COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Arkansas Upsets No. 8 Memphis State

Robert Shepherd, the smallest player on the court, made the biggest shot.

Shepherd sank a three-pointer with the shot clock about to expire in the final minutes to help Arkansas, which once trailed by 20 points, hold on for an 81-76 upset of eighth-ranked Memphis State Wednesday night at Fayetteville, Ark.

“When the shot clock was going down, I just felt like no one was on me so I took the shot and it went in,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd’s shot gave Arkansas a 71-66 lead and Memphis State couldn’t catch up.

Shepherd scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and added five steals.

Anfernee Hardaway, who scored 27 points for Memphis State, missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds and Shepherd rebounded. That led to two clinching free throws by Roger Crawford.

OTHER TOP 25 TEAMS

No. 5 Kentucky 81, Wright State 65--Jamal Mashburn, Jeff Brassow and Travis Ford made consecutive three-pointers during a 13-1 run late in the game to lift the Wildcats to a victory over the Raiders at Lexington, Ky.

Wright State, which trailed, 40-31, at halftime, closed to within 66-61 on Sean Hammonds’ basket with 7:12 left in the game.

Mashburn sank a three-pointer from the right wing and Brassow, taking his first shot after missing last season with a knee injury, made a three-pointer to give Kentucky a 72-61 lead with 5:19 to go.

After Wright State’s Mark Woods sank one of two free throws, Ford came back with a three-pointer from the top of the key. Brassow followed with a driving dunk on a pass from Mashburn and hit two more free throws to put the game out of reach at 79-62 with 2:14 left.

Rodrick Rhodes, a freshman forward, and Ford each scored 16 points, Dent added 14 and Mashburn had 10 after going scoreless the first half.

Bill Edwards scored 18 points and for Wright State.

No. 11 Florida State 67, No. 19 Massachusetts 64--Doug Edwards scored 19 points, including two free throws with eight seconds left, and the Seminoles got past the Minutemen at Tallahassee, Fla.

The Seminoles (3-2) took the lead for good, 64-62, with 2:11 left on a follow shot by Edwards, who had 12 points in the second half--when there were eight ties and six lead changes.

Massachusetts got to within 65-64 with 1:04 left on Derek Kellogg’s two free throws.

Louis Roe had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Massachusetts, and Mike Williams came off the bench to add 16 points.

Bob Sura added 14 points, Rodney Dobard had 12 and Sam Cassell scored 11 for Florida State.

No. 14 Georgetown 88, St. Leo 49--Othella Harrington, projected as the Hoyas’ next great center, scored 20 points in his first college game against the Division II Monarchs at Landover, Md.

Harrington, a 6-foot-10 freshman following Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing at center for Georgetown, made seven of 11 shots and sank six of eight free throws.

Duane Spencer, another 6-foot-10 freshman, had 10 rebounds for the Hoyas.

Georgetown is 14-0 overall against St. Leo, winning the last 12 games by an average of 39 points.

Craig Calhoun scored 16 points for St. Leo (0-2).

OTHER GAMES

Brent Williams scored 15 points and Marcus Lollie added 14 as Stanford overpowered Division II Puget Sound, 92-42, at Palo Alto. . . . Tony Harris scored 24 points to lead Washington State to an 87-60 victory over Brigham Young Hawaii at Pullman, Wash.

Voshon Lenard scored 18 points and Minnesota scored 25 consecutive points while trouncing Division II Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 108-64, at Minneapolis. . . . Corey Wallace scored 21 points as Clemson coasted to a 93-68 over Liberty at Clemson, S.C. . . . Ray Schultz and Terquin Mott each made two free throws with just more than a minute to play to preserve La Salle’s 59-53 victory over Philadelphia Textile at Philadelphia.

Jerry McCullough scored 17 points and Pittsburgh held St. Francis (Pa.) scoreless for more than seven minutes during an 89-75 victory at Pittsburgh. Deon George had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Red Flash. . . . Shawnelle Scott scored 17 points and St. John’s (2-0) beat Iona, 90-74, to win the Joe Lapchick Tournament for the 18th consecutive time at New York. Bashkim Mustafaj had 19 points for Iona (1-1).

Mark Bell hit three consecutive three-pointers as Western Kentucky beat Jackson State, 87-69, at Bowling Green, Ky. Lindsey Hunter scored 24 points for Jackson State.