COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Indiana Quiets Funderburke, Ohio State, 91-83

Lawrence Funderburke’s return to Indiana may not have been as a winner, but it didn’t lack for excitement.

Funderburke and his fourth-ranked Ohio State teammates made a furious comeback from 19 points down only to have the fifth-ranked Hoosiers go on one final run Tuesday night for a 91-83 Big Ten victory at Bloomington, Ind.

Along the way, there was some taunting on both sides and an intentional foul by the former Hoosier, who appeared unruffled as fans heaped verbal abuse on him for quitting the Indiana team in December 1989 after personality conflicts with Coach Bob Knight.

The Hoosiers were in command with a 56-37 lead on a three-point basket by Calbert Cheaney with 14:37 remaining.

Ohio State (10-2, 2-1) erased the deficit as it finally found its shooting touch in a 26-2 burst over the next 6:06. Funderburke taunted the partisan crowd by scoring the Buckeyes’ first six points of the run.

But Indiana (12-2, 3-0) went on a 20-6 run to put the game away.

Miami 45, No. 17 St. John’s 42--Miami’s first Big East Conference victory came about a year sooner than expected as the Hurricanes used a slowdown attack at Miami Arena in the lowest scoring game in Big East history.

Miami’s Jake Morton and Trevor Burton each made two free throws in the final 18 seconds to protect the shocking victory.

Many had predicted the young, small Hurricanes (6-9) would go 0-18 in their first Big East season. They are 1-4.

Against St. John’s, Miami ran at least 30 seconds off the 45-second shot clock on most possessions, and the deliberate pace threw the Redmen off their game.

The victory was the Hurricanes’ first over a ranked team since they beat then-No. 16 Kansas, the defending national champion, 87-86 on Jan. 12, 1989.

The lowest-scoring games previously in the Big East produced 92 points. Connecticut beat Providence, 47-45, on Feb. 1, 1982, and Pittsburgh beat Villanova, 47-45, on Feb. 11, 1984.

No. 3 Oklahoma State 64, Marquette 52--Sean Sutton and Darwyn Alexander led a second-half three-point barrage that carried the Cowboys (15-0) past the Warriors (10-4) for their 25th consecutive victory at home at Stillwater, Okla.

No. 8 Connecticut 87, Pittsburgh 77--Chris Smith scored 28 points at Hartford, Conn., as the Huskies (12-1, 1-3) handed the Panthers (11-5, 3-1) their first Big East loss of the season.

Louisiana State 89, No. 9 Alabama 81--Shaquille O’Neal scored 29 points at Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the Tigers (8-4, 2-1) ended the Crimson Tide’s (14-2, 2-1) eight-game winning streak in a Southeastern Conference game.

No. 16 Georgia Tech 75, Virginia 71--Freshman Travis Best scored 21 points, including four consecutive three-pointers in the second half at Atlanta to lead the Yellow Jackets (13-3, 3-1) past the Cavaliers (6-6, 2-2) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

OTHER GAMES

Gerrod Abram scored with three seconds to play to give Boston College a 77-75 victory over Providence at Newton, Mass. as the Eagles ended a 19-game losing streak in the Big East. . . . Benford Williams scored 19 points and Terrence Rencher added 17 to power Texas to a 76-73 Southwest Conference victory over Texas A&M; at College Station, Tex. . . .James Hamilton scored 25 points in the second half as Bradley rallied to defeat Loyola of Chicago, 70-61, at Peoria, Ill.