COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Brunson’s 31 Lead Temple, 65-61

Rick Brunson scored a season-high 31 points, including all but eight of eighth-ranked Temple’s 26 second-half points as the Owls defeated Duquesne, 65-61, Tuesday night in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Pittsburgh.

Brunson, who was six for 10 from three-point range, joined Aaron McKie and Eddie Jones in accounting for all but four of Temple’s points.

McKie had 19 and made two free throws with eight seconds left that put the game out of reach. Jones had 11 for Temple (20-4, 12-3), which gained its third consecutive victory since Coach John Chaney threatened Massachusetts Coach John Calipari after a one-point loss on Feb. 13.

Chaney reached the 20-victory mark for the 17th time in 22 seasons and is two victories shy of 500 for his career.

Freshman Tom Pipkins matched Brunson’s six three-pointers and finished with 22 points for Duquesne (14-9, 7-6).

Temple plays host to Massachusetts on Thursday night.

No. 1 Arkansas 74, Georgia 65--Scotty Thurman scored 25 points at Athens, Ga., as the Razorbacks (21-2, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) won their ninth consecutive game. Georgia (12-13, 6-7) trailed 70-52 but got within nine at the end when Ty Wilson sank three of four three-pointers in the final 1:03.

No. 3 Michigan 79, Illinois 70--Jalen Rose scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half and the Wolverines (20-4, 12-2) ran their winning streak to nine with a Big Ten victory over the Illini (14-8, 7-6) at Ann Arbor, Mich.

Rose was eight for 17, including two three-pointers. He also had eight rebounds, two assists and a big block down low on Shelly Clark late in the game.

Michigan’s Juwan Howard finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.

No. 5 Connecticut 74, Miami 49--Donyell Marshall scored eight of his 19 points in a 34-second span at Miami as the Huskies (23-3, 13-2 Big East) handed the Hurricanes (7-16, 0-15) a school-record 13th consecutive loss.

Marshall had scored 20 or more points in 23 consecutive games.

No. 11 Massachusetts 99, St. Joseph’s 73--Donta Bright had 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Minutemen (22-5, 12-1 Atlantic 10) ran away from the Hawks (1-13, 3-11) in the second half at Amherst, Mass.

No. 21 Boston College 80, Pittsburgh 77--Gerrod Abram’s three-pointer at the buzzer gave the Eagles at victory at Pittsburgh.

Boston College (19-7, 10-5 Big East) led 77-74 with 33 seconds but Abram, after two missed shots, make the one that counted the most. Pitt (13-11, 7-9) lost its sixth in a row.

Bill Curley had 23 points and 12 rebounds for Boston College, the 42nd consecutive game he has scored in double figures.

Virginia 73, No. 23 Georgia Tech 72--Freshman point guard Harold Deane made the winning free throws with 28 seconds left in overtime, as the Cavaliers (14-9, 8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) upset the Yellow Jackets (14-10, 5-8) at Charlottesville, Va.

Virginia had lost nine consecutive games to Georgia Tech over a span of exactly four years.

Junior Burrough led the Cavaliers with 14 points and Deane had 13. Travis Best scored 24 points for Georgia Tech.

OTHER GAMES

Charlie Harrison and Rusty LaRue led Wake Forest’s three-point shooting barrage as the Demon Deacons (17-9, 7-6 ACC) continued pushing for a fourth consecutive NCAA tournament bid with an 80-69 victory over Clemson (13-13, 4-9) at Winston-Salem, N.C. . . . Jason Lawson scored a season-high 18 points and blocked eight shots as Villanova (13-9, 9-6 Big East) won its seventh consecutive game by beating Georgetown, 70-64, at Philadelphia. Georgetown (15-7, 9-5) had won four in a row. . . . Askia Jones scored 22 points in leading Kansas State (17-8) to its third consecutive victory, a 71-58 decision over Missouri Kansas City (12-16) at Manhattan, Kan.