College Basketball Roundup : Syracuse Hangs On to Defeat Louisiana Tech

Derrick Coleman scored 6 of his 23 points in overtime as Syracuse, after blowing a 23-point lead, won the Carrier Classic with a 106-98 victory over Louisiana Tech Sunday at Syracuse, N.Y.

Louisiana Tech forward Byron Newton sent the game into overtime with a 3-point shot as time expired in regulation play. Newton’s shot came after Coleman missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 5 seconds to play.

Fourth-ranked Syracuse (7-0) won the tournament for the 10th time.

The Orangemen hit their first 11 shots, gaining a 24-5 lead, and appeared headed for another easy game. Syracuse built a 23-point lead midway through the half and led at halftime, 54-36.

But Louisiana Tech (3-1) outscored Syracuse, 23-11, in the opening 5 minutes of the second half to cut the deficit to 65-59 with 15:20 to play.

Senior center Randy White kept the Bulldogs close with 20 second-half points. He finished with 29 points before fouling out with 5 seconds left.

Coleman, playing with four fouls, kept Syracuse in the lead with several clutch shots, but missed the free throw that could have clinched the game for the Orangemen in regulation.

Junior forward Stephen Thompson and junior guard Matt Roe led Syracuse with 25 points each. Roe scored 5 of his points in overtime.

Senior guard Darryl Knight had 23 points for Louisiana Tech, and Newton had 17.

Fresno State 89, Washington 80--Guard Wilbert Hooker and forward Jervis Cole scored 20 points each to lead the Bulldogs to a victory over the Huskies at Fresno.

Fresno improved to 2-3; Washington fell to 1-2.

Hooker, a freshman, scored 14 of his points in the first half, as Fresno took a 42-40 halftime lead. The lead changed hands several times in the second half, with Fresno taking the lead for good on a 3-point play by Cole with 3:21 left on the game.

The play gave Fresno a 77-75 lead. Both teams had all five starters score in double figures for the game. Freshman Pat Riddlesprigger added 12 points for Fresno.

Jeff Sanor led Washington with 20 points. Eldridge Recasnar added 18 points and Dion Brown finished with 15.

East Tennessee State 79, Miami (Ohio) 78--Freshman forward Marty Story scored on a rebound shot with 23 seconds to play to lift East Tennessee State to victory in the consolation game of the Carrier Classic.

Story finished with a career-best 17 points for East Tennessee (3-1), which was led by sophomore center Gary Dennis with 23 points.

Miami (0-3) got a career-high 22 points from sophomore Jeff Scott, a reserve center.

Memphis State 84, Grambling 63--Guard Elliot Perry had 18 points to lead a balanced attack as Memphis State evened its record at 2-2 at Memphis, Tenn.

Claude Newell of Grambling (0-4) led all scorers with 21.