COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Owens, No. 8 Syracuse Sink Connecticut, 81-79

Billy Owens made four free throws to give eighth-ranked Syracuse the lead in overtime and the Orangemen held on for an 81-79 victory Wednesday night over No. 13 Connecticut in a Big East Conference game at Syracuse.

Syracuse (15-2, 3-2), which won its ninth home game in a row against a ranked opponent, held on despite missing four of six free throws in the final minute.

After Adrian Autry of Syracuse made one of two free throws with four seconds left, Chris Smith of Connecticut (12-3, 3-2) drove the length of the court but couldn’t get off a shot before time expired.

Syracuse took a 75-71 lead with 3:57 left on the foul shots by Owens, who scored 19 points. The Orangemen never surrendered the lead, although the Huskies drew to within 80-79 when Gilad Katz hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left.

The game went into overtime when LeRon Ellis of Syracuse scored with 0.3 seconds left.

Smith, who scored 20 points, gave Connecticut a 71-69 lead when he made a three-pointer with 12 seconds left.

No. 9 Kentucky 95, Mississippi 85--John Pelphrey scored 29 points and the Wildcats downed the Rebels in a Southeastern Conference game at Oxford, Miss.

Pelphrey made eight of 16 shots, including six of nine from three-point range, as Kentucky (13-2, 5-0) remained the only undefeated team in conference play. The Wildcats, however, are on probation and cannot win the title.

Kentucky led, 49-35, at halftime and turned it into a 63-47 margin with 11:41 left. The Rebels (6-8, 0-5) went on a 9-2 run to slice the lead to fewer than 10 points for the first time in the second half, but could get no closer than eight.

Sean Woods added 17 points for the Wildcats and Reggie Hanson had 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Joe Harvell had 21 points for the Rebels, and Patrick Eddie added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 12 Duke 83, Citadel 50--Christian Laettner had 18 points and eight rebounds as the Blue Devils trounced the Bulldogs at Charleston, S.C.

The Blue Devils (14-3) took a 44-28 halftime lead and poured it on with a 15-2 run to start the second half.

The Citadel (2-10) scored only 22 points in the second half, hitting seven of 22 shots.

Bill McCaffrey added 15 points for Duke, while Ted Mosay scored 19 for the Bulldogs.

No. 14 Virginia 76, Maryland 62--Bryant Stith scored 16 points, including six in a pivotal 18-6 run at the beginning of the second half, as the Cavaliers defeated the Terrapins in an ACC game at College Park, Md.

Kenny Turner and Ted Jeffries both had 14 points for the Cavaliers (11-3, 3-1), who rebounded from Saturday’s double-overtime loss to North Carolina to win the ninth of their last 10 games and improve to 8-1 on the road.

Virginia trailed by five in the first half and needed a 9-4 run to take a 39-34 halftime lead against Maryland (8-7, 1-4), playing its first game without injured guard Walt Williams.

The Cavaliers dominated the second half from the outset, holding Maryland scoreless for nearly four minutes to take a 45-34 lead. After a basket by the Terrapins’ Kevin McLinton, Turner and Stith scored to make it 49-36.

Moments later, Stith made a jumper and a follow shot, and Matt Blundin hit a layup to make it 57-40 with 11:31 left.

No. 22 South Carolina 83, Virginia Tech 67--Barry Manning scored 20 points and Jeff Roulston sparked a second-half run that led the Gamecocks past the Hokies in a Metro Conference game at Columbia, S.C.

The Gamecocks (13-3, 3-1) trailed by 12 points before rallying for a 36-36 halftime tie. Trailing, 54-50, with 11:38 left, they took command with a 10-1 run.

Roulston had four points and a steal during the surge, which gave the Gamecocks a 60-55 lead with 7:06 remaining.

Antony Moses of Virginia Tech (7-6, 1-3) made a four-point play to cut the lead to 60-59, but Roulston hit a short hook in the lane and Manning stole the ball and drove for a layup to make it 64-59 with 5:47 left.

The Gamecocks led, 70-61, on Jo Jo English’s basket with 4:12 left and made 13 of 16 free throws in the final minutes.

English scored 20 points for the Gamecocks, while Joe Rhett added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Moses scored 29 points for the Hokies.