COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Pritchard Returns to Action, and Kansas Is Glad He Did

Kevin Pritchard didn’t know what hit him.

Pritchard, a senior point guard for Kansas, caught an elbow between the eyes three minutes into Saturday’s game against Kansas State and went to the bench for ice-pack treatments, apparently out for the day.

“I have no idea what happened,” he said. “I remember vaguely getting hit, then I don’t even remember walking off.”

Pritchard, however, re-entered the game eight minutes later.

He capped his return with a tiebreaking three-point shot with less than two minutes left, igniting a 12-0 run that propelled the No. 2 Jayhawks to a 70-58 victory in a Big Eight Conference game at Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas improved to 27-2 overall and 10-2 in conference play. Kansas State is 16-12 and 6-6.

“I didn’t know if I was going to come back when I first sat down,” said Pritchard, who scored a team-high 20 points. “Then about three or four minutes later I walked up and said, ‘Coach, I know I didn’t take myself out but can I go back in?’ He said, ‘Sure.’ ”

Pritchard’s three-point shot with 1:40 left broke a 58-58 tie. A few seconds later, Jeff Gueldner stole a pass and fed Rick Calloway streaking down court to give the Jayhawks a 63-58 lead.

“I’ve seen some great competitors in my day, but I’ve never seen a greater competitor than Kevin,” Kansas Coach Roy Williams said. “The man probably has a slight concussion.”

Kansas extended its 34-33 halftime lead to 39-35 early in the second half. But Kansas State came back and went ahead, 57-55, on a basket by Askia Jones with 3:27 left before Pritchard led the Jayhawks’ surge.

Gueldner and Alonzo Jamison 12 each had 12 points for Kansas.

Steve Henson scored a game-high 21 points for Kansas State. Jean Derouillere added 13 points for the Wildcats.

OTHER TOP 25 TEAMS

No. 5 Georgetown 83, Villanova 53--Dikembe Mutombo, making his first start in nearly a month, had career highs of 22 points and 18 rebounds as the Hoyas rolled past the cold-shooting Wildcats in a Big East Conference game at Landover, Md.

Mutombo, a second-year junior, was dropped from the starting lineup after scoring only seven points against Syracuse on Jan. 27. He had 11 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks in the decisive first half against Villanova as the Hoyas limited the Wildcats to six baskets in 29 attempts.

Dwayne Bryant scored 19 points and Mark Tillmon added 17 for the Hoyas (21-4, 10-4), who scored the first 11 points and were never threatened in bouncing back from Wednesday’s 63-62 loss to St. John’s.

Calvin Byrd scored nine points for Villanova (16-13, 7-8), which saw a three-game winning streak end.

No. 6 Connecticut 79, Seton Hall 57--Chris Smith scored 21 points and Nadav Henefeld sparked a 13-0 run for the Huskies in a Big East game at Storrs, Conn.

The Huskies (24-4, 11-3), who have won 14 of their last 15 games, broke a 25-year-old school record for victories in a season and stayed one game ahead of Georgetown in conference play. They two teams will play at Georgetown on Wednesday night.

Henefeld, a 21 year-old freshman from Israel, had 15 points, six steals and five assists. The Huskies’ trapping press forced the Pirates into 22 turnovers, 17 of them on steals.

Frantz Volcy scored a team-high 15 points for Seton Hall (11-14, 4-10).

No. 7 Michigan 94, Northwestern 69--Rumeal Robinson scored 23 points and had eight assists in a Big Ten Conference game at Ann Arbor, Mich., as the Wolverines reached the 20-victory mark for the seventh consecutive season.

Loy Vaught had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Demetrius Calip and Terry Mills added 17 points each for the Wolverines (20-5, 10-4).

Walker Lambiotte scored a team-high 23 points for Northwestern (9-16, 2-13), which has not beaten Michigan since 1984.

Northwestern was ahead, 11-9, with 13:29 left in the first half when the Wolverines ran off 11 consecutive points.

“We were doing fine, until eight minutes into the game,” Northwestern Coach Bill Foster said. “Then, all hell broke loose.”

No. 8 Georgia Tech 88, Notre Dame 80--Freshman Kenny Anderson matched his season high with 32 points, including five in overtime, to lead the Yellow Jackets in a game at South Bend, Ind.

The Yellow Jackets (20-5), who made 37% of their shots, overcame a 14-point deficit early in the second half and had a chance to win in regulation. But with the score 74-74, Brian Oliver missed the second of two free throws with two seconds left.

Notre Dame (14-10) twice missed the front end of one-and-one situations in the final 27 seconds of regulation.

No. 9 Purdue 75, Ohio State 70--Sophomore guard Woody Austin made five three-point shots and scored a career-high 21 points for the Boilermakers in a Big Ten game at West Lafayette, Ind.

The Boilermakers (20-5, 12-3) made 12 of 13 free throws in the final four minutes with Tony Jones making eight in a row.

The victory kept the Boilermakers in first place in the Big Ten, one game ahead of Michigan State.

Jim Jackson scored a team-high 16 points for the Buckeyes (13-11, 7-7).

No. 18 Minnesota 102, Iowa 80--The Golden Gophers opened the second half with a 21-2 run and cruised in a Big Ten game at Iowa City, Iowa.

Richard Coffey scored 18 points and had a game-high 10 rebounds for Minnesota (19-6, 10-5), which won its third consecutive game.

Les Jepsen scored a game-high 21 points for the Hawkeyes (11-14, 3-12), who have a six-game losing streak.

No. 19 Xavier 80, Butler 66--Tyrone Hill scored 24 points and Jamal Walker added 23 in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference game at Indianapolis as the Musketeers (23-2, 12-2) won their 11th consecutive game.

Darin Archbold had a team-high 23 points for Butler (6-20, 2-11).

No. 23 Clemson 69, North Carolina 61--Elden Campbell scored 11 points to become the Tigers’ all-time scoring leader in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Clemson, N.C.

Campbell has 1,772 points, breaking the record of 1,761 set by Butch Zatezalo from 1968-70.

The Tigers (22-5, 9-3), who won a school-record 23rd consecutive home game, can clinch a share of their first conference title with a victory at home Wednesday night against co-leader Duke.

North Carolina (17-11, 6-6) lost its third consecutive ACC game for the first time since the 1969-70 season.

Dale Davis scored a team-high 19 points for the Tigers and Kirkland Howling added 18.

Pete Chilcutt led the Tar Heels with 14 points.

SOUTH

Wake Forest 84, Maryland 74--Sam Ivy made five consecutive jump shots at the start of the second half, sparking the Demon Deacons in an ACC game at Winston-Salem, N.C.

The victory ended the Demon Deacons’ 14-game conference losing streak.

Anthony Tucker had 17 points and Ivy finished with 13 for Wake Forest (10-15, 1-11).

Tony Massenburg had a game-high 29 points for the Terrapins (16-12, 4-8).

Alabama 87, Tennessee 73--David Benoit led the Crimson Tide with a career-high 24 points in a Southeastern Conference game at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Melvin Cheatum scored a team-high 16 points for Alabama (19-8, 10-6).

Allan Houston had a game-high 31 points for Tennessee (14-11, 9-7), which has not won in Tuscaloosa since the 1980-81 season.

Kentucky 98, Auburn 95--John Pelphrey made two free throws and a baseline jump shot in the final 36 seconds as the Wildcats ended the Tigers’ four-game winning streak in an SEC game at Lexington, Ky.

The Wildcats (14-12, 10-7), under first-year coach Rick Pitino, assured themselves of a .500 season with two games left.

Reggie Hanson scored a game-high 24 points and Derrick Miller added 20 for Kentucky.

Ronnie Battle scored a season-high 30 points for the Tigers (12-15, 9-8).

Mississippi 75, Mississippi St. 67--Gerald Glass scored 24 points and freshman Joe Harvell added 14 second-half points for the Rebels in an SEC game at Oxford, Miss.

Harvell finished with 17 points for Ole Miss (10-15, 7-9).

Cameron Burns and Todd Merritt each scored 15 points for Mississippi State (13-12, 6-11).

Vanderbilt 67, Florida 54--Steve Grant scored a game-high 17 points and the Commodores (13-12, 6-10) ended a seven-game losing streak in an SEC game at Nashville, Tenn.

Scott Stewart had a team-high 13 points for the Gators (6-19, 2-14), who lost their 14th consecutive game, matching the school’s longest losing streak set during the 1981-82 season.

Memphis St. 90, South Carolina 71--Elliot Perry scored 18 points and had nine assists for the Tigers (17-9, 8-5) in a Metro Conference game at Memphis, Tenn.

Eric Sykes scored a game-high 21 points for South Carolina (13-11, 6-6).

Louisiana Tech 78, New Orleans 60--Reggie Gibbs scored 18 points and Roosevelt Powell and Anthony Dade each had 17 at Ruston, La., as the Bulldogs (20-5, 8-2) moved into a tie with New Orleans (17-10, 8-2) for first place in the American South Conference.

Former Pomona High standout Tank Collins led New Orleans with 12 points.

EAST

St. John’s 77, DePaul 74--Malik Sealy scored nine of his 26 points during a 16-8 run midway through the second half at New York as the Redmen rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit.

Robert Werdann added 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Redmen (22-7). Stephen Howard had 17 points for DePaul (15-13), which lost to St. John’s for the second time this season.

Temple 86, George Washington 74--Mark Macon moved into second place on Temple’s all-time scoring list with 35 points in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Philadelphia.

Macon has 1,772 points, moving past Guy Rodgers’ 1,767. Terrence Stansbury is Temple’s all-time leader with 1,811 points.

The victory enabled the Owls (16-9, 14-2) to clinch at least a tie for first place in the Atlantic 10. Ellis McKinnie scored a team-high 25 points for the Colonials (13-15, 6-11).

Pittsburgh 81, Boston College 73--Brian Shorter scored 22 points to lead the Panthers in a Big East game at Newton, Mass.

Rod Brookin and Jason Matthews each scored 16 points for the Panthers (11-14, 5-9). David Hinton scored a team-high 18 points for Boston College (8-17, 1-13).

Army 92, Navy 78--James Collins scored 31 points and Steve Rothert had 28 in a game at West Point, N.Y., as the Cadets beat the Midshipmen for the first time since 1980.

Collins made 10 of 12 shots from the field and Rothert made all 10 of his shots for the Cadets (9-17). Doug Fee had a team-high 23 points for the Midshipmen (5-21).

WEST

Brigham Young 67, Air Force 42--Marty Haws scored 24 points to lead the Cougars in a Western Athletic Conference game at Provo, Utah.

The victory assured the Cougars (21-6, 11-4) of no worse than a tie for the regular-season conference title. Raymond Dudley, the WAC’s leading scorer with a 22.2-point average, scored only six for the Falcons (9-18, 2-12).

Hawaii 60, Texas El Paso 59--Terry Houston scored 21 points as the Rainbows won a WAC game at El Paso for the first time since 1983 and for only the second time ever.

The Miners had two shots in the last three seconds that could have won the game. But Prince Stewart missed from the lane and Greg Foster’s tip-in attempt rolled off the rim.

Hawaii (20-7, 9-5), UTEP (17-9, 9-5) and idle Colorado State are tied for second place in conference.

New Mexico 91, San Diego St. 69--Rob Robbins scored 24 points and Luc Longley added 18 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks for the Lobos in a WAC game at Albuquerque, N.M.

The victory was the fifth in a row for the Lobos (15-11, 7-7). Shawn Jamison scored a team-high 19 points for the Aztecs (13-15, 4-10).

Wyoming 80, Utah 76--Travis Butler scored 18 points and sank two free throws with 19 seconds left to pace the Cowboys in a WAC game at Salt Lake City.

Reggie Slater also had 18 points for the Cowboys (14-12, 6-8). Josh Grant scored a team-high 24 points for the Utes (15-12 and 7-8).

Texas A&M; 103, Rice 95--Lynn Suber scored 26 points for the Aggies, who held off a late rally by the Owls in a Southwest Conference game at Houston.

Tony Milton scored a game-high 25 points for the Aggies (13-15, 6-8). Brent Scott led the Owls (11-14, 5-9) with 23 points.