COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Vanderbilt Beats Clock, No. 9 Louisville

Vanderbilt’s Chris Lawson had just enough strength left.

Fatigued by the rapid pace, Lawson rebounded a missed shot and scored with one second left to give the Commodores a 90-88 upset of ninth-ranked Louisville Wednesday night at Nashville, Tenn.

“That’s a play we work on for the end of games,” said Lawson, a transfer from Indiana who scored 18 points. “That’s my job when the rebound comes to me.

“I knew there was time left, plenty of time to put the ball back up. I’m just glad we didn’t get into overtime, because we were all tired.”

Bruce Elder scored 28 points to help Vanderbilt (5-1) stay ahead for most of the game before James Brewer’s third consecutive three-pointer tied the score, 88-88, with 1:50 left.

Brewer missed a three-pointer from the top of the key with 31 seconds left that would have given Louisville (1-1) the lead. Vanderbilt rebounded and held the ball for a final shot.

Clifford Rozier and Greg Minor each scored 17 points for Louisville, which made 14 turnovers to five for Vanderbilt.

No. 5 North Carolina 78, Virginia Tech 62--George Lynch had 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Tar Heels scored the first 14 points before coasting past the Hokies at Roanoke, Va., where Lynch played in high school.

Virginia Tech (1-1) trailed, 41-26, at halftime and never got close in the second half.

Eric Montross had 19 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (4-0).

No. 6 Michigan 79, Bowling Green 68--Chris Webber scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and the Wolverines struggled past the Falcons at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Ray Lynch’s third three-pointer gave Bowling Green (1-1) a 39-38 lead with 17:44 left, but Webber hit a three-pointer and a driving layup, Jimmy King made a three-pointer, and the Wolverines (4-1) built a 58-45 lead.

No. 11 Georgetown 80, Pittsburgh 58--Joey Brown and Othella Harrington each scored 16 points as the Hoyas downed the Panthers in a Big East Conference opener at Landover, Md.

Pitt (2-1) trailed, 37-27, at halftime but closed the gap to 43-39 on Antoine Jones’ layup with 16:20 left. Georgetown (4-0) put together a 9-3 run--getting five points from Lonnie Harrell and four from Harrington--to build the lead to 52-42 with 13:52 left.

The Panthers, who made only 13 of 31 free throws, closed to 61-56 with 8:02 to go but missed several free throws that could have moved them closer.

No. 15 Syracuse 87, Tennessee 81--Mike Hopkins sank two free throws with 23 seconds left and Adrian Autry scored on a dunk with six seconds left and the Orangemen held off the Volunteers at Knoxville, Ky.

Syracuse (4-0) had a 65-54 lead with 11:32 left, but Allan Houston hit a three-pointer to get Tennessee (3-2) to within 80-75 with three minutes left. His two free throws that sliced the lead to 83-81 with 30 seconds remaining were the Volunteers’ last points.

Houston scored 27, including a three-pointer early in the second half that gave him 2,252 points, surpassing Ernie Grunfeld as Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer.

No. 20 Tulane 86, No. 21 Memphis State 85--G.J. Hunter’s made only one of six free throws in the last 38 seconds, but it was enough for the Green Wave (4-1) to outlast the Tigers at Memphis, Tenn.

Anfernee Hardaway, whose two free throws got Memphis State (0-3) to within 86-82 with 44 seconds left, sank a three pointer with 28 seconds remaining and finished with 26 points.

OTHER GAMES

Bob Fife scored 26 points, leading Oregon (2-4) to a 97-77 victory over Alaska Fairbanks at Eugene, Ore. . . . Brenton Moore scored 13 of his 23 points in the second half, as Portland trounced Pacific Lutheran, 96-71, at Portland. Geoff Grass scored 27 points for the Lutes (4-2). . . . Chanucey McBride scored in the final minute to give Idaho (3-1) a 65-63 victory over Washington State (1-2) at Moscow, Idaho. . . . San Francisco got past Pacific, 66-65, in overtime at San Francisco.

Stanley Jackson scored nine of his 22 points in the closing minutes and Alabama Birmingham (4-1) held on for a 73-68 victory over Mississippi State (2-2) at Birmingham, Ala. . . . Junior Burrough scored 20 points as Virginia rolled to a 90-68 victory over Old Dominion (2-2) at Charlottesville, Va. . . . Eddie Rivera scored 19 points and Texas El Paso (3-2) made 10 free throws in the final two minutes of a 73-65 victory over Texas Tech (3-1) at Lubbock, Tex. . . . Billy Wright scored 18 points to lead Bradley (1-1) to a 69-64 victory over Loyola Chicago (1-2) at Rosemont, Ill.