College Basketball Roundup : Syracuse Goes Overtime to Win Big Apple NIT

Stephen Thompson, former Crenshaw High star, scored 7 of Syracuse’s 10 points in overtime and finished with 23 as the sixth-ranked Orangemen recorded an 86-84 victory over No. 13 Missouri in the championship game of the Big Apple National Invitation Tournament Friday night in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

The Tigers (4-0) led, 80-79, after a layup by Greg Church with 2:29 left in the extra period, but Thompson rebounded an airball by Matt Roe and laid it in, giving Syracuse the lead for good.

Missouri’s Doug Smith tipped in a missed shot by Lee Coward with 3 seconds left in regulation to tie it, 76-76, and force the overtime. Before making the tip, Smith was 2 for 13 from the floor.

Sherman Douglas scored 21 points for Syracuse and was named the most valuable player of the tournament. Coward had 21 for Missouri (3-1).

In the consolation game, No. 5 North Carolina got a career-high 29 points from Jeff Lebo and 25 from Kevin Madden to defeat No. 20 Indiana, 106-92. Lebo made 6 of his first 7 3-point attempts.

Other tournaments:

MAUI

Michigan 91, Vanderbilt 66--The No. 3-ranked Wolverines pulled away at the end of the first half in an opening-round game at Lahina, Hawaii. Glen Rice scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half and Sean Higgins scored all 17 of his in the second half to lead the Wolverines, who meet Memphis State in a semifinal game tonight.

Memphis St. 88, Chaminade 44--Freshman Ernest Smith scored 20 points and the Tigers opened the game with a 20-2 run against host Chaminade, a NAIA school.

Oklahoma 97, Ohio State 93--Stacey King scored 34 points for the No. 4 Sooners, who had to come back from a 7-point deficit in the second half to beat the No. 16 Buckeyes.

Ohio State guard Jay Burson scored 38 points, making 12 of 21 shots, including 3 of 4 3-pointers. But a tough Oklahoma defense pressured him into 11 turnovers.

UNLV 86, DePaul 77--Greg Anthony scored 28 points lead No. 8 Nevada Las Vegas over DePaul. The Rebels face Oklahoma in the semfinals.

ALASKA SHOOTOUT

Kentucky 56, Iona 54--Even without three starters, the Gaels almost were good enough to beat the Wildcats in the opening game of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage.

The Gaels’ Glenn Grant, Nestor Payne and Joe Johnson had to sit out the team’s season opener for playing in a summer game that was not sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn.

Kentucky’s LeRon Ellis scored a career-high 22 points, including several stuff shots on lob passes from the coach’s son, playmaker Sean Sutton.

Kentucky’s Chris Mills, who had 14 points, missed the first half of a one-and-one free throw try with 6 seconds to go, but he grabbed the rebound to preserve the victory.

California 73, Florida 58--Ryan Drew scored 19 points and Leonard Taylor 17 as the Bears beat the 15th-ranked Gators in the first round.

Taylor, playing his first college game in nearly two years, also had 15 rebounds. Taylor missed most of the 1986-87 season with a neck injury and all of last season with a broken foot.

California tonight will play the winner of Friday night’s late game between Kansas and host Alaska Anchorage.

Seton Hall 86, Utah 68--Daryll Walker scored 13 of his 14 points in the second half and Seton Hall made 9 3-pointers to advance to its second-round meeting with Kentucky.