COLLEGE BASKETBALL : Michigan Earns Big Ten Victory Against Purdue

Michigan might still have some maturing to do, but Thursday night the No. 3 Wolverines showed they had enough experience to hold off a previously undefeated and ninth-ranked Purdue team playing at home.

Juwan Howard scored eight points in a decisive 17-4 run as Michigan defeated the Boilermakers, 80-70, at West Lafayette, Ind., in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams.

Purdue (9-1) had overcome a 45-33 deficit to tie the game at 50-50 on Glenn Robinson’s jump shot and again at 55-55 on two free throws by Matt Painter. Purdue took its last lead at 62-61 on Herb Dove’s layup.

Michigan (11-1) took the lead for good, 63-62, on Howard’s basket, which started the Wolverine run. Robinson, who led Purdue with 30, then missed a three-point attempt.

Chris Webber, who had 16 of his 22 points in the second half, gave Michigan a 65-62 lead and Jalen Rose’s three-point play put the Wolverines ahead, 68-62, with 5:49 to play. Howard finished with 18 points.

“It was one of those situations where their experience just whipped our behind,” Purdue Coach Gene Keady said. “We didn’t block out well all night. Poor shot selection and not blocking out just killed us.”

Michigan won despite having sophomore forward Ray Jackson out because of a dislocated left shoulder and senior guard Michael Talley because of flu and soreness in his left knee.

“The thing I liked about our team is they maintained their poise when we went from nine points ahead to one behind,” said Michigan Coach Steve Fisher, who guided the freshman-dominated Michigan team to the runner-up spot in the NCAA tournament last year.

“A year ago, I don’t know that we would have done that. I know we wouldn’t have done it so gracefully. I like the toughness about our team right now, mentally maybe as much as anything.”

No. 6 North Carolina 100, North Carolina State 67--Donald Williams scored 14 of his 23 points in the first half as the Tar Heels rebounded from last year’s season sweep by North Carolina State with a victory at Raleigh, N.C.

The Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels (11-1) twice last year for the first time since 1974 and had won four of the past five meetings. This time, North Carolina got its running game going early and led by 21 points at halftime in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

George Lynch had 13 of his 21 points in the second half as North Carolina recorded its second-most lopsided victory in the 179-game series.

N.C. State (3-5) was without starters Donnie Seale and Chuck Kornegay and reserve Jamie Knox, who were declared academically ineligible earlier in the day. The Wolfpack had only nine players dressed for the game.

“We have to put our academic losses behind us,” Wolfpack Coach Les Robinson said. “There really is no way to measure the mental letdown.”

No. 16 Cincinnati 64, No. 22 Massachusetts 53--Nick Van Exel continued his hot three-point shooting and finished with a personal-best 27 points as the Bearcats won a nonconference game at Springfield, Mass.

During Cincinnati’s five-game winning streak, Van Exel, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, has made 22 of 47 from three-point range, including his seven-for-10 effort Thursday.

Van Exel’s previous best was 26 points against Temple, the first game of the winning streak, when he made a school-record eight three-pointers.

The Minutemen (6-3) missed their first six shots and 10 of their first 11. They finished the first half only six for 23 from the field.

OTHER GAMES

Ike Williams scored 23 points and New Mexico shook its shooting slump with a season-high 11 three-pointers during an 85-64 Western Athletic Conference victory over Fresno State at Albuquerque, N.M. New Mexico is 8-3 overall, 1-2 in the WAC. Fresno State (7-5, 2-1) was led by Patrick Teagues with 12 points. . . . Keith Bonds scored a personal-best 28 points, including 18 in the first half, to lead Colorado State (9-4, 1-2) to an 82-66 victory over Hawaii (5-5, 1-2) in a WAC game at Ft. Collins, Colo. . . .Rick Henry scored a personal-best 18 points as Wyoming (8-3, 2-1) defeated San Diego State, 77-54, in a WAC game at Laramie, Wyo. The Aztecs are 4-7 and 0-2. . . . Eddie Rivera scored 19 points and Texas El Paso (8-5, 1-2) made 15 of 16 free throws in the final two minutes to help the Miners defeat Air Force, 82-69, in a WAC game at El Paso. Air Force is 7-5 and 1-2.

Eric Traylor scored 16 points as New Mexico State held off UC Santa Barbara, 71-69, in a Big West Conference game at Santa Barbara. New Mexico State (9-3, 2-0) converted nine of 11 free throws over the final 4:21 and led by three points with four seconds to play. Santa Barbara is 8-2 and 1-1. . . . Clifford Rozier scored 25 points and had 13 rebounds to help Coach Denny Crum to his 500th victory as Louisville (4-4) defeated South Florida, 98-75, at Tampa, Fla., in the Metro Conference opener for both teams. Crum, in his 22nd season, is 500-187. South Florida is 3-6. . . . Glen Whisby tipped in a missed three-pointer with one second to play in double overtime to give Southern Mississippi (4-6, 1-1) an 84-82 Metro Conference victory over Virginia Tech (4-2, 1-1) at Hattiesburg, Miss. . . . Damon Santiago made a three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer of the second overtime at Olean, N.Y., to lift Rutgers (7-5) to a 90-87 victory over St. Bonaventure (6-2) in the Atlantic Conference opener for both teams.

Andy Kaufmann scored 18 points to lead Illinois (8-4) to an 81-71 victory over Northwestern (5-5) at Evanston, Ill., in the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams. . . . Rodney Rogers scored 30 points and Randolph Childress added 24 at Winston-Salem, N.C., as Wake Forest (8-1) tuned up for its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule with a 99-65 victory over Winthrop (5-4).. . . Texas San Antonio (5-6, 2-1) came from 10 points behind in the second half, scoring 14 consecutive points to overtake Stephen F. Austin (5-5, 1-1) in a 77-64 Southland Conference victory at San Antonio. Hakeem Olajuwon’s brother, Afis, led Texas San Antonio with a personal-best 23 points.