COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Auburn Finally Turns Back the Tide

For Auburn Coach Bobby Joe Eagles, upsetting ninth-ranked Alabama meant one thing.

“The streak is behind us,” Eagles said after the Tigers routed Alabama, 81-63, Saturday at Auburn, Ala.

Eagles, in his third year at Auburn, failed to beat the Crimson Tide (14-3 overall, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference) in six previous tries.

Auburn (8-6, 2-2) lost nine consecutive games to Alabama, dating to Eagles’ predecessor, Sonny Smith.

James Robinson, averaging 19.6 points for Alabama, scored only 10 points--none in the first half--as Auburn built a 40-25 halftime lead.

Wesley Person scored 24 points for Auburn, which handed Alabama its second consecutive defeat. Louisiana State defeated the Crimson Tide, 89-81, Tuesday night.

Ronnie Battle’s basket gave Auburn a 58-39 lead with 10:01 left, but Alabama scored 11 consecutive points and eventually pulled to within 61-54 with 5:38 left on two free throws by Latrell Sprewell, who scored 25 points.

But Reggie Gallon, who scored 16 points for Auburn, made nine of 12 free throws in the final 5:31.

Aaron Swinson had 19 points and 16 rebounds for Auburn.

No. 1 Duke 104, North Carolina Charlotte 82--The Blue Devils increased their home winning streak against nonconference opponents to 71 games by defeating the 49ers at Durham, N.C.

Duke (12-0) hasn’t lost at home to a team outside the Atlantic Coast Conference since Louisville’s 87-75 victory on Jan. 12, 1983.

James Terrell scored 23 points and Henry Williams had 22 for Charlotte (11-2), which had its 11-game winning streak broken.

Christian Laettner had 24 points and Thomas Hill added 23 points for Duke.

No. 3 Oklahoma State 85, No. 24 Iowa State 67--Byron Houston scored 34 points and the Cowboys ran past the Cyclones in a Big Eight Conference game at Stillwater, Okla.

The victory was the 26th in a row at home for the Cowboys (16-0, 2-0), who matched the best record in school history. The only other time they won their first 16 games was 1950-51.

Iowa State (13-3, 1-1) won its previous five games but was held 20 points below its average.

Houston has 2,017 points for his career, joining Danny Manning, Doug Smith and Wayman Tisdale as the only Big Eight players with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Justus Thigpen scored 20 points for Iowa State.

No. 5 Indiana 96, Northwestern 62--Calbert Cheaney scored 26 points and the Hoosiers handed the Wildcats their 26th consecutive Big Ten Conference defeat at Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana (13-2, 4-0) scored the first eight points, holding the Wildcats (7-7, 0-4) scoreless until Pat Baldwin’s layup 6 1/2 minutes into the game.

Damon Bailey scored 17 points, including 11 in a spurt that pushed Indiana’s lead to 39-15.

No. 6 Kansas 81, Colorado 80--Steve Woodbury sank two free throws with eight seconds left and the Jayhawks escaped with a Big Eight victory at Boulder, Colo.

Colorado (9-6, 0-2) missed a chance to tie when Billy Law drove the length of the court and was fouled with two seconds to go. Law missed his first free throw and made the next one.

Kansas (13-1, 2-0) led, 47-42, at halftime and opened the second half with nine consecutive points, five by Eric Pauley, but couldn’t shake the Buffaloes.

No. 8 Connecticut 77, Miami 58--Scott Burrell hit five three-pointers and scored 19 points as the Huskies pulled away in a Big East game at Miami.

Miami (6-10, 1-5) was within 54-48 with nine minutes left when Donyell Marshall scored 10 of his 12 points and Connecticut (13-1, 4-1) put the game away.

A school-record 10,231 showed up at Miami Arena after the Hurricanes upset No. 17 St. John’s, 45-42, Tuesday night for their first Big East Conference victory. The previous record was 6,654 for a game against Duke in December, 1988.

No. 10 Kentucky 85, Eastern Kentucky 55--John Pelphrey became the 38th Kentucky player to score 1,000 points and the 10th-ranked Wildcats won at Lexington, Ky.

Pelphrey, who scored 14 points, came into the game three points short of 1,000 and got Kentucky’s first two baskets, the second on a layup after a turnover by Eastern Kentucky (9-7).

Jamal Mashburn scored 18 points for Kentucky (14-2).

No. 12 Arkansas 114, Mississippi 93--Lee Mayberry scored 26 points and the Razorbacks eased past the Rebels in an SEC game at Oxford, Miss.

The Razorbacks (15-3, 4-1) built a 55-40 halftime lead and later pushed the lead to 30.

Joe Harvell had 30 points for Mississippi (7-7, 0-3), his fourth consecutive game over 30.

Todd Day had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Arkansas.

No. 13 Missouri 83, Nebraska 73--Anthony Peeler scored 34 points and the Tigers snapped a two-game losing streak in a Big Eight game at Lincoln, Neb.

Peeler hit two three-pointers and scored eight points to spark Missouri (12-2, 1-1) on a 14-4 run to open the second half that overcame a 42-39 halftime deficit.

The Tigers built a 66-54 lead with 10:31 remaining before Nebraska (12-2, 1-1) went on a 10-4 run to get to within 70-64. Missouri’s Jevon Crudup answered with a three-point play, and the Tigers sealed the victory with free throws down the stretch.

Jamar Johnson scored 23 points for Nebraska.

No. 15 Michigan 68, Illinois 61--Freshman guard Jalen Rose scored 17 points and the Wolverines won a Big Ten game at Champaign, Ill.

Michigan (10-3, 2-2) had the upper hand most of the way but didn’t put the game away until Ray Jackson hit two free throws with 15 seconds left for a 66-61 lead.

Illinois (7-7, 1-3) fell behind, 32-24, at halftime by going the last nine minutes of the first half without a basket.

Wake Forest 86, No. 16 Georgia Tech 72--Anthony Tucker scored 25 points and the Deacons held the Yellow Jackets without a field goal for nearly eight minutes in the second half of an Atlantic Coast Conference upset at Winston-Salem, S.C.

The Demon Deacons (9-4, 2-3) had lost their previous three ACC games--two at home.

Wake Forest led, 40-35, at halftime and went on a 12-2 run early in the second half to open up a 54-41 lead with 14:14 left.

Jon Barry scored 24 points for Georgia Tech (13-4, 3-2), making seven of nine three-pointers.

No. 17 St. John’s 85, Providence 75--Malik Sealy scored 34 points at New York and the Redmen handed the Friars their fifth consecutive Big East defeat.

St. John’s (10-4, 4-2) led, 35-34, at halftime but took control with eight consecutive points to start the second half.

When Providence (8-9, 0-5) made only one basket in 5:38, St. John’s opened up a 69-58 lead with 4:09 left.

Michael Smith scored 25 points for the Friars.

Texas Tech 101, No. 19 Tulane 98--Will Flemons scored 25 points and the Red Raiders handed the Green Wave its first loss of the season.

After trailing by 20 points with eight minutes left, Tulane (13-1) closed to 99-95 with 1:21 left. But Texas Tech (8-6), which hit 16 of 18 free throws in the final three minutes, got six in a row by freshman Chad Collins in the last 30 seconds.

Texas Tech’s Lamont Dale scored 23 points.

Kim Lewis had 24 points and David Whitmore added 19 for Tulane.

No. 20 Syracuse 83, Pittsburgh 79--Freshman Lawrence Moten scored 32 points and the Orangemen won in a Big East game at Syracuse.

Moten blocked Jerry McCullough’s driving layup with four seconds left and Syracuse (13-1, 5-1) holding an 82-79 lead. He was fouled and made one of two free throws.

The Orangemen made 19 of 22 free throws in the second half to overcome a three-point halftime deficit and avenge their only loss of the season, 10 days earlier at Pittsburgh (11-6, 3-2).

Boston College 65, No. 21 Seton Hall 64--Gerrod Abram hit an eight-foot jump shot in the lane with 3.8 seconds left, giving the Eagles an upset victory in a Big East game at East Rutherford, N.J.

It was Abram’s only shot in the second half and it gave Boston College (10-5, 2-4) its first conference road victory since beating Pitt on Jan. 7, 1989. The Eagles earlier this week snapped a 19-game conference losing streak by beating Providence.

Seton Hall (9-5, 2-4) lost its third consecutive game.

DePaul 72, No. 22 Georgetown 62--David Booth scored 22 points and Stephen Howard added 17 as the Blue Demons upset the Hoyas at Rosemont, Ill.

Three baskets each by Howard and Booth in the first 3:06 of the second half helped DePaul (10-5) outscore Georgetown, 12-6, and build a 47-35 margin.

Georgetown (9-5) made one last run, pulling to within 57-51 with 7:28 left on a basket by Alonzo Mourning, who had 24 points.

But a basket by Terry Davis and two free throws by Tom Kleinschmidt at 5:33 pushed DePaul’s margin to 61-51.

No. 23 Oklahoma 117, Kansas State 76--Brent Price scored 28 points as the Sooners set two Kansas State records while trouncing the Wildcats in a Big Eight game at Manhattan, Kan.

Oklahoma (11-2, 1-1) set marks for most points scored against Kansas State and most points by an opponent at Manhattan. Kansas State (8-5, 0-2) lost, 116-75, at Lamar this season and, 98-78, in Manhattan to Iowa State last season.

Jeff Webster added 27 points for the Sooners and Damon Patterson added 23.

No. 25 Louisville 68, Wyoming 60--Greg Minor scored eight points as the Cardinals got back into the game with a 14-2 run to start the second half and eventually turned back the Cowboys at Louisville, Ky.

Louisville (10-3) trailed, 38-28, at halftime before Minor, who finished with 14 points, led the Cardinals to a 42-40 lead.

Wyoming (9-6) didn’t make a field goal in the first six minutes of the second half.