COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Auburn Upsets No. 16 LSU as Options Run Out, but Not Time

By the time the ball got to John Caylor in the right corner, Auburn’s options had run out.

But as things turned out, it really didn’t matter.

Caylor made a three-point shot with just under seven seconds remaining to give the Tigers their only lead in the game, one that gave them a 78-76 upset victory over 16th-ranked Louisiana State in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Orlando, Fla.

Caylor was the third option, with Auburn wanting to go first to Ronnie Battle or Derrick Dennison outside, then Caylor inside.

“There was nobody (open) so I just shot it up,” Caylor said.

“It’s the one I wanted because it went in,” Auburn Coach Tommy Joe Eagles said. “I didn’t want another.”

LSU, which lost a five-point lead in the final 50 seconds, hustled to get an off-balance shot by Chris Jackson at the buzzer that was short. Jackson scored 28 points.

Caylor’s game-winner capped a comeback from a 15-point first-half deficit for the Tigers (13-17).

Reggie Gallon made two free throws with 41 seconds left and Dennison, who finished with 34 points, stole the inbounds pass and made a layup to cut the lead to 76-75 with 39 seconds to play.

LSU (22-8) turned it over again on the inbounds pass and Auburn had possession with just under 34 seconds remaining, running the clock down to Caylor’s shot.

Auburn plays Alabama in the semifinals of the SEC tournament today. The Crimson Tide beat Mississippi State, 59-44.

Vanderbilt 78, No. 25 Georgia 74--Scott Draud scored four of his 14 points in the final 39 seconds of overtime to help the Commodores upset the Bulldogs in an SEC quarterfinal game.

The Commodores (16-13), who made 32 of 39 free throws, will play Mississippi in today’s semifinals.

Vanderbilt (16-13) never trailed in the extra period, which was forced by Marshall Wilson’s short jumper with eight seconds left in regulation to lift Georgia (20-8) into a 63-63 tie.

Mississippi 87, Tennessee 86--Joe Harvell made three free throws in the final minute to help the Rebels hold off the Volunteers after they nearly squandered an 18-point lead in an SEC quarterfinal game.

Mississippi (12-16), which split two regular-season games with Tennessee (15-13), used a 35-14 run to open an 18-point lead late in the first half, then spent the next 25 minutes fighting off the Vols.

ATLANTIC COAST

Virginia 92, North Carolina 85--Anthony Oliver scored eight of his career-high 23 points in overtime as the Cavaliers beat the Tar Heels in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament at Charlotte, N.C.

The fifth-seeded Cavaliers (18-10) advance to today’s semifinals and will meet 17th-ranked and top-seeded Clemson.

The fourth-seeded Tar Heels (19-12) tied the game at 81-81 with five seconds remaining in regulation when Scott Williams tapped in a miss by King Rice with five seconds left. The basket came after Bryant Stith, who led the Cavaliers with 32 points and 11 rebounds, was called for charging with 35 seconds left.

Virginia had a chance to win in regulation, but Williams blocked a 15-foot jumper by John Crotty as time ran out.

No. 17 Clemson 79, Wake Forest 70--David Young scored the final six points for the Tigers to help them get their first opening-round victory in the ACC tournament in a decade.

Clemson (24-7), which earned the tournament’s top seed after winning its first regular-season ACC title, had a 26-point lead in the first half and led by 16 early in the second half.

But the Demon Deacons (12-16) cut the lead to three points in the last two minutes.

Young made a three-point shot--his only basket of the game--with 1:15 left to give the Tigers a 74-68 lead. He then made the front end of a one-and-one with 55 seconds to play and two foul shots with 15 seconds left.

No. 12 Duke 104, Maryland 84--Phil Henderson scored 24 points and Bobby Hurley keyed an early second-half rally as the Blue Devils routed the Terrapins in a first-round ACC game.

After scoring game’s first seven points, Maryland went cold and basically stayed that way for the duration. The Terrapins (18-13) had just three baskets in the first nine minutes of the second half, and Hurley led a run that put Duke (24-7) ahead and into today’s semifinals against Georgia Tech.

Hurley scored the first seven points in a 9-2 run that lifted the Blue Devils from a 60-57 deficit to a 66-62 lead after Henderson made two free throws with 12:31 left.

No. 14 Georgia Tech 76, North Carolina State 67--Dennis Scott scored 23 points and Brian Oliver had 22 to spark a second-half comeback in a first-round ACC game.

The Yellow Jackets (22-6) trailed, 40-30, at halftime, and went on a 17-3 run to take a 58-52 lead after Johnny McNeil hit two successive baskets, the last with 5:35 remaining.

N.C. State (18-12) got no closer than four points the rest of the way. Rodney Monroe scored 20 points for the Wolfpack.

METRO

No. 18 Louisville 76, Memphis State 73--Jerome Harmon came off the bench and scored 22 points and the Cardinals (25-7) held the Tigers (18-11)without a basket for nearly eight minutes in the semifinals of the Metro Conference tournament at Biloxi, Miss.

Regular-season champion Louisville had a 20-point second half lead reduced to three points in the final minute, but held on to reach the tournament title game for the fifth consecutive year.

In the other Metro semifinal game, Southern Mississippi beat Cincinnati, 75-73.

SOUTHWEST

No. 9 Arkansas 84, Southern Methodist 61--Oliver Miller, known more for his rebounding and shot-blocking, scored a career-high 22 points to carry the Razorbacks past the Mustangs in the quarterfinals of the Southwest Conference tournament at Dallas.

Arkansas, the regular season SWC champion, advanced to today’s semifinals. The Razorbacks will play Baylor in today’s semifinals. The Bears beat TCU, 72-62.

Todd Day led Arkansas (24-4) with 25 points. Center John Colborne had 30 points for SMU (10-18).

Texas 92, Texas A&M; 84--Lance Blanks scored 27 points to lead five teammates in double figures as the Longhorns (21-7) beat the Aggies (14-17) for the third time this season. The Longhorns will play Houston (24-6) in the other SWC semifinal. The Cougars beat Rice, 90-81.

MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE

No. 24 Xavier (Ohio) 89, Evansville 78--Michael Davenport scored 22 points and the Musketeers (26-3) used big runs in each half to beat the Purple Aces (17-14) in the semifinals of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament at Dayton, Ohio.

The top-seeded Musketeers, who have won 14 of their last 15 games, will meet second-seeded Dayton in tonight’s championship game.

Dayton 97, Loyola (Ill.) 95--Negele Knight scored 34 points, including four free throws during a late 9-0 run, as the Flyers (20-9) beat the Ramblers (7-22) in the other MCC semifinal.

Loyola’s Keith Gailes scored 44 points.

WESTERN ATHLETIC

Hawaii 66, Utah 60--Terry Houston made two free throws with 1:23 remaining to give the Rainbows (23-8) a five-point lead and they held on to beat the Redskins (16-14) in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at El Paso.

Texas El Paso 57, Air Force 54--Greg Foster made four straight free throws in the final 12 seconds to give the Miners the victory in the other WAC semifinal game.

Texas El Paso (20-10), which made only one basket in the final 7:55, advanced to the tournament final for the sixth time in seven years.

Air Force (12-20) had upset No. 1-seed Colorado State Thursday.