COLLEGE BASKETBALL REGIONAL ROUNDUP : Rhode Island Upsets Massachusetts

There has been nothing free with Damont Collins at the line for Rhode Island this season.

However, Collins sank two free throws with 14 seconds remaining and Mike Brown added two more five seconds later to give the Rams a 71-68 upset of No. 19-ranked Massachusetts Saturday in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Providence, R.I.

“I was making them, I was making them,” said Collins, a 58% free throw-shooter who made nine of 12 in the game. “That’s all I thought about. I knew they were going in. Coach (Al Skinner) came over to me and said, ‘We need two,’ and I said, ‘You got two.’ I knew all I had to do and step up and shoot them.”

Rhode Island (16-7 overall, 7-4 in the conference) ended the Minutemen’s 12-game winning streak and beat them for the first time in nine games.

Jerome Malloy blew a chance for the Minutemen (18-5, 9-2) when he missed a free throw with 10 seconds left.

WEST

Brian Brazier had 19 points and 12 rebounds, helping St. Mary’s (9-14, 5-7) to a 76-74 overtime victory over San Francisco (17-10, 7-4) in a West Coast Conference game at Moraga. . . . Gary Trost had 23 points and 12 rebounds as Brigham Young (21-5, 14-1) defeated Air Force, 98-80, in a Western Athletic Conference game at Provo, Utah. George Irvin scored 27 points for the Falcons (9-14, 3-11). . . . Ike Williams scored 28 points and New Mexico (18-5, 10-4) won for the 11th time in 13 games with a 71-55 WAC victory over San Diego State (6-18, 2-13) at Albuquerque, N.M. . . . Doug Harris scored 19 points, leading San Diego (11-12, 6-6) to an 82-71 WCC victory over Portland (6-16, 2-10) at San Diego. . . . Jay Goodman had 28 points, 10 assists and nine steals to lead Utah State (10-13, 7-8) to a 92-79 Big West Conference victory over San Jose State (6-15, 3-10) at Logan, Utah. . . . Johnny Melvin’s basket with four seconds left in overtime gave Texas El Paso (16-9, 8-6) a 68-67 WAC victory over Hawaii (8-15, 4-11) at El Paso, Tex.

MIDWEST

Poncho Hodges sank four free throws in the final 10 seconds give Colorado (10-12, 2-8) an 84-80 Big Eight Conference victory over Oklahoma (17-8, 5-5) at Boulder, Colo. Hodges and Donnie Boyce each scored 26 points for the Buffaloes. . . . Deon Thomas scored 26 points as Illinois (16-8, 9-3) handed Penn State (6-15, 1-11) its ninth consecutive Big Ten Conference defeat, 74-66, at State College, Pa. . . . Lawrence Funderburke scored 20 points and Ohio State (12-10, 5-8) took an 80-70 Big Ten victory over Wisconsin (12-9, 5-7) at Columbus, Ohio. . . . Kareem Townes scored 34 points and Paul Burke added 30 as LaSalle (12-11, 7-4) dealt Loyola Chicago (5-17, 1-9) its 11th consecutive setback, 96-90, in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference game at Rosemont, Ill. . . . Brian Carpenter hit an 18-foot shot at the overtime buzzer to give Northern Iowa (11-12, 7-8) a 64-62 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Drake (12-10, 8-6) at Des Moines, Iowa. . . . Brian Grant scored 31 points, making 13 of 17 shots, to lead Xavier (18-3, 9-1) to an 80-66 Midwestern Collegiate victory over Butler (10-13, 5-6) at Indianapolis. . . . Andy Elkins scored 20 points and Evansville (17-6, 9-2) held Dayton (3-22, 2-8) to its lowest point total since 1948, 71-36, in a Midwestern Collegiate game at Evansville, Ind.

EAST

John Wallace scored 16 points and Syracuse (15-7, 7-7) held Boston College (14-8, 8-6) without a basket in the final 5:37 of a 67-64 Big East Conference victory at Boston. . . . Eric Moore scored 21 points, leading Penn (17-4, 9-0) to an 82-63 Ivy League victory over Dartmouth (10-12, 4-6) at Hanover, N.H. . . . Tony Turner scored 21 points, including five three-pointers, leading Providence (13-9, 6-8) to a 74-59 Big East victory over Villanova (8-14, 3-11) at Villanova, Pa. . . . Tucker Neale set school record with six three-pointers and scored 33 points, leading Colgate (15-9, 8-5) to a 79-68 Patriot League victory over Army (3-20, 2-11) at West Point, N.Y. . . . Donnell Lumpkin scored 11 of his 19 points in a decisive second-half run as Rutgers (12-12, 5-6) took an 82-61 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over St. Bonaventure (10-12, 0-10) at Piscataway, N.J. . . . Bill Walker scored 17 of his 25 points in the last 11 minutes to pace Holy Cross (20-5, 12-1) to a 90-72 Patriot League victory over Navy (8-16, 5-8) at Annapolis, Md.

SOUTH

Jamie Brandon scored 22 points and Geert Hammink had 15 points and 17 rebounds to lead Louisiana State (18-7, 7-5) past Tennessee in a Southeastern Conference game at Knoxville, Tenn. Allan Houston had 21 points for the Volunteers (11-13, 3-9). . . . Cedric Brim’s free throw with one second left in overtime gave Mississippi (9-13, 4-8) an 83-82 SEC victory over Alabama (13-9, 5-7) at Oxford, Miss. Kevin Watkins had 30 points for Ole Miss and Jason Caffey scored 27 for the Crimson Tide. . . . Bernard Haslett scored 28 points, hitting six three-point shots in the second half, as Southern Mississippi (7-14, 3-6) defeated North Carolina Charlotte, 76-69, in a Metro Conference game at Charlotte, N.C. Jarvis Lang had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the 49ers (13-10, 5-4). . . . Robert Shannon made seven three-pointers and had 23 points as Alabama Birmingham (15-11, 3-5) scored an 84-45 Great Midwest Conference rout of St. Louis (9-14, 0-7) at Birmingham, Ala. . . . Kenny Harris scored 24 points in the last 9:45 of regulation and added six in overtime to finish with 30 as Virginia Commonwealth (15-7) got past South Florida, 95-91, at Tampa, Fla. Chuck Adkins had 25 points for the Bulls (6-16).

SOUTHWEST

Terrence Rencher scored 27 points to lead Texas (9-12, 3-6) to an 88-73 Southwest Conference victory over Baylor (14-8, 6-5) at Waco, Tex. . . . Adam Peake scored a 21 points and Rice (15-6, 9-2) held off Texas Tech, 86-79, in an SWC game at Lubbock Tex.