COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Moten Turns It Up, Turns Arizona Out

All the talk about Arizona guard Reggie Geary’s defense apparently brought out the best in Lawrence Moten.

Moten scored a season-high 25 points as 14th-ranked Syracuse (7-1) built a 13-point halftime lead on the way to a 94-84 victory over No. 6 Arizona (7-2) Thursday night at Syracuse, N.Y.

“I’ve never been one to talk a lot,” said Moten, who also had seven assists. “I let my actions speak. I went out there determined and focused. My teammates set good picks and I hit the shots.”

Said Geary: “I don’t think we anticipated how intense they were going to be.”

Syracuse used defense and clutch shooting to continue its mastery of nonconference opponents in the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen have won 74 of the last 76 games against non-Big East foes.

The Wildcats kept clawing back after falling behind, 49-36, at halftime, closing to within three points on one occasion and to four points twice, only to have the Orangemen pull away.

Damon Stoudamire led Arizona with 22 points and Geary had 19.

*

No. 7 Kansas 71, Rice 57--Freshman Raef LaFrentz scored 18 points as the Jayhawks (7-1) survived poor shooting and 15 turnovers at Lawrence, Kan.

The Jayhawks forced Rice (3-3) into 20 turnovers but could not put the game away until the Owls wore down midway through the second half.

*

No. 15 Arizona State 72, Oklahoma State 69--Mario Bennett had 22 points and 14 rebounds at Tempe, Ariz., helping the Sun Devils (7-2) end the Cowboys’ seven-game winning streak.

Ron Riley was crucial in the victory, making two three-point shots late in the game and then making two free throws with 1:21 to play for a 71-65 edge.

Bennett and seven-foot Bryant Reeves of Oklahoma State (8-3) dueled to a virtual standstill, with Reeves finishing with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

*

Stanford 64, No. 22 Virginia 60--Brevin Knight scored eight of his 20 points in the final 3:42 as the Cardinal (7-0) held on to beat the Cavaliers (6-3) at Charlottesville, Va.

Knight, who left the game with 7:42 to play after taking an elbow to the chin, returned to made a three-point shot with 3:42 left to put Stanford ahead for good, 54-52.

Stanford dominated at the foul line, making 25 of 31 to Virginia’s nine of 19.

*

Missouri 76, No. 23 Illinois 58--Paul O’Liney led a balanced attack with 19 points and the Tigers (7-1) pulled away from the cold-shooting Fighting Illini (8-2) in the second half at St. Louis.

Long-range misfiring doomed the Fighting Illini, who made only three of 25 three-point shots.

A crowd of 21,714, the largest to watch a basketball game in Missouri, saw the game at the new Kiel Center.

*

No. 25 Iowa State 114, North Florida 80--Fred Hoiberg scored 27 points and Julius Michalik added 24 as the Cyclones (8-1) celebrated their first appearance in the AP poll in two years in routing the Division II Ospreys (7-1) at Ames, Iowa.

OTHER GAMES

DeJuan Wheat had 18 points and Louisville (5-3) took advantage of 22 Nevada Las Vegas turnovers in an 89-72 victory at Louisville, Ky. UNLV (0-4) is off to its worst start since the 1958-59 season, when it opened with nine consecutive losses en route to a 5-13 record. . . . LeVeldro Simmons scored 23 points to lead Tulane (7-2) to a 72-68 victory over Alabama (5-2) at New Orleans. . . . Ray Jackson and freshman Maurice Taylor each scored four points down the stretch to help Michigan (5-4) rally for an 87-81 victory over Jackson State (1-9) at Ann Arbor, Mich. . . . Charles Minlend scored 25 points and St. John’s (6-0) pulled away in the final 7 1/2 minutes to a 76-65 victory over Fordham (1-6) at New York to become the fourth Division I program with 1,500 victories.

Sidney Goodman scored 26 points in leading upstart Coppin State (2-5) to a comeback 69-66 victory over Louisiana State (4-3) at Baton Rouge, La. LSU’s Randy Livingston, expected to be sidelined three weeks because of a knee injury, played 36 minutes and had 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. . . . Matt Gotsch scored 15 points to lead Notre Dame (4-2) to a 57-54 victory over St. Bonaventure (3-4) at South Bend, Ind. . . . John Leahy made a three-point shot with 4:01 to play to break a tie and Danny Hurley added two more down the stretch to help Seton Hall (7-2) to its fifth consecutive victory, a 73-65 decision over Davidson (4-3) at East Rutherford, N.J.