COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : No. 2 Kentucky Defeats Georgia in SEC Opener

Jamal Mashburn scored 26 points and Kentucky’s press forced 27 turnovers as the second-ranked Wildcats opened Southeastern Conference play with a 74-59 victory over Georgia at Athens, Ga., on Tuesday night.

Georgia led by 13-11 on Shandon Anderson’s jump shot with 11:25 left in the half. Mashburn’s two free throws gave Kentucky (10-0) the lead for good at 17-15 with 9:02 to play in the half.

Those free throws started a 23-9 Kentucky run that provided a 38-24 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs, 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, came no closer than 12 points during the second half. Charles Claxton, who scored 12 of his 16 points during the second half, made two free throws with 17:16 to play to make the score 42-30.

No. 10 Georgia Tech 85, Maryland 75--Travis Best scored 25 points as the Yellow Jackets beat the Terrapins in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at College Park. Md.

Malcolm Mackey had 17 points, and his 17 rebounds put him atop Georgia Tech’s all-time list. He has 998 rebounds, breaking the record held by Jim Caldwell, who had 993 from 1963-65.

James Forrest scored 20 points for Georgia Tech (8-1, 1-0). It was the Yellow Jackets’ seventh consecutive victory and eighth victory in their last nine games at Maryland.

Kevin McLinton and Johnny Rhodes each had 15 points for the Terrapins (8-2, 0-1), who saw a seven-game winning streak end. Maryland made only 11 of 37 field-goal attempts and one of seven free throws during the first half to fall behind by 17 points.

No. 17 Georgetown 64, No. 21 Syracuse 60--Robert Churchwell scored 15 of his 21 points during the second half at Landover, Md., as the Hoyas handed the Orangemen their third consecutive Big East Conference loss. It’s Syracuse’s worst start in conference play.

Othella Harrington had 18 points for the Hoyas (8-1, 2-1). Lawrence Moten had 22 for Syracuse (8-3, 0-3).

No. 22 Massachusetts 90, Boston University 42--Guard Mike Williams scored 20 points as the Minutemen routed the Terriers at Amherst, Mass.

Tony Barbee added 12 points for Massachusetts (6-2); Jerome Malloy and Dana Dingle had 11 and Ted Cottrell 10.

Boston University is 1-8.

The Minutemen played without star center Harper Williams, who suffered a broken hand during practice on Dec. 26.

OTHER GAMES

Bill Curley scored 20 points, including two key free throws with 42 seconds remaining, to lift Boston College to a 67-64 victory over Villanova at Newton, Mass. Malcolm Huckaby added 16 points for the Eagles, 7-2 and 2-0 in the Big East, who won their first two conference games for the first time in nine seasons. James Bryson led Villanova (5-3, 1-1) with 15 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in the game. . . . Lamont Middleton scored 17 of his 24 points during the second half as St. John’s beat Providence, 86-76, in a Big East Conference game at New York. David Cain scored 21 points for the Redmen (6-4, 1-1) and Shawnelle Scott added 15. Tony Turner and Rob Phelps each scored 16 points for Providence (6-3, 0-2) and Dicky Simpkins and Michael Brown had 11 each.

Lawrence Funderburke, benched after a sluggish first half, scored 10 of his 18 points during an 18-7 Ohio State run that helped the Buckeyes beat Penn State, 71-68, in the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten debut at State College, Pa. Penn State (5-5, 0-1) blew two chances to tie the score in the last 10 seconds against the Buckeyes (8-1, 1-0), the two-time defending conference champions.

Damon Johnson scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in leading Texas A&M; (5-5) to a 92-52 victory over Brown (4-4) at College Station, Tex. . . . Steve Worthy scored 16 of his 18 points during the first half as Rutgers (6-5) defeated Princeton, 64-47, at Piscataway, N.J. Princeton fell to 6-4.

Askia Jones scored a season-high 22 points to lead Kansas State to a 79-59 victory over La Salle at Manhattan, Kan. Kansas State (7-2), playing its first home game in nearly a month, held La Salle to a Bramlage Coliseum-record 16 first-half points. The Explorers (4-5) made only 10 of 31 shots during the first half, missing all 10 from three-point range. . . . Tom Kleinshmidt scored 22 points and Terry Davis added 18 in leading DePaul to an 88-73 victory over crosstown rival Loyola of Illinois at Rosemont, Ill. The Blue Demons (8-4) shot 62%, making 40 of their 65 field-goal attempts. Vernell Brent led the Ramblers (3-6) with 19 points.

Junior forward Eric Piatkowski scored 17 points to lead six Cornhuskers in double figures as Nebraska beat Southern Utah, 100-85 ,at Lincoln, Neb. Amos Gregory also scored 17 points for Nebraska (10-3). Curtis Loyd scored a game-high 19 to lead Southern Utah (5-6). . . . Aundre Branch scored 30 points, including eight three-pointers, and Alex Holcombe added 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead Baylor to a 94-85 victory over Tulsa at Waco, Tex. The Bears improved to 7-2 while dropping the Golden Hurricane to 4-7.

Brent Scott scored 23 points and David Holmes and Marvin Moore each added 19 as Rice held off Texas, 92-87, in the Southwest Conference opener for both teams at Austin, Tex. Rice (4-4) took a 22-point lead with 9:30 left to play. But the Longhorns (5-4), playing without Coach Tom Penders, who was ejected with 13:55 to play, pressed the Owls, barely falling short at the end.