COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Syracuse Turns to Defense to Stop Connecticut

Syracuse, the No. 8 team in the nation, held Connecticut to two field goals in the final 12 minutes and still needed a mental mistake by the Huskies to win, 68-66, in a Big East game at Hartford, Conn., Monday night.

UConn, 12-7 overall and 3-6 in the conference, lost its sixth game in a row. It had a chance at the final shot but never got it off because John Gwynn tried to dribble to the basket as time ran out.

Connecticut had kept the game close by making seven of eight free throws in the final four minutes. But Syracuse (18-3, 6-3) held the Huskies to 29% shooting in the second half.

No. 1 Nevada Las Vegas 126, Utah State 83--The Runnin Rebels started with a 16-0 run and were never threatened in a Big West Conference game at Logan, Utah. Las Vegas improved its record to 16-0 and 9-0. Utah State is 7-11 and 4-5.

No. 16 East Tennessee State 99, Marshall 88--Rodney English scored 24 points and Calvin Talford added 23, but it was the defense that made the difference as East Tennessee State (16-2, 6-1) beat Southern Conference rival Marshall (9-12, 2-5) at Johnson City, Tenn.

Tulane 84, No. 22 New Orleans 83--David Whitmore made a three-point basket at the buzzer of the second overtime at New Orleans as Tulane ended New Orleans’ winning streak at 17 games.

Tulane (12-12) sent the game into overtime with a three-point basket by Michael Christian. New Orleans (17-3) was led by Dwight Myvett with 22 points. REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS EAST

Earl Duncan’s free throw with nine seconds to play lifted Rutgers (12-6, 7-3) to a 79-78 Atlantic 10 victory over Penn State (12-6, 5-4) at State College, Pa., ending the Nittany Lions’ 24-game home winning streak. . . . Mark Macon scored 29 points and Mik Kilgore added 23 as Temple (14-4, 8-1) rallied to beat Rhode Island (9-9, 5-5), 76-61, in an Atlantic 10 game at Kingston, R.I. . . . Freshman Bernard Blunt scored 23 points to lead St. Joseph’s (6-12, 3-8) to an 87-78 victory over St. Bonaventure (4-15, 0-11) in an Atlantic 10 game at Philadelphia. MIDWEST

Larry Smith scored 16 points to lead Illinois (14-6, 4-3) to a 53-50 Big Ten victory over Iowa (13-6, 2-5) at Champaign, Ill. . . . Robert George scored 28 points as Wichita State (11-9, 4-3) posted a 73-60 victory over Illinois State (3-15, 3-5) in a Missouri Conference game at Normal, Ill. . . . Andre Rigsby scored 15 points and Ryon Thornton grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Southwest Missouri State (15-7, 7-2) to a 62-60 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Bradley (5-13, 3-5) at Peoria, Ill. SOUTH

Arkansas State (13-6) had five players in double figures, led by Bobby Gross with 18 points, and beat Mississippi Valley State (7-11), 88-72 at Jonesboro, Ark. . . . David Stamey scored all nine of his points in overtime to lead Furman (13-5, 6-1) to its sixth consecutive victory, 88-75 over Tennessee-Chattanooga (13-7, 6-1) at Greenville, S.C.

WEST

Mark Meredith scored 20 points as Colorado State (10-8) beat Oklahoma City (19-3), 98-76, at Ft. Collins, Colo.