COLLEGE BASKETBALL REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS : Florida State Wins Forfeit After First-Half Fight

Florida State and Florida A&M; had not played each other since 1982.

After a bench-clearing melee stopped Saturday’s game between the schools at Tallahassee, Fla., it may be a lot longer than nine years before they meet again.

The fight broke out with 1:19 left in the first half, and Florida State was declared winner by forfeit.

Florida State had taken a 38-35 lead on a layup by Charlie Ward when the fight started between the Seminoles’ Douglas Edwards and Florida A&M;’s Reginald Finney.

Within seconds the Florida A&M; bench had emptied. Game officials ejected all but three Rattler players, along with Florida State’s Edwards, Sam Cassell and Ray Donald.

A crowd of 3,100 watched as officials spent more than five minutes trying to restore order.

Florida A&M; Coach Willie Booker, who also was ejected for leaving the bench, decided to forfeit instead of having his team continue with only three players.

“The way it ended was a horrible thing,” Booker said. “The only thing I can do is apologize for my players coming off the bench.”

With the teams meeting for the first time in nine years, officials from both schools were concerned about emotions boiling over.

“We wanted to build a relationship and not lose what we had,” Booker said. “I don’t think we’ll play again in my lifetime.”

Florida A&M;’s Finney, Lester Hunt and Anton Walton were ejected for fighting by the crew of Atlantic Coast Conference officials. A&M; also lost the services of the eight players who left the bench, which is an automatic ejection.

Before the fight, Booker had been called for a technical foul.

“I thought the game got out of hand early,” Booker said. “They (the officials) should have called touch fouls early the way they were playing. I think the officials should have been from somewhere else, instead of the ACC.”

Florida State must play at North Carolina next Sunday without two of its top scorers, because NCAA rules forbid players ejected from a game for fighting from competing in the next game.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

EAST

Sophomore Adrian Autry made a 10-foot jump shot with 3.5 seconds left, giving Syracuse a 72-70 victory over St. Joseph’s for its 10th consecutive Carrier Classic tournament championship at Syracuse, N.Y. St. Joseph’s lost a chance to tie or win the game when Matt Guokas’ full court-length inbounds pass glanced off Bernard Blunt’s hands out of bounds.

SOUTH

Walt Williams scored 31 points as Maryland blew most of a 13-point second-half lead before defeating West Virginia, 101-91, at College Park, Md.

SOUTHWEST

Benford Williams of Texas scored 24 points as the Longhorns won their own tournament by defeating San Diego State, 85-58, at Austin. . . . Eric Traylor scored 17 points as New Mexico State defeated Texas El Paso, 63-61, at El Paso.

WEST

Jamal Faulkner’s two three-pointers in the final 29 seconds, including one at the buzzer, gave Arizona State a 71-69 victory at New Mexico. . . . Jordy Lyden scored 19 points and Andre Collier and Orlando Williams had 17 each as Oregon beat Cal Poly Pomona, 83-69, at Eugene, Ore. . . . Carl Ray Harris scored 21 points as Fresno State beat Portland, 86-79, at Portland.