COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Alexander Leads Oklahoma State Past Oklahoma

Darwyn Alexander equaled his personal best with 24 points, including two free throws with five seconds to play, lifting No. 3 Oklahoma State to a 92-89 victory over No. 17 Oklahoma Monday night and giving the Cowboys their best start ever.

Oklahoma State (17-0) surpassed the team mark of 16-0 set by the 1950-51 team and is 3-0 in the Big Eight for the first time since 1980-81. The Cowboys ended an 11-game losing streak in Norman.

Oklahoma (11-3, 1-2), couldn’t make up a 14-point second-half deficit and was held to 43% shooting.

The Sooners pulled within 90-89 when Terry Evans made a three-point basket with 32 seconds to play. The Cowboys then worked 27 seconds off the clock before Alexander was fouled.

Alexander, an 80% foul shooter, made both shots. Brent Price then missed a three-pointer in the final seconds. Price led Oklahoma with 26 points, 18 during the second half.

Corey Williams had 21 points for Oklahoma State and Byron Houston added 17 despite foul trouble. Jeff Webster had 21 for Oklahoma, 17 during the first half, before fouling out with 6:46 to play.

Seton Hall 75, No. 22 St. John’s 60--Terry Dehere scored 23 of his season-high 31 points during the first half at East Rutherford, N.J., and the Pirates ended a three-game losing streak.

The Big East game was the first this season for Seton Hall (10-5, 3-4) as an unranked team, and the Pirates played like a team that was desperate for a victory. They hounded St. John’s (10-5, 4-3) on defense, took advantage of the Redmen’s manpower problems in the frontcourt, and cruised behind Dehere, whose previous season-high had been 23 points.

Dehere, who sat out for a couple of minutes because of leg cramps early in the second half, capped two scoring spurts for Seton Hall--one in each half--and assisted on a basket by Arturas Karnishovas after St. John’s had pulled to 64-58 with less than four minutes to play.

Dehere added two free throws after Karnishovas’ basket to put Seton Hall ahead by 68-58, and St. John’s never got close again in suffering its worst loss of the season.

Malik Sealy had 19 points for St. John’s, which played without injured center Robert Werdann and then lost forward Shawnelle Scott to an ankle injury during the first half and backup center Mitchell Foster on fouls with 7:45 to play.

OTHER GAMES

Clarence Caesar led a 20-4 run during the first half to put Louisiana State in control in a 115-67 victory over McNeese State at Baton Rouge, La. . . . LeVert Threats scored 21 points to help lift Tennessee Chattanooga to an 88-82 Southern Conference victory over East Tennessee State at Johnson City, Tenn., ending its 34-game home-court winning streak. . . . Jamar Johnson made four free throws in the last four minutes and Bruce Chubick blocked two shots in the final two minutes as Nebraska rallied to defeat Missouri Kansas City, 74-71, at Lincoln, Neb. . . . James Hargrove scored seven of his 31 points in the final two minutes, enabling Duquesne to upset Atlantic-10 rival George Washington, 67-63, at Washington. . . . Chuck Graham’s 19 points led five Florida State players in double figures as the Seminoles scored a 78-64 victory over Mercer at Tallahasse, Fla. . . . Clarence Weatherspoon scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Southern Mississippi won its third consecutive game over Memphis State, 67-59, at Hattiesburg, Miss.