COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Freshman Gets His Shots in Arizona Rout

Deron Johnson, a redshirt freshman for Arizona, knows his playing time will be limited because the Wildcats, the No. 2 team in the country, have national championship aspirations.

So he made the best of his 15 minutes Monday night, scoring a game-high 14 points as Arizona posted an easy 90-51 victory over Western Illinois at Tucson.

“Every time I play, I think it’s a good opportunity to show what I can do,” Johnson said. “I had some open shots, so it doesn’t surprise me how I played. A game like this can do a lot for your confidence.”

The Wildcats (5-0), fresh from winning the Big Apple NIT championship, got scoring from all 12 players and used a stifling defense to hold the Fighting Leathernecks (0-2) to 32% shooting.

No. 8 Duke 125, East Carolina 82--Grant Hill and Christian Laettner each scored 17 points to lead six Duke players in double figures in an easy victory over the Pirates at Durham, N.C.

East Carolina scored the first basket, then Duke scored 10 points in a row to start a 35-13 run on its way to a 64-40 halftime lead.

The other Blue Devils in double figures were Bobby Hurley with 16, Thomas Hill 15, Crawford Palmer 14 and Billy McCaffrey 10. Freshman Antonio Lang blocked six shots for Duke (4-1).

The Pirates (1-1) were led by Lester Lyons’ 23 points.

No. 12 Pittsburgh 88, Cornell 64--Jason Matthews sank five three-point baskets in the first half and scored 30 points to lead the Panthers (2-0) to an easy victory at Ithaca, N.Y.

Rich Medina led Cornell (0-2) with 14 points, Frank Ableson added 11 and Rob Hill scored 10 points.

No. 18 Oklahoma 114, St. Joseph’s, Ind. 75--Brent Price had 27 points and 14 assists and the Sooners went on a 21-0 run in the second half for an easy victory at Norman, Okla.

Despite nine turnovers, St. Joseph’s (0-2) trailed by only 11 points at halftime. But the Sooners (2-1) picked up the defensive pressure in the second half, forcing 14 turnovers.

No.20 LSU 117, Southeastern Louisiana 68--Shaquille O’Neal scored 28 points and five other Louisiana State players were in double figures at Baton Rouge, La., to help make Dale Brown the school’s winningest coach.

The victory was Brown’s 341st, passing Harry Rabenhorst, who was 340-264 over 29 seasons from 1925-1942 and 1945-57. Brown, who took over in 1972-73, is 341-203.

No. 24 Villanova 92, Drexel 71--Chris Walker scored 22 points and Lance Miller added 17 at Villanova, Pa., as the Wildcats beat the Dragons for the 15th time in a row.

Villanova (2-0) trailed early, but took the lead with a 17-5 run in the first half. REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS SOUTHWEST

Chase Maag, a junior college transfer making his first start, scored 19 points to help Rice even its record at 1-1 with a 77-68 victory over Colorado at Houston. Rice overcame a seven-point deficit late in the first half with a 30-5 run that carried into the second half as it built an 18-point lead. . . . Reggie Smith, a native of San Jose, scored 27 points to lead Texas Christian to a 66-49 victory over San Jose State in a nonconference game at Ft. Worth. . . . Byron Smith and Darrell Mickens each scored 17 points to help Houston to an 84-50 victory over Stephen F. Austin at Nacogdoches, Tex., in Ned Fowler’s coaching debut for the Lumberjacks. EAST

Garfield Smith scored six consecutive points during a 24-1 run in the first half and Maryland coasted to a 93-69 victory over Towson State at College Park, Md. Towson State (0-2) went nearly nine minutes without a basket and trailed, 44-15, at the half. Walt Williams led Maryland (1-0) with 20 points and Matt Roe added 18. Devin Boyd scored 22 for Towson State. . . . Dirkk Surles scored 20 points and gave Mike Jarvis his first win as coach at George Washington in the Colonials’ 84-74 victory over St. Joseph’s (Pa.) in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Washington. SOUTH

Senior center Dale Davis had 17 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in just 27 minutes to lead Clemson to a 96-56 nonconference victory over Samford at Clemson, S.C. Sean Tyson came off the bench to add 16 points for the Tigers (2-0). MIDWEST

Jimmy Oliver scored seven of his 18 points during a decisive second-half rally as Purdue (1-1) defeated Massachusetts, 64-53, in a nonconference game at West Lafayette, Ind. ROCKIES

Byron Wilson scored 15 points and Craig Rydalch added 13 to lead Utah to a 68-41 victory over Seattle Pacific at Salt Lake City. Josh Grant added 11 points for Utah (2-0).