COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Seton Hall Back on Track With Win Over Ohio State

Seton Hall Coach P.J. Carlesimo figures his team needs at least 18 victories, including some over ranked teams, to get into the NCAA tournament.

That’s why his team was in a celebrating mood after upsetting No. 6 Ohio State, 68-64, at East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday afternoon.

The Pirates (11-5), who had lost three of four and had fallen from the top 25 after starting the season ranked ninth, got big efforts off the bench from sophomores John Leahy and Luther Wright.

Leahy, who missed last season because of a fractured ankle, scored a career-high 16 points, including four of five from three-point range.

Wright, a 7-foot-2 center who missed last year because he failed to meet academic standards, scored eight points, grabbed three rebounds and blocked two shots in 15 minutes.

Still, the Buckeyes (12-3) almost pulled the game out because of the play of Jimmy Jackson, who led a 10-2 run that brought Ohio State from a 12-point deficit to within 66-64 with 1:14 remaining.

But Seton Hall ran the 45-second shot clock down and Bryan Caver drove and scored with four seconds on the shot clock and 26 remaining on the game clock.

Ohio State came down and Jamaal Brown missed a three-pointer with 15 seconds left, only to get the rebound and his second shot blocked by Arturas Karnishovas.

Terry Dehere led Seton Hall with 20 points and nine rebounds. Jackson topped Ohio State with 21 points.

No. 23 Texas El Paso 66, Hawaii 57--Eddie Rivera and Marlon Maxey came off the bench in the first half to key a 19-4 run at Honolulu as the Miners held off the Rainbows in a Western Athletic Conference game Saturday night.

The first half work by Rivera and Maxey enabled UTEP (16-1, 6-0) to race to a 28-12 lead with five minutes left in the first half. Rivera scored nine of the 19 points and Maxey six.

While Rivera and Maxey set the offensive tempo, the Miners’ defense kept Hawaii (9-7, 2-3) scoreless for a 6:04 stretch and without a field goal for 10:12.

A 12-6 run by Hawaii, with Bert Woodard scoring seven points and Phil Lott five, in the final 4:41 made it 34-24 at the half.