COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Big Matchup a Bust; Massachusetts Isn’t

The matchup in the middle didn’t live up to the hype. Massachusetts, however, did take the opportunity to show it can play some pretty tough defense.

The third-ranked Minutemen (4-0) held No. 10 Wake Forest (3-1) to 19 points in the second half in a 60-46 victory Wednesday night in Amherst, Mass., in the game that featured college basketball’s two best centers.

Neither Marcus Camby of Massachusetts nor Tim Duncan of the Demon Deacons generated much offense, but Camby was the clear winner in the matchup. Camby finished with 17 points on six-of-19 shooting with nine rebounds and three blocks. Duncan had nine points on four-of-18 shooting with 12 rebounds and four blocks.

“This was just another big game,” Camby said. “I didn’t want to make it into a big individual matchup. Once I settled down and got into the flow I hit a couple of turnarounds and played some aggressive defense.”

“He played a great game,” Duncan said. “He affected my shot. There were a couple I thought I could make but didn’t.”

Donta Bright led the Minutemen (4-0) with 22 points as they beat their third-ranked team of the season and second in the Top Ten after knocking off then-No. 1 Kentucky.

The Wake Forest backcourt of Rusty LaRue and Tony Rutland combined for 35 points, with LaRue getting 12 of his 20 on three-pointers.

No. 5 Kentucky 74, Wisconsin-Green Bay 62--Tony Delk’s three-pointer early in the second half ignited a 15-6 run that carried the Wildcats (3-1) past the Phoenix (2-2) at Lexington, Ky.

Wisconsin-Green Bay, which trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half, had closed to within, 38-28, before Delk sparked the run. Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Jeff Nordgaard led all scorers with 29 points.

No. 9 Connecticut 85, Notre Dame 65--Doron Sheffer scored 23 and Ray Allen broke out of an early shooting slump to finish with 19 as the Huskies (5-1, 2-0) rolled in the Fighting Irish’s first Big East home game. Notre Dame is 1-3, 0-2. Freshman center Phil Hickey had 16 points for the Irish.

No. 14 Utah 89, Weber State 60--Keith Van Horn scored 25 points, 18 in the first half, and had 16 rebounds to lead the Utes (4-1) past the Wildcats (3-2) at Ogden.

No. 20 Maryland 88, Howard 71--Johnny Rhodes had 19 points and a school-record seven steals as the Terrapins (2-2) defeated the Bison (0-5) at College Park, Md.

Rhodes increased his steal total to 255, fourth on the ACC career list and 73 behind record-holder Chris Corchiani of North Carolina State. Phil Chenier had a game-high 20 points for the Bison.

No. 23 Louisville 119, Morehead State 61--DeJuan Wheat scored 23 points to lead seven players in double figures as the Cardinals (4-2) routed the Eagles (3-2) at Louisville, Ky.

OTHER GAMES

Brad Miller came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points to lead Purdue (4-1) to a 77-63 win over Oklahoma (1-3) at West Lafayette, Ind. . . . Amal McCaskill and Anthony Pieper each scored 18 points as Marquette (4-0) used a 9-0 run in the second-half to roll to a 95-69 victory over Coppin State (2-1) at Milwaukee. . . . Levell Sanders scored a career high 26 points and Jacky Kaba added 21 at East Rutherford, N.J., as Seton Hall (2-1, 1-1) won its Big East home opener against Providence (2-2, 0-2). . . . Danya Abrams, plagued by second-half foul trouble, hit a pair of free throws with 57.4 seconds left and finished with a game-high 17 points to lift Boston College (4-1, 1-1) to a 55-53 Big East victory over Pittsburgh (1-2, 0-1) at Newton, Mass.

Quinton Brooks scored 22 points as Michigan State (3-3) held off Evansville (2-1) for a 67-63 victory at East Lansing, Mich. . . . Maurice Robinson scored a career-high 25 points in helping lead Oklahoma State (3-1) to its 21st consecutive home victory, 80-63, over Texas-Arlington (2-3). . . . Lelan McDougal scored a career-high 26 points to lead visiting UC Santa Barbara (2-1) to a 76-73 victory over San Diego (3-2). . . . Merl Code scored 17 points to help lead Clemson (4-0) to a 79-60 victory over Charleston Southern (1-4) at Clemson, S.C. . . . Steve Hamer scored 24 points and had a career-high 17 rebounds to lead Tennessee (2-2) to a 63-51 victory over Western Carolina (0-5) at Knoxville, Tenn. . . . Junior point guard Reggie Rose made two free throws with 10 seconds left and Nate Gardner blocked a three-point attempt by Mark Sanford as Idaho beat Washington, 64-61, at Moscow, Ida.