COLLEGE BASKETBALL : NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Owens Arrives in Time for Syracuse, 70-69

Syracuse, which got a last-second reversal by the NCAA, got a last-second reprieve against Notre Dame.

Billy Owens, one of seven Syracuse players briefly ruled ineligible and then reinstated on Friday, scored 31 points and made the game-winning basket with six seconds left as No. 7 Syracuse beat Notre Dame, 70-69, Saturday at South Bend, Ind.

Owens won the game when he put back the rebound of a miss by Adrian Autry.

“I only had an idea of where it (the basket) was,” Owens said. “I didn’t have full focus, but at the last second I saw the rim and just went up with the shot.”

Said Notre Dame Coach Digger Phelps: “The game came down to one rebound. It was an offensive rebound for them and a defensive one for us, and we didn’t get it.”

Syracuse improved its record to 20-3, but after the flurry of off-the-court activity, none of the Orangemen seemed ready to play.

Four starters and three others had been declared ineligible by the university for unspecified infractions. But the NCAA reinstated the seven later in the day when it found no indications that any rules were purposely violated.

The Orangemen were prepared to play Notre Dame (9-14) with just seven players, including some from the football team. However, Owens and the others took a later flight to South Bend and rejoined their teammates.

Dave Johnson, LeRon Ellis and Michael Edwards were the other suspended starters. Johnson scored 13 points, Ellis had eight and Edwards added six against the Fighting Irish.

Owens scored 10 consecutive points in less than two minutes as Syracuse rallied for a 67-61 lead.

But Notre Dame’s Elmer Bennett, who last year made a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer against Syracuse, made a three-point basket that gave the Fighting Irish a 69-68 lead with 35 seconds left.

Notre Dame’s final hope failed when Ellis stole the ball from Daimon Sweet seconds before the buzzer.

No. 3 Ohio State 96, Northwestern 64--The Buckeyes extended the Wildcats’ Big Ten road losing streak to 43 games with the victory at Columbus, Ohio.

Jim Jackson scored 26 points and had eight rebounds and six assists for Ohio State (19-1, 9-1).

Northwestern (5-16, 0-11) has last 12 consecutive games and has not won a conference road game since 1986.

No. 6 Duke 101, Maryland 81--The Blue Devils reached the 20-win mark for the eighth consecutive season with the Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Durham, N.C.

Duke (20-4, 8-2) put the game out of reach by extending its 44-39 halftime lead with a 20-7 run during a 3 1/2-minute surge in the second half.

Vince Broadnax scored 18 points for Maryland (12-10, 2-7).

Providence 75, No. 8 St John’s 64--Eric Murdock scored 28 points as the Friars beat the Redmen in a Big East game at Providence, R.I.

Providence (14-8, 5-6) went on a 15-2 run early in the second half, with Murdock contributing eight points.

St. John’s (16-5, 7-5) shot 26% in the first half and 37% for the game.

No. 9 North Carolina 77, No. 11 Virginia 58--The Tar Heels’ ACC victory over the Cavaliers at Chapel Hill, N.C. was their 10th consecutive win over Virginia at Smith Center.

Hubert Davis scored 19 points for North Carolina (17-4, 6-3).

Virginia (17-6, 5-4) has not defeated the Tar Heels at Chapel Hill since 1981.

Mississippi State 83, No. 10 Kentucky 82--The Bulldogs used three free throws in the final minute to upset the Wildcats in a Southeastern Conference game at Starkville, Miss.

Cameron Burns made a free throw with 37 seconds left and Doug Hartsfield and Todd Merritt each made free throws in the final 21 seconds for Southern Mississippi (15-6, 8-4).

Kentucky (17-5, 9-3) had a chance to tie with six seconds left. But Sean Woods, thinking his team trailed by two points, drove for a layup instead of taking a three-point shot.

No. 12 Southern Mississippi 87, Memphis State 81--Clarence Weatherspoon scored 30 points and had 15 rebounds for the Golden Eagles, who maintained their lead in the Metro Conference with the easy victory at Memphis, Tenn.

Darrin Chancellor and Daron Jenkins each scored 19 points for Southern Mississippi (17-2, 9-1). Elliot Perry scored 27 points for Memphis State (11-11, 4-5), which has lost four games in a row.

East Tennessee State 101, Citadel 69--The Buccaneers led from start to finish in a Southern Conference game at Charleston, S.C.

Keith Jennings scored 24 points and Calvin Talford added 15 for East Tennessee State (21-2, 9-1).

Ted Mosay scored 18 points for The Citadel (5-17, 0-10).

No. 15 Nebraska 86, Colorado 72--Rich King scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds at Lincoln, Neb., as the Cornhuskers handed the Buffaloes their 56th consecutive Big Eight Conference road loss.

Nebraska (19-4, 5-3) took the lead for good with a 27-9 run in the second half.

Shawn Vandiver scored 25 points for Colorado (12-9, 2-6).

No. 17 Utah 67, San Diego State 60--Josh Grant scored 18 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Utes over the Aztecs in a Western Athletic Conference game at Salt Lake City.

Walter Watts added 15 points and nine rebounds for Utah (22-2, 11-1).

Marty Dow scored 22 points and and had 12 rebounds for San Diego State (9-12, 4-7).

No. 18 Kansas 79, No. 22 Oklahoma State 69--The Jayhawks weathered a nine-minute field-goal drought in the second half and assumed sole possession of first place in the Big Eight with the victory at Lawrence, Kan.

Mark Randall scored 25 points for Kansas (15-4, 6-2).

Sean Sutton scored 19 points for Oklahoma State (14-5, 5-3).

No. 20 Georgetown 71, Villanova 62--Alonzo Mourning scored seven of his 19 points in overtime to lead the Hoyas over the Wildcats in a Big East game at Landover, Md.

Georgetown (15-6, 7-3) scored the first seven points in overtime--four by Mourning--and avenged a 65-56 loss to Villanova (12-10, 5-6) earlier this season.

Louisiana Tech 68, No. 21 New Orleans 63--The Bulldogs’ American South Conference victory was their first over the Privateers at New Orleans since 1972.

Anthony Dade scored 20 points for Louisiana Tech (15-9, 5-4), which ended New Orleans’ 15-game home winning streak.

Ervin Johnson and Tank Collins each scored 18 points for New Orleans (19-5, 7-2).

Seton Hall 92, No. 23 Oklahoma 85--The Pirates made only one basket in the final 10:19 at Norman, Okla., but they made 19 of 24 free throws and dealt the Sooners their fifth loss in six games.

Terry Dehere scored 21 points and Anthony Avent had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Seton Hall (14-7), which ended a three-game losing streak.

Jeff Webster scored 26 points for Oklahoma (15-8), but did not make a shot in the final 11:43.

No. 24 Pittsburgh 82, Boston College 74--Jason Matthews came off the bench to score 20 points as Pitt withstood a second-half rally by the Eagles for a Big East victory at Pittsburgh.

Pitt (17-7, 6-4) beat Boston College for the fifth consecutive time and ninth time in 10 games.

Boston College (11-12, 1-9) has not won a Big East game since defeating Providence in the conference opener.

Wisconsin 84, No. 25 Michigan St. 78--Larry Hisle, who missed two free throws with the game tied and 15 seconds left in regulation, made three of four foul shots in the final 32 seconds of the second overtime to secure the Badgers’ Big Ten upset at Madison, Wis.

Patrick Tompkins scored 22 points for Wisconsin (11-9, 5-5).

Steve Smith scored 28 points for Michigan State (13-8, 6-5), including 11 during the overtimes.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

EAST

Keith Hughes scored 36 points and Earl Duncan had 26 as Rutgers (10-3) defeated St. Bonaventure, 97-84, at Olean, N.Y. St. Bonaventure is 4-19.

MIDWEST

Doug Collins scored 26 points to lead Iowa State to a 98-78 Big Eight victory over Kansas State at Manhattan, Kan. Iowa State is 9-15 and 3-5. Kansas State is 12-9 and 2-6. . . . In a Big Ten game at Ann Arbor, Mich., Michael Talley scored 21 points as Michigan (11-9, 4-6) defeated Iowa, 84-70. Iowa (16-7, 5-6) has not won at Crisler Arena since 1981.

SOUTH

Wake Forest overcame an 11-point deficit in the second half to beat Georgia Tech, 86-74, in an ACC game at Winston-Salem, N.C. Randolph Childress scored 28 points for Wake Forest (13-7, 4-4). Kenny Anderson scored all of his 22 points in the first half for Georgia Tech (13-8, 5-5). . . . Wesley Person scored 19 points, including two three-point shots and a free throw in the final 30 seconds, to give Auburn a 72-69 SEC victory over Mississippi at Auburn, Ala. Auburn (11-10, 4-8) ended a six-game home losing streak. Mississippi is 11-10 and 4-8.

Freshman James Robinson scored 24 points and helped key a 12-0 second-half run that gave Alabama an 88-80 SEC victory over Florida at Gainesville, Fla. Alabama is 15-6 and 9-3. Dwayne Davis scored 22 points for Florida (9-12, 4-7). . . . Tennessee (9-14, 3-9) avenged a 40-point loss to Vanderbilt (14-8, 8-4) by defeating the Commodores, 85-73, in an SEC game at Knoxville, Tenn.

Cornelius Holden scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds for Louisville (8-12, 2-8), which ended a five-game losing streak by beating Florida State, 88-72, in a Metro Conference game at Louisville, Ky. Florida State is 11-9 and 5-5.

SOUTHWEST

Maurice Alexander scored 49 points for Wyoming, but New Mexico still beat the Cowboys in overtime, 85-83, in a WAC game at Laramie, Wyo. Alexander scored 20 consecutive points for Wyoming (16-6, 6-4) late in the game. Rob Robbins scored 29 points for New Mexico (17-7, 7-5). . . . Texas won its ninth consecutive game with a 76-73 Southwest Conference victory over Southern Methodist at Dallas. Locksley Collie scored 19 points for Texas (16-5, 10-1). SMU is 10-12 and 5-6.

ROCKIES

Marlon Maxey made a layup and Chuckie White added two free throws in the final 15 seconds to give Colorado State (12-10, 3-7) a 51-48 WAC victory over Texas El Paso (14-8, 6-6) at Ft. Collins, Colo. . . . At Provo, Utah, Steve Schreiner scored 37 points to lead Brigham Young (15-10, 9-3) to an 82-74 WAC victory over Hawaii (11-11, 3-8).

Adrian Hutt of Metro State set an NCAA Division II record with 25 assists during a 122-92 victory over Sacramento State at Denver. Hutt eclipsed the record of 24 set in 1989 by Steve Ray of Bridgeport College of Connecticut.

WEST

Rich Jardine scored 18 points to lead Utah State to a 69-62 Big West Conference victory over San Jose State (5-16, 3-9) at San Jose. Utah State is 10-11 and 7-5. . . . San Diego (16-7, 8-2) had a 17-point second-half lead trimmed to one, but held on to beat Santa Clara, 75-64, in a West Coast Conference game at San Diego. Santa Clara is 15-9 and 6-4.

Thurman Watson scored St. Mary’s (8-15, 4-6) last 13 points, including two on a 10-foot jump shot at the buzzer, as the Gaels beat San Francisco, 80-78, in a WCC game at Moraga. USF (10-13, 3-7) is 0-8 on the road.