COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : North Carolina Beats Virginia in Double Overtime, 89-86

There was nothing difficult about the 10-foot shot North Carolina guard King Rice made with two seconds left in the second overtime of an Atlantic Coast Conference game against Virginia.

Or so said Rice after his basket gave the No. 5 Tar Heels an 89-86 victory over No. 13 Virginia Saturday night at Charlottesville, Va.

“Anybody in this league can make them when you get that close,” said Rice, who scored 14 points and had eight assists.

North Carolina Coach Dean Smith earned his 701st victory as the Tar Heels, 13-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, won their 11th consecutive game and ended a two-game losing streak in University Hall.

Virginia (10-3, 2-1) lost for the first time in nine games.

Rice’s winning basket helped him atone for an earlier mistake that gave Virginia hope in the second overtime.

North Carolina held an 86-84 lead in the final minute when Rice, standing near midcourt, was called for a five-second violation.

The call was made by an official standing behind Rice. But Rice said he was watching one of the officials who was not waving his arms in a counting motion.

“I guess I just have to be aware of those things in the future,” Rice said.

Virginia got the ball with 34 seconds left. Eight seconds later, Rice was called for fouling John Crotty, who made both free throws to tie the score.

North Carolina ran the clock under 10 seconds and gave the ball to Rice, who drove the lane and pulled up for the winning basket.

Several Virginia players tried to stop the clock with one second left, but the Cavaliers were assessed a technical foul because they had no timeouts left.

Rice made one free throw for the final margin.

“It’s disappointing to lose, especially when you put so much into something,” Virginia Coach Jeff Jones said. “I don’t think we played a particularly good game, but we kept clawing back. We had our chances, but we weren’t able to take advantage of them.

Pete Chilcutt led North Carolina with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Rick Fox added 21 for the Tar Heels.

Crotty had 29 points for Virginia, which also got 22 from Bryant Stith and 17 from Kenny Turner.

Crotty made a three-point shot from near the top of the key with 12 seconds left in the first overtime that tied the score, 78-78, and forced the second overtime.

No. 2 Arkansas 113, Texas Tech 86--Oliver Miller scored 28 points and the Razorbacks cruised to a Southwest Conference victory at Lubbock, Tex.

Arkansas (15-1, 4-0) made 36 of 40 free throws and had too much speed and depth for the outmanned Red Raiders (5-11, 2-2), who got into foul trouble attempting to slow down Miller.

Razorback guards Todd Day and Lee Mayberry finished with 20 points.

No. 4 Ohio State 92, Wisconsin 60--The victory at Columbus, Ohio, gives the Buckeyes their best start in Big Ten Conference play in 10 years.

Jim Jackson scored seven of his 17 points during a 17-0 run by Ohio State (14-0, 4-0).

Larry Hisle scored 12 points for Wisconsin (7-6, 1-2), which committed 23 turnovers.

No. 8 Syracuse 69, Seton Hall 67--David Johnson made one free throw, then rebounded the miss of his second try and scored with 2.4 seconds left to help the Orangemen end a rare two-game losing streak with a Big East Conference victory at East Rutherford, N.J.

Syracuse (14-2, 2-2) played the final 2:28 without Billy Owens, who injured his back after scoring 28 points.

Anthony Avent scored 20 points for Seton Hall (10-3, 3-2), which last beat the Orangemen in 1981.

No. 11 Kentucky 78, Tennessee 74--Sean Woods made two free throws with 32 seconds left and Reggie Hanson added another to seal a Southeastern Conference victory for the Wildcats at Knoxville, Tenn.

Tennessee (6-9, 0-4) led, 65-60, with eight minutes left before the Wildcats (12-2, 4-0) scored nine consecutive points to take a 69-65 lead with 5:49 left.

Allan Houston scored 20 points for the Volunteers, who have lost five consecutive games and eight of their last nine.

No. 12 Oklahoma 113, Colorado 97--The Sooners beat Colorado for the 22nd consecutive time in a Big Eight game at Norman Okla.

Jeff Webster scored 36 points and Terry Evans added 30--both career highs--to lead Oklahoma (13-2, 2-0). Evans made eight three-point shots, tying the Big Eight single-game record set by Steve Henson of Kansas State last season.

Stevie Wise scored 20 points for Colorado (10-4, 1-1), which has not beaten the Sooners since 1982.

No. 14 Duke 94, Maryland 78--The Blue Devils, who blew out Georgia Tech by 41 points on Wednesday, took a 10-0 lead and never trailed in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at College Park, Md.

Sophomore guard Bobby Hurley scored a career-high 26 points and added 10 assists for Duke (12-3, 2-1), which beat the Terrapins (8-6, 1-3) for the seventh consecutive time. Cedric Lewis had 19 points for Maryland, which lost at home for the first time this season.

Walt Williams, who was averaging 21 points a game for Maryland, scored 11 before leaving early in the second half with a deep bruise in his lower left leg.

No. 15 Georgetown 61, Boston College 56--The Eagles, who have never beaten Georgetown at the Capital Centre, were ahead by four points with 4:53 left, but Dikembe Mutombo led a rally that lifted the Hoyas to a Big East Conference victory at Landover, Md.

Mutombo scored four of his 24 points during a 10-1 run that gave the Hoyas (10-3, 2-1) their seventh consecutive victory over Boston College (6-6, 1-3).

No. 16 East Tennessee St. 95, Furman 79--Keith Jennings scored 32 points and had nine assists as the Buccaneers (12-1, 2-0) beat Furman (7-5, 2-1) in a Southern Conference game at Johnson City, Tenn.

East Tennessee State broke a 59-59 tie early in the second half and then pulled away.

No. 17 Pittsburgh 101, Providence 82--Brian Shorter, continuing his comeback from a lengthy illness, scored 23 points and held high-scoring Eric Murdock to six points in the second half as the Panthers (14-3, 3-1) defeated Providence (1-8, 1-3) in a Big East game at Pittsburgh.

Shorter, who missed nearly all of preseason practice with a viral infection, also had a season-high 13 rebounds. He was 11 of 12 at the foul line, missing his final attempt to end a streak of 29--five short of the school record held by Jason Matthews and Sean Miller.

Murdock, averaging 28.7 points--and 38 on the road--finished with 20.

No. 18 Nebraska 97, Iowa State 87--The Cornhuskers tied a 70-year-old school record with their 14th consecutive victory in a Big Eight game at Lincoln, Neb.

Senior center Rich King scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds for Nebraska (16-1, 2-0), which equaled a mark set during the 1920-21 season.

Victor Alexander scored 26 points for the Cyclones (5-12, 0-2).

No. 19 Southern Mississippi 101, Virginia Tech 99 (OT)--Darrin Chancellor scored 37 points, including the go-ahead free throws with six seconds left in overtime, as the Golden Eagles won a Metro Conference game at Blacksburg, Va.

Clarence Weatherspoon added 21 points for Southern Mississippi (8-1, 2-1). The Hokies are 7-5 and 1-2.

No. 20 Louisiana State 96, Auburn 84--Shaquille O’Neal was held to 15 points, but the 7-foot-1 center had 14 rebounds and dominated the middle to lead the Tigers in a Southeastern Conference game at Auburn, Ala.

O’Neal, who was leading the SEC in scoring, averaging 29.6, made only six of 16 shots. But O’Neal and his backup, 7-foot sophomore Geert Hammink, towered over Auburn (8-4, 1-3), which had no starter taller than 6-6.

O’Neal blocked four shots and Hammink scored 14 points and had four rebounds in 11 minutes for LSU (10-3, 3-1).

No. 21 South Carolina 85, Cincinnati 69--The Gamecocks (8-6, 1-2) confused Cincinnati (8-6, 1-2) and took command of the Metro Conference game at Columbia, S.C., by switching from their usual man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone with 15 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

Jo Jo English scored a career-high 29 points for South Carolina.

Minnesota 79, No. 22 Iowa 77--Dana Jackson scored the winning basket off a rebound with 1.3 seconds left to give the Gophers the Big Ten victory at Minneapolis.

Minnesota (8-5, 1-2) rallied from a 43-31 halftime deficit to beat the Hawkeyes (13-3, 2-2), who have lost 13 consecutive Big Ten road games.

Utah 67, No. 25 Texas El Paso 60--The Utes (15-1, 4-0) won their 12th consecutive game, a Western Athletic Conference victory over the Miners (10-4, 2-2) at Salt Lake City.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

MIDWEST

Mike Peplowski had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Steve Smith added 23 points as Michigan State defeated Northwestern, 66-59, in a Big Ten game at East Lansing, Mich. Todd Leslie scored 22 points for the Wildcats (5-8, 0-4), who had lost each of their last two Big Ten games by more than 40 points. The Spartans are 10-4 and 3-1. . . . Jeff Warren caught teammate Anthony Peeler’s missed shot with one hand and threw up a desperation shot that went in with two seconds left to give Missouri a 62-60 Big Eight victory over Kansas State at Columbia, Mo. Peeler scored 22 points for the Tigers (9-4, 2-0), including his 1,000th career point. Kansas State is 8-5 and 0-2.

Jimmy Oliver scored a career-high 35 points to lead Purdue to an 86-69 Big Ten victory over Michigan at West Lafayette, Ind. The Boilermakers (10-3, 2-1) shot 60% in the first half and built a 46-31 lead. The Wolverines (7-7, 0-4) shot only 36% for the game.

SOUTH

In an SEC game at Athens, Ga., Marshall Wilson scored 19 points and Litterial Green added 18 to lead Georgia to a 79-54 victory over Florida. The Bulldogs are 9-5 and 2-3. Stacey Poole scored 16 points for Florida (6-7, 2-2). . . . Melvin Cheatum scored a game-high 29 points, including seven in overtime, as Alabama beat Mississippi, 76-73, in an SEC game at Oxford, Miss. The Crimson Tide (9-4, 3-1) beat Ole Miss (6-7, 0-4) for the seventh consecutive time.

Aubry Boyd scored 23 points for Florida State as the Seminoles (7-5, 2-2) defeated Louisville, 77-66, in a Metro Conference game at Tallahassee, Fla. Troy Smith scored 16 points for the Cardinals (5-7, 0-4), who have lost six consecutive games for the first time since the 1943-44 season. . . . Freshman Randolph Childress scored five points in overtime after making a jump shot with one second left to tie it at the end of regulation as Wake Forest beat Clemson, 93-88, in an ACC game at Clemson, S.C. Rodney Rogers scored 25 points for the Demon Deacons (7-4, 2-1). Clemson (8-6, 0-4) got 34 points from junior David Young, who made eight three-point shots to break the school record of seven set by Marc Campbell in 1983.

Notre Dame won a road game for the first time this season when the Fighting Irish defeated Miami, 60-52, at Miami. Daimon Sweet scored 15 points for Notre Dame (5-9), which had lost seven road games. Doug Elliott scored 12 points for Miami (3-11). . . . Former Pomona High standout Tank Collins scored 18 points for New Orleans (13-2, 3-0) at Ruston, La., in a 72-68 American South Conference victory that ended a 19-game home winning streak by Louisiana Tech (10-6, 1-2).

SOUTHWEST

Byron Houston scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Oklahoma State (11-4, 1-1) defeated Kansas (8-3, 0-2) in overtime, 78-73, in a Big Eight game at Stillwater, Okla.

ROCKIES

In a Western Athletic Conference game at Provo, Utah, Steve Schreiner scored 30 points and had 18 rebounds to lead BYU (9-8, 3-1) to a 72-65 victory over New Mexico (11-5, 1-3).