COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : For the Record, It Goes Brown’s Way

Coach Dale Brown got the record and result he wanted Saturday as No. 13 Louisiana State beat Notre Dame, 87-64, at the Superdome in New Orleans.

A college basketball record 68,112 tickets were sold, but a steady rain held the actual attendance to 44,233. All the proceeds from the tickets sold went to benefit the homeless. Brown actively promoted the event, even canceling practice Wednesday to spend time on publicity.

The tickets sold broke the single-game record of 66,144 set at the Georgetown-LSU game last year in the Superdome. The Final Four in the Superdome in 1987 drew a paid crowd of 64,959.

Chris Jackson scored 21 points as LSU (12-2) led almost the entire game. Notre Dame (8-6) was ahead for only 38 seconds, at 18-17 midway through the first half.

OTHER TOP 25 TEAMS

No. 8 Duke 97, Wake Forest 69--With a 30-7 run and a defense that forced 25 turnovers, the Blue Devils coasted in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The Blue Devils (13-3, 4-1 in conference play) held the Demon Deacons (7-9, 0-5) to 34.5% field goal shooting in the first half and kept all of their starting players from scoring in double figures.

No. 10 Louisville 86, Memphis State 69--Felton Spencer scored five of his 25 points during a 12-4 run early in the second half to lead the Cardinals in a Metro Conference game at Louisville, Ky.

Spencer made two free throws and a three-point basket to help the Cardinals (14-2, 4-1) extend a 36-31 lead to 48-35 with 13:50 to play. The Tigers (11-5, 2-2) never came closer than seven points after that, with the Cardinals leading by as many as 19 points.

No. 12 Arkansas 100, Texas A&M; 84--The Aggies committed 21 turnovers and Todd Day scored 21 points to help the Razorbacks in a Southwest Conference game at College Station, Tex.

Lynn Suber scored 21 first-half points to keep the Aggies (9-10, 2-3) close. But the Razorbacks (14-2, 6-0) went on a 15-6 run for a 47-37 halftime lead.

No. 15 St. John’s 65, Boston College 59--Jayson Williams, Malik Sealy and Greg Harvey each made two free throws in the final minute to lead the Redmen to a Big East game at New York.

The Eagles (6-10, 0-6), who trailed, 50-38, with 11:43 to play, closed to 58-57 on a tip-in by Mike Reese with 1:25 remaining. Rob Werdann of St. John’s (16-3, 5-1) made the front end of a two-shot foul with 56 seconds to go before the six free throws sealed the victory.

No. 17 La Salle 84, Holy Cross 81--In a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Worcester, Mass., Lionel Simmons scored 28 points as the Explorers ended the Crusaders’ six-game winning streak and beat them for the eighth consecutive time.

The Crusaders (12-3, 5-1) tied the score, 76-76, with 2:57 remaining, but the Explorers (12-1, 3-1) pulled away by scoring six consecutive points and led the rest of the game.

North Carolina 91, No. 19 North Carolina St. 81--In an ACC game at Raleigh, N.C., Scott Williams scored 27 points and Hubert Davis added 15, sparking a second-half run that helped the Tar Heels get their second consecutive victory over a Top 25 opponent.

The Tar Heels (13-6, 3-1), who were dropped from the rankings several weeks ago, defeated Duke, 79-60, Wednesday.

With the score tied, 36-36, at halftime, the Tar Heels went on a 9-2 run that helped them take a 10-point lead with 15:29 remaining. The Wolfpack (13-4, 2-2) came within four points of the Tar Heels with 5:11 left. Rodney Monroe led the Wolfpack with 27 points.

No. 20 Xavier 83, St. Louis 74--Jamal Walker and Derek Strong each scored 20 points to lead the Musketeers in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference game at St. Louis.

Tyrone Hill added 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Musketeers (13-2, 3-1). Kevin Footes led the Billikens (11-4, 3-1) with 25 points, 19 in the second half.

No. 22 Minnesota 83, Ohio St. 78--Willie Burton scored seven of his 19 points during an 18-5 run early in the second half to help the Gophers to a Big Ten victory at Minneapolis.

The Gophers (12-3, 3-2) are 9-0 at home and have won 11 consecutive games and 23 of their 24 at Williams Arena. Jim Jackson and Chris Jent had 18 points each for the Buckeyes (8-7, 3-3).

OTHER GAMES EAST

Pittsburgh 65, Seton Hall 63--Brian Shorter scored 17 points and made a tiebreaking layup with 11 seconds remaining as the Panthers (6-9, 1-5) ended a five-game losing streak with a Big East victory at Philadelphia. The Pirates fell to 8-7, 1-4.

Temple 86, Massachusetts 69--Mark Macon scored 25 points and Donald Hodge added 22 as the Owls (8-7, 6-1) rallied in the second half to defeat the Minutemen (10-5, 6-2) in an Atlantic 10 game at Philadelphia.

Villanova 69, St. Joseph’s 62--Greg Woodard scored 17 points and Chris Walker scored nine of his 15 points in the final 3:34 to help the Wildcats win at Villanova, Pa.

Villanova (11-8) went on an 11-3 run with 3:06 remaining to move ahead of the Hawks, 57-48. St. Joseph’s (4-10) never got closer than six points.

SOUTH

Kentucky 95, Tennessee 83--Derrick Miller scored 28 points, including 24 on three-point baskets, to rally the Wildcats (8-8, 4-3) in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky. The Volunteers fell to 9-6, 4-2.

Mississippi St. 98, Florida 73--Tony Watts came off the bench to score 21 points and lead the Bulldogs in an SEC game at Starkville, Miss.

The Bulldogs (9-6, 2-5) broke a four-game losing streak. The Gators fell to 6-7 and 2-4.

Mississippi 84, Georgia 74--Gerald Glass scored 34 points and had 12 rebounds to lead the Rebels (6-9, 3-3) to an SEC victory at Oxford, Miss.

Alec Kessler led the Bulldogs (10-5, 3-3) with 30 points.

Northeastern 74, Tulane 65--Marcellus Anderson’s 20 points helped the Huskies (5-9) rally from a seven-point halftime deficit in a nonconference game at New Orleans. Tulane fell to 3-12.

MIDWEST

Michigan State 91, Northwestern 80--Kirk Manns scored 21 points and the Spartans withstood a late rally in a Big Ten game at East Lansing, Mich.

Smith added 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans (15-3, 4-1). Rex Walters’ 24 points led the Wildcats (7-8, 0-5).

Marquette 77, DePaul 55--Tony Smith scored a career-high 34 points as the Warriors (9-5) opened a big lead early at Milwaukee. The Blue Demons fell to 9-9.

FAR WEST

Brigham Young 65, Wyoming 60--Andy Toolson broke a tie with a short jump shot with 1:07 to play and Kevin Santiago added three free throws as the Cougars held off the Cowboys in a Western Athletic Conference game at Laramie, Wyo.

The victory kept the Cougars (14-3, 5-1) in first place. The Cowboys fell to 10-7, 3-3.