COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Syracuse Fouls Up Pitt’s Plan for Upset

Pittsburgh Coach Paul Evans was one of the biggest opponents of the Big East’s new six-foul rule, and it took him only one conference game to dislike it a whole lot more.

Stephen Thompson, who scored 24 points, converted a three-point play with five seconds left as No. 1 Syracuse rallied from a 13-point deficit, then blew a five-point lead before beating Pitt, 80-78, Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.

Derrick Coleman added 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Orangemen (10-0) averted a second consecutive Big East season-opening loss to Pitt.

The six-foul rule played a big role as two of Syracuse’s key plays down the stretch came from Le Ron Ellis and Billy Owens, who were playing with five fouls apiece.

“The six-foul rule helped us tonight,” Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said. “There were some guys tonight who would have had to come out of the game but were able to stay in. Sure, I like the rule.”

Ellis’ tap-in with 1:39 remaining ended a 7-0 Pitt run and tied the score, 74-74. The Panthers’ Bobby Martin made four consecutive free throws in a 23-second span.

Freshman guard Michael Edwards hit a three-point shot with 55 seconds left to draw the Orangemen within one before Pittsburgh’s Jason Matthews drove the lane. But Ellis rejected his shot, came up with the ball and fired a midcourt outlet pass to Thompson, who drove in for a thunderous dunk and was fouled by Rod Brookin.

Thompson added the free throw to make it 80-78. Pitt’s Brian Shorter tried a 15-foot shot that bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

No. 6 Oklahoma 101, Alaska-Anchorage 81--Damon Patterson scored 25 points and keyed a 12-0 run in the final four minutes to lead the Sooners at Norman, Okla.

The Sooners (9-0) had won their first eight games by an average margin of 45.7 points and scored at least 130 points in six of them. But the NCAA Division-II Seawolves cut Oklahoma’s lead to one point on three occasions in the second half.

No. 13 Duke 108, Citadel 69--Phil Henderson scored 29 points and Robert Brickey sparked a second-half run that powered the Blue Devils at Durham, N.C.

Duke (9-2) held a 46-33 halftime lead and began the second half with a 15-0 run that consumed nearly five minutes and gave the Blue Devils a 61-33 lead. Brickey scored seven points in the run.

No. 14 Arkansas 82, Houston 78--The Razorbacks’ Todd Day scored 22 points, including a key three-point basket with 1:23 remaining, to hold off the Cougars at Houston.

Day’s basket came after Houston rallied from a 75-62 deficit on two straight three-point baskets by Byron Smith and another by Carl Herrera, who led the Cougars with 23 points. Arkansas is 9-2.

No. 17 La Salle 63, Temple 62--Lionel Simmons scored 23 points and made two free throws with 11 seconds left as the Explorers (8-0) broke the Owls’ 2 1/2-year home winning streak.

Temple’s Mark Macon had an opportunity to tie the score with one second left but missed a free throw.

Temple last loss at McGonigle Hall on Feb. 24, 1987, to West Virginia. The Owls had won 27 consecutive games.

No. 18 North Carolina State 79, Clemson 77--Brian Howard scored a career-high 29 points, and Tom Gugliotta hit an 18-foot jumper with six seconds left as the Wolfpack opened Atlantic Coast Conference play at Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack (10-2) trailed most of the game and by as many as nine points early in the second half before staging their comeback.

Northern Iowa 77, No. 20 Iowa 74--Reserve Brad Hill hit two three-point baskets and teammate Cedrick McCullough forced a key turnover as the Panthers rallied in the final two minutes at Cedar Falls, Iowa.

A crowd of 22,797 in the UNI-Dome saw the Panthers (7-2) come back with a 10-0 run after blowing an 11-point lead. It was Northern Iowa’s first victory over Iowa (8-2) since 1913. Iowa led, 72-67, with 2:20 left, but didn’t score again until Ray Thompson’s layup at the buzzer.

No. 21 Memphis State 68, Northeastern Louisiana 47--Freshman Kelvin Allen, starting his first game, scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead the Tigers at Memphis, Tenn.

Allen, part of a minor shakeup in the Memphis State (8-3) starting lineup by Coach Larry Finch, made five of eight shots from the field.

Vanderbilt 68, No. 22 Alabama 67--Derrick Wilcox hit a 14-foot jumper with three seconds remaining as the Commodores ended the Crimson Tide’s 21-game home winning streak.

The Commodores (8-2) trailed by 14 points with under 15 minutes remaining, but Alabama’s offense went cold and it failed to score in the final five minutes. Alabama is 9-3.

No. 24 Minnesota 116, Rider 48--The Golden Gophers’ 68-point margin of victory was the biggest in school history.

Minnesota (9-1) held Rider (2-6) scoreless for more than eight minutes in the first half to build a 53-21 lead. Walter Bond and Melvin Newbern scored 18 points each. Willie Burton added 17 points for Minnesota. The Gophers have won nine consecutive games.