COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Syracuse Gets Past Towson St.

The last time Billy Owens played in the Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pa., he scored 53 points for Carlisle High in a 1988 state championship game.

He came back under a cloud provided by a newspaper report earlier Thursday that he had violated NCAA rules by receiving $500 in cash from former teammate Derrick Coleman, the first player chosen in the NBA draft this season.

Owens reacted by scoring 30 points, including including a crucial 10-foot jump shot with 51 seconds left, as the No. 3 Orangemen (10-0) outlasted Towson State, 78-73.

“I’m not worrying about it,” Owens said after a performance that included a game-high 16 rebounds. “I’m out here to play basketball. I’ll let that other stuff take care of itself.”

Towson State is 5-3.

No. 19 Virginia 74, Marshall 60--Kenny Turner scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers (6-2) won at Huntington, W. Va. Marshall is 5-5.

No. 24 Michigan State 74, Central Michigan 61--Steve Smith scored 38 points while suffering from flu in leading the Spartans (5-3) at East Lansing, Mich.

Central Michigan (5-3) chipped away and took its last lead, 45-44, with 14:55 remaining.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Marcell Gordon scored 21 points to lead Tulsa (4-2) to a 73-64 victory over Creighton (3-3) in their Missouri Valley Conference opener at Omaha, Neb. . . . Jimmy Oliver scored 22 points as Purdue (7-1) won its seventh game in a row, 97-71 over Butler (5-4) at West Lafayette, Ind. . . . Todd Milholland scored 18 points to lead Vanderbilt (5-3) to a 79-60 victory over Virginia Military Institute (3-6) at Nashville, Tenn.

Jeff Scott scored on successive layups that gave Cincinnati (6-3) the lead for good as Minnesota (6-1) suffered its first loss of the season, 72-64, at Minneapolis.

Wilbert Hooker scored 22 points to lead Fresno State (4-3) to an 88-71 victory against Northwestern State (1-7) at Fresno. . . . Alphonso Ford scored 43 points to lead Mississippi Valley State (5-5) to an 88-84 victory over St. Mary’s (3-8) at Moraga, Calif.

Rhea Taylor scored 22 points as Santa Clara (7-4) held off a second-half rally by San Jose State (1-5) for a 69-63 victory at San Jose. . . . Terrell Brandon scored 27 points to lead Oregon (3-4) to an 85-76 victory over Montana (7-4) at Eugene, Ore. . . . Gary Gray scored 13 points to lead four double-figures scorers for UC Santa Barbara (3-2) in an 80-50 victory over Augusta College (1-7) at Santa Barbara.