COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Kentucky Feels at Home in New York, 89-67

For Jamal Mashburn and Rodrick Rhodes, it was the culmination of a lifelong dream--to play before friends and family at Madison Square Garden.

For Rick Pitino, it was a reminder of the way things used to be, playing before some of the same fans who attended games three years ago when he coached the New York Knicks.

It was a successful homecoming for all three Monday night as No. 3 Kentucky defeated Rutgers, 89-67, in the first round of the ECAC Holiday Festival.

Kentucky will play St. John’s (5-3), a 74-59 winner Monday over Manhattan (6-2), in the championship game.

“I said that I wouldn’t be nervous when I got here, and I wasn’t,” said Pitino, who quit as Knick coach after the 1988-89 season. “But as soon as I got into this arena, I felt sick to my stomach. This place and New York mean a lot to me, so this is extra special.”

Mashburn, a junior forward who grew up in Harlem and attended high school in the Bronx, scored 22 points and had five rebounds and five steals in his first college game in New York City. Rhodes, a freshman from Jersey City, N.J., added 15 points in 24 minutes.

Mashburn provided tickets for 28 friends and family members. Rhodes said he had about 150 supporters at the game.

“It really gave me jitters when my friends were calling me during warm-ups. But playing before 28,000 fans at Rupp Arena really gets you ready to play anywhere,” Rhodes said.

The Wildcats (7-0) sealed the victory early in the second half by extending their 14-point halftime lead to 71-43 with 12 minutes to play. Mashburn had 13 points during the 27-13 run, including back-to-back three-point shots.

Rutgers (4-4) was led by Steve Worthy, a senior guard who scored 27 points.

No. 4 Indiana 85, Colorado 65--Calbert Cheaney scored 20 points and Alan Henderson had 19 at Indianapolis as the Hoosiers cruised to the championship of the Hoosier Classic.

Indiana (11-1) went on an 11-0 run to lead 13-4 early in the first half and led, 49-30, at halftime. Damon Bailey scored 15 of his 17 points during the first half.

Colorado (5-2) never got closer than 19 points.

Henderson finished with 12 rebounds, the fifth consecutive game he a had more than 10 points and more than 10 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

No. 6 Michigan 88, No. 20 Nebraska 73--Eric Riley, who lost his starting job when the Fab Five arrived, came up with his biggest game of the season to lead the Wolverines in the opening round of the Rainbow Classic at Honolulu.

Riley, a 7-foot senior, helped Michigan (7-1) dominate the boards and finished with 13 points, one shy of doubling his best output of the season.

Michigan, which held Nebraska (7-2) to only two field goals during a 7:21 span of the second half, will play the winner of the game between No. 5 North Carolina and Southwestern Louisiana in the semifinals tonight.

Nebraska’s final lead came at 46-44 with 16 minutes to play. Juwan Howard gave Michigan the lead for good with a three-point play 16 seconds later.

Nebraska managed only two field goals--both three-point baskets--from the 14:03 mark until there was 6:42 to play. By then Michigan had a 69-56 lead.

No. 8 Iowa 91, Texas Southern 70--Acie Earl set an Iowa record with nine steals in the victory at Iowa City.

Earl and Val Barnes scored 15 points and James Winters and Chris Street seach had 13 for Iowa (9-0).

Texas Southern (1-6) committed 21 turnovers, Iowa 19.

The Hawkeyes struggled through the first half, but used a 14-3 run early in the second half to take control.

Barnes ended an 8-0 spurt with a short jump shot to give Iowa a 52-38 lead with 16:58 to play. Moments later, Jim Bartels ended a six-point run with a layup to give Iowa a 58-41 lead.

No. 9 Arkansas 93, Coastal Carolina 74--Darrell Hawkins scored seven of his 16 points during a 19-2 run that helped the Razorbacks win easily at Little Rock.

The 3 1/2-minute run began with less than eight minutes left in the first half and the score tied, 26-26. Arkansas (8-0) was ahead by 24 points with six minutes to play, but Coastal Carolina (4-3) closed to within 11 twice during the final 2 1/2 minutes.

Coastal Carolina committed 32 turnovers, giving Razorbacks opponents 202, an average of 25 a game.

No. 13 Purdue 67, Florida 63--Glenn Robinson made five of seven free throws in the final 2:21 as the Boilermakers held off the Gators (4-3) in the Sun Carnival Classic at El Paso. Robinson, who scored a game-high 18 points, grabbed a rebound with 26 seconds remaining and the Boilermakers leading, 65-63. He was fouled with 1.9 seconds left and made both free throws to ice the game.

Purdue (7-0) will play Texas El Paso, which defeated Austin Peay, 77-56, for the championship tonight.

No. 18 Florida State 109, Maryland Baltimore County 80--Florida State Coach Pat Kennedy got his 250th victory as the Seminoles cruised at Tallahassee, Fla.

Sam Cassell scored 31 points for the Seminoles (7-3), who played without their second-leading scorer, Doug Edwards, who dislocated a finger in pregame warm-ups and could be out for as long as two weeks.

Maryland Baltimore County (3-3) trailed, 47-38, at halftime, but cut the lead to 69-62 on Skip Saunders’ three-point basket with 11 minutes to play. The Retrievers, however, could manage only three points over the next five minutes.

Bob Sura added 23 points for the Seminoles.

No. 22 Arizona 92, Delaware State 52--Chris Mills made six three-point baskets before halftime as the Wildcats advanced to the finals of the Fiesta Bowl tournament at Tucson.

Arizona (3-2) has won each of the seven previous Fiesta tournaments and will face West Virginia (4-2), an 80-67 winner Monday over La Salle.

No. 23 Connecticut 91, Hartford 66--Scott Burrell scored 28 points to lead the Huskies in the first round of the Connecticut Mutual Classic at Hartford, Conn.

Connecticut (5-1) will play Towston State, an 85-70 winner over Bridgeport, for the championship tonight.

Hartford (2-5) stayed close early, closing to 17-15 when Jack Ayer made a free throw with 11:41 to play. But Burrell made a three-point basket and then made a steal and a layup to start a 15-3 run by the Huskies. Burrell had seven points and Donyell Marshall six during the run.

No. 24 Vanderbilt 95, Air Force 50--Billy McCaffrey scored 21 points at Nashville, Tenn., to lead the Commodores in the Music City Invitational tournament.

Vanderbilt (9-1), which has won eight consecutive games, had not played since Dec. 19 when it entered the top 25.

The Commodores will play Bowling Green for the tournament championship.

Otis Jones scored 15 points for Air Force (5-3).

OTHER GAMES

Jamie Skelton of Ohio State (5-2) scored 29 points and the Buckeyes held off a late Oregon State (2-5) rally to beat the Beavers, 85-77, in the first round of the Far West Classic at Portland, Ore. . . . Jim Morgan banked in a layup with no time on the clock to give Stanford (4-5) a 57-56 victory over American (2-4) in the first round of the Fry’s Invitational tournament at Stanford.

Larry Cain of Utah (7-2) blocked a school-record scored 14 shots during a 60-47 victory over San Jose State (3-5) at Salt Lake City. . . . Brooks Boyer’s only points came on a field goal with five seconds to play, giving Notre Dame (4-2) a 45-43 victory over New Orleans (3-1) in the first round of the Sugar Bowl tournament at New Orleans.

Exree Hipp made all five of his shots in the second half and fellow freshman Johnny Rhodes made two important three-point baskets as Maryland (7-1) extended its winning streak to six games with a 72-67 victory over Louisville (2-4) at College Park, Md.