COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Illinois Stops Iowa on Shot at Buzzer

Andy Kaufmann made a desperation three-point basket at the buzzer Thursday night to give Illinois a 78-77 victory over ninth-ranked Iowa in a Big Ten Conference game at Champaign, Ill.

“This is perfect,” said Kaufmann, who scored 25 points. “I literally dream about stuff like this, and for the team it was a great win.”

It was the first loss for the Hawkeyes (14-4 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten) since the death of forward Chris Street in a car accident. They beat Michigan and Michigan State.

The Illini (13-6, 6-2) trailed 77-75, with 1.5 seconds on the clock. But after a timeout, T.J. Wheeler launched a long inbounds pass that Kaufmann snared in the front court. He dribbled, spun and scored from about 22 feet.

“I would have been awake many a night if I had missed it,” Kaufmann said. “It was a set design play. It was like a timing play.”

Iowa (14-4, 3-3) took a 77-75 lead with three seconds left when Acie Earl’s shot fell short but bounced into the basket off an Illini player’s hand. The clock ran down to .5 seconds, but the officials ruled Illinois called timeout a second earlier, and the clock was reset.

“In practice we seldom ever score on that play,” Illinois Coach Lou Henson said. “Something usually goes wrong. I think anyone who was here tonight witnessed almost an unbelievable game. I’ve never witnessed one like that in 50 years as a player and a coach.”

No. 18 Tulane 72, Virginia Tech 59--Anthony Reed scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Green Wave, which increased its winning streak to 11 games in a Metro Conference game at Blacksburg, Va.

Reed had 14 points and all four of his three-point baskets in the first half as Tulane (16-3, 6-0) built a 35-29 lead.

The Hokies (8-8, 1-5) cut the deficit to two points twice in the second half, but Tulane pulled away. Virginia Tech had won its previous two games.

“We don’t really feel any pressure to win,” Tulane Coach Perry Clark said. “We are just trying to have some fun and to win enough games to reach postseason play.”

No. 13 Wake Forest 65, North Carolina State 54--Rodney Rogers scored 21 points and Randolph Childress added 20 as the Demon Deacons won their sixth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference game at Raleigh, N.C.

The Demon Deacons (14-3, 6-2) overcame an 11-point first-half deficit to post their longest ACC winning streak since 1963, when they won eight in a row.

The victory created a three-way tie for first in the ACC among Wake Forest, North Carolina and Florida State.

N.C. State (5-11, 1-7) led, 37-34, with 16 minutes left, but Wake Forest went on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good, 43-37.

No. 21 Utah 88, Wyoming 64--Byron Wilson and Mark Rydalch scored 16 points each to lead the Utes to a Western Athletic Conference victory at Laramie, Wyo.

Josh Grant contributed 14 points and 14 rebounds and Phil Dixon added 12 points for Utah (16-3, 9-1). Brian Rewers led Wyoming (10-9, 4-6) with 14 points.

Utah made eight three-pointers to take a 46-33 halftime lead.

Clemson 83, No. 22 Georgia Tech 80--Chris Whitney scored 20 points, including four free throws in the final 21 seconds, to lead the Tigers to an upset ACC victory at Atlanta.

Georgia Tech (11-6, 4-4) rallied from a 70-60 deficit with 5:48 remaining to gain a 74-74 tie on Martice Moore’s three-point shot with 1:34 remaining.

The game was tied, 76-76, after a dunk by Clemson’s Sharone Wright and two free throws by James Forrest of Georgia Tech. The Tigers took the lead for good on Devin Gray’s dunk with 47 seconds to play.

Clemson (11-6, 2-6) ended a five-game losing streak against Georgia Tech at Atlanta. Moore led the Yellow Jackets with 23 points and Forrest added 17.

Clemson’s Kevin Hines suffered a concussion after he was catching an elbow to the jaw from Forrest, who was fouled in the air and made contact with the Clemson player as he came down. Hines’ head also hit the floor.

Hines was knocked out for about 10 minutes before being removed on a stretcher. He was taken to a hospital for overnight observation.

No. 24 Virginia 70, Maryland 68--Sophomore guard Cory Alexander scored a career-high 27 points and Doug Smith made the decisive basket with 1:31 left as the Cavaliers ended a three-game losing streak in the ACC at College Park, Md.

Alexander made his first six shots, including four three-pointers, to help give Virginia (13-4, 5-3) to a 28-16 lead midway through the first half. Maryland (10-8, 1-7) rallied behind Kevin McLinton, who finished with 25 points.

With 3:26 left in the game, McLinton made a three-point basket to give Maryland a 65-64 lead, but Alexander made a jump shot to put Virginia back on top. After McLinton made a free throw, Smith took a pass from Alexander on the right side and made a three-pointer to clinch the win.

OTHER GAMES

Clifford Rozier scored 18 and grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds to lead Louisville (12-5, 7-0) to a 78-61 Metro Conference victory over South Florida (4-13, 0-6) at Louisville, Ky. . . . Travis Stel scored a career-high 26 points to lead Fresno State (9-10, 4-6) to a 69-64 victory over Hawaii (7-11, 3-7) in a WAC game at Fresno. . . . Keith Jackson scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half and freshman Odell Hodge had 19 of his 34 after the break to rally Old Dominion (13-5) to a 99-84 victory over Southern Mississippi (6-12) at Norfolk, Va. . . . Gary Trost and Jared Miller scored 16 points each and Russell Larson added 15 as Brigham Young (16-5, 9-1) registered an 81-57 WAC victory over Colorado State (13-7, 5-5), in WAC game at Provo, Utah.