COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Williams Keeps Up Habit Against Owls

As he did on Feb. 13 in Amherst, Mass., Mike Williams hit a shot in the closing moments to beat Temple.

Otherwise, Massachusetts-Temple II was completely different.

For one thing, Owl Coach John Chaney shook UMass Coach John Calipari’s hand after the Minutemen beat Temple, 51-50, Thursday at Philadelphia.

Last time, Chaney threatened to kill him.

“That’s in the past,” Chaney said of the tirade that got him suspended by the school for one game. “I don’t carry things like that around. I’m an old dinosaur. I have a lot of problems in my old age. Of course I shook his hand, but I did think for a second maybe I should have had a rose with thorns in my hand. No, then I should have shaken Mike Williams’ hand.”

The junior guard, who scored 15 points, all on three-pointers, banked in a 25-foot three-pointer with eight seconds to play to give the 11th-ranked Minutemen their third consecutive Atlantic-10 title.

“I would have been screaming my lungs out if he went in for a layup, but he hit a 23-, 24-footer off the glass,” Chaney said. “When a shot like that goes in, it just wasn’t meant to be.”

The Minutemen (23-5, 13-1) had never won in 12 games at McGonigle Hall and have now beaten the Owls (20-5, 12-4) four times in a row and five of six after losing the first 21 meetings between the schools.

No. 12 Indiana 81, Northwestern 74--Damon Bailey scored 33 points and Alan Henderson added 24 at Evanston, Ill., spoiling Wildcat Coach Ricky Byrdsong’s return after a four-game leave of absence.

It was Indiana’s 13th consecutive victory over the Wildcats.

The Hoosiers (17-5, 10-3 Big Ten) built a 41-28 halftime advantage as Northwestern (11-10, 2-11) made only 33% of its field goals and didn’t get to the foul line.

OTHER GAMES Lipscomb’s John Pierce became college basketball’s all-time leading scorer with 33 points in his regular-season finale, a 119-102 victory over Cumberland at Nashville, Tenn. Pierce’s 4,110 points broke former roommate Phil Hutcheson’s record of 4,106 in the category in which Pete Maravich, who scored 3,667 points at Louisiana State, is the only Division I player in the top 10. Pierce, a 6-foot-7 senior center, broke the record with a basket underneath with 4:54 to go that gave him 31 points against Cumberland.

Abdul Fox scored 28 points, including 13 in overtime, as Rhode Island (10-14, 6-8 Atlantic 10) won, 105-102, in three overtimes against West Virginia (15-9, 7-7) at Kingston, R.I. . . . Carter Long and Robert Shannon each scored 23 points to lead Alabama Birmingham (19-6) to an 83-61 victory over Southern (14-1) at Birmingham. . . . Marlow White’s season-high 35 points and New Mexico’s proficiency at the free throw line carried the Lobos (20-5, 12-3 WAC) to a 90-71 victory over Air Force, which scored only six points in the final nine minutes at Albuquerque, N.M. . . . Ryan Yoder scored a career-high 30 points to pace Colorado State (14-10, 7-8 WAC) to a 98-83 victory over San Diego State (10-13, 5-11) at Ft. Collins, Colo. . . . Jermaine Smith made two free throws with 1:41 to play to give Nevada Las Vegas (12-11, 8-7 Big West) a 64-63 victory at UC Santa Barbara (11-15, 7-8).