it early.

“Mark was just following the game plan. After we established (Tim) Perry, he looked for his shot. Mark knows he has the green light any time.”

The Owls led by only four at halftime.

In the second half, Macon helped Howard Evans bring the ball up court to break the press and made 10 of his 11 free throws. Evans had to leave the game briefly in the second half with a back injury, but he was able to return.

Georgetown finishes 20-10. The Hoyas were one of six Big East teams invited to the NCAA tournament. Only one, Villanova, remains.