COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Alabama Pulls Away From Virginia, 80-69

Latrell Sprewell scored a career-high 30 points, and No. 16 Alabama used a late 13-1 run to break open a close game and defeat Virginia, 80-69, Sunday at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“We tried to rest Sprewell, but he was doing too well,” Alabama Coach Wimp Sanderson said.

Sprewell, whose previous high was 21 points last season against Wake Forest, contributed with his defense as well.

“He played some great defense at the end,” Virginia Coach Jeff Jones said. “He is an excellent player . . . very versatile and talented.”

Alabama (3-0) went ahead for good, 67-65, with 5:32 remaining on two free throws by Robert Horry, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds.

Alabama took its biggest lead at 78-66 with 3:09 left on a fast-break layup by James Robinson.

Virginia (2-1) led, 39-36, at halftime, and the score was tied several times the second half before the Crimson Tide drew away. Cory Alexander led Virginia with 15 points.

No. 6 North Carolina 109, Cornell 66--Reserve Matt Wenstrom made 10 of 12 shots and scored 21 points as the Tar Heels won easily at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Cornell (0-3) took a 14-8 lead with 13:51 left in the half, but Wenstrom tied the score, 17-17, with a jump shot two minutes later and then scored after an offensive rebound with 10:41 left to put the Tar Heels ahead for good, 19-18.

North Carolina (4-0) went on a 12-0 run to take a 35-20 lead and led, 52-35, at the half.

Wenstrom, filling in for injured center Eric Montross, also had six rebounds. North Carolina also got 18 points from George Lynch, 16 from Kevin Salvadori, 12 from Hubert Davis and 11 from Donald Williams.

OTHER GAMES

Iowa State 70, Maine 63--Johnny Orr became the first basketball coach to be the biggest winner at two NCAA Division I schools when the Cyclones won in the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico.

Orr’s record at Iowa State is 167-164 over 12 seasons, breaking the mark of Louis Menze, who went 166-153 from 1929-47. Orr also has the best record at Michigan, where he was 209-113 in 12 seasons after coaching three at Massachusetts. He was 39-33 at UMass and has an overall mark of 415-310.

Iowa State is 4-1. Maine is 2-2.

Brown 71, Providence 69--Rick Lloyd scored 29 points and Chuck Savage made two free throws with five seconds remaining in overtime to give the Bruins the victory at Providence, R.I.

Brown (1-1) had not beaten Providence since 1980. Providence dropped to 2-3, its worst start in more than 30 years.

Providence built a 43-30 lead shortly before halftime, paced by Rob Phelps’ 16 points.

Brown finally tied the score, 55-55, with about five minutes left on two free throws by Daron Mills.

Georgia 93, Bucknell 90--Litterial Green and Mike Green each sank two free throws in the final seconds to give the Bulldogs the victory at Athens, Ga.

Georgia (2-0) had a 13-point lead with 8:42 remaining when Bucknell scored 10 unanswered points and pulled within three, 74-71, on a three-point basket by Bill Courtney. Chris Simpson sank a free throw for Bucknell (1-1) that narrowed Georgia’s lead to 89-88 with 23 seconds remaining.

Nine seconds later, Litterial Green made his two free throws, followed by Mike Green’s two with five seconds remaining.

Santa Clara 69, Coastal Carolina 62--A full-court press in the second half quieted Coastal Carolina’s Tony Dunkin in the seventh-place game of the Great Alaska Shootout.

Dunkin scored 23 of his 36 points in the first half and finished one point shy of tying the single-game tournament record and the three-game tournament record of 85.

Santa Clara (1-3) was led by center Ron Reis’ 19 points.

Coastal Carolina is 2-3.

Oregon State 87, Eastern Michigan 72--Scott Haskin and Chad Scott had 25 points apiece for Oregon State in the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage.

The Beavers (3-1) dominated throughout the game, leading by as many as 20 points three times in the second half.

Eastern Michigan is 3-2.