COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : After Slow Start, O’Neal Scores 53 to Lead LSU

A record was the last thing on Shaquille O’Neal’s mind after missing four shots in a row in the first five minutes of the game.

But Louisiana State’s 7-foot-1 sophomore center finally got going and didn’t stop until he had set an LSU Assembly Center record with 53 points, 37 in the second half, to lead the 10th-ranked Tigers (5-1) to a 98-74 victory over Arkansas State at Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday night.

The previous record was 50 set by Chris Jackson against Tennessee in 1989.

O’Neal finished with 18 field goals in 26 tries. He missed two shots in the second half and made 17 of 21 from the foul line.

No. 6 Indiana 87, No. 18 Kentucky 84--Calbert Cheaney scored 23 points and Jamal Meeks had a steal and two clinching free throws with 14 seconds left as the Hoosiers beat foul-plagued Kentucky (5-2)) at Bloomington, Ind.

Five Kentucky players fouled out, including three in the final five minutes as Indiana (9-1) rallied from a 73-69 deficit.

No. 23 Texas 87, UC Santa Barbara 84--Senior guard Joey Wright made five of his 21 free throws in overtime as the Longhorns came back to defeat the Gauchos at Goleta, Calif.

Wright made 21 of 27 free throws.

Santa Barbara (2-2) led, 39-29, at halftime and through much of the second half until Guillermo Myers’ three-point play with 2:06 remaining gave Texas (4-2) a 70-69 lead. Santa Barbara point guard Ray Kelly failed to score on four drives to the basket late in regulation and in overtime and again missed on the final three-point shot at the buzzer.

No. 24 Michigan State 81, Evansville 76--Steve Smith scored 35 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Spartans past Evansville at East Lansing, Mich.

Evansville (3-4) used a 10-1 run to pull within 71-70 with four minutes left, but Michigan State (4-3) scored the next four points on a Smith free throw and a three-pointer by Kris Weshinskey. REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS EAST

Chris Brooks scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as West Virginia (3-2) snapped a two-game skid with an 87-69 victory over Old Dominion (5-4) at Morgantown, W.Va. MIDWEST

Quitman Dillard scored 11 of his 21 points in the final 5:49 as St. Louis beat Indiana State, 82-67, at Terre Haute, Ind. Dillard and three other Billikens (4-5) scored in double figures. SOUTH

Melvin Cheatum scored 20 points, including 16 of the first 20 for Alabama, which broke a three-game losing streak with a 79-45 victory over VMI at Tuscaloosa, Ala. Greg Fittz led VMI (3-5) with 13 points. James Robinson added 18 for Alabama (3-3). . . . Douglas Edwards scored a career-high 26 points as Florida State (4-2) beat South Florida, 80-72, at Tallahassee, Fla., handing the Bulls (5-1) their first loss of the season. .. . . . Todd Merritt had a career-high 23 points and Brad Smith scored 22 points to lead Mississippi State (6-0) to a 120-65 victory over Alcorn State at Starkville, Miss. WEST

Wilbert Hooker was nine for nine from the field and scored a career-high 26 points to lead Fresno State (3-3) to an 86-68 victory over Mississippi Valley State (4-5) at Fresno. Among Hooker’s shots were four from three-point range. . . . LaCoby Phillips scored 22 points to lead Santa Clara (6-4) to an 81-66 victory over Nevada (2-8) at Santa Clara.