COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Illini Gang Can’t Shoot Straight in Losing, 75-64, to Orangemen

Syracuse took its game inside against Illinois, muscling the Illini from the ranks of the unbeaten Wednesday night with a 75-64 victory in the first round of the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu.

J.B. Reafsnyder scored eight of his 10 points down the stretch to lift the No. 13 Orangemen (10-0). With Syracuse ahead, 47-45, with 11:22 to play, Reafsnyder scored six of his team’s seven points to stretch the lead, which eventually reached 13 points.

Marius Janulis then followed with 11 of his team-high 18 points to help keep No. 12 Illinois (9-1) at bay.

“If you’re going to beat a zone [defense], you have to get the ball down inside,” Illinois Coach Lou Henson said. “We didn’t do that tonight. Our shooting was atrocious and we just didn’t get it in there. . . . They were physical, much more physical than we are around the basket.”

Illinois’ Jerry Gee had 21 points and 12 rebounds, but its big scorers, Kiwane Garris and Richard Keene, were held to 14 points, with Keene getting eight in the closing minutes. Garris was one for 11 from the floor, Keene three for 11 and Kevin Turner three for 13.

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No. 2 Kentucky 90, Rider 65--The Broncs took their only lead of the game at 14-12 on a four-point play by Deon Hames and then it was all Wildcats, who won in the opening round of the ECAC Holiday Festival in New York.

Kentucky (8-1), behind the 27 points of Antoine Walker and 24 from Tony Delk, won its seventh game in a row and will play Iona, a 70-57 winner over St. John’s, in Friday night’s championship game.

Rider (4-3) couldn’t offset the advantages Kentucky had in size, speed and depth when the Wildcats took the lead for good with a 15-1 run, with Delk scoring eight points.

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No. 7 Connecticut 77, Charleston 60--Ray Allen scored 22 points at Charleston, S.C., 1 1/2 hours from his hometown of Sumter, but only five came in the second half when the Huskies broke open a close game.

About 200 of Allen’s friends and family came to watch him put on a show. Instead, they got a Big East lesson in how to wear down a team with sharp passing and tough inside play from UConn (9-1), which made Charleston (2-2) its eighth victim in a row.

OTHER GAMES

Kendric Brooks made a short jump shot with five seconds to play to give Fresno State (6-4) a 75-74 nonconference victory over Saint Mary’s (4-3) at Fresno. . . . Mark Ingles scored 14 second-half points to lead Texas-El Paso (7-1) to a 69-62 victory over La Salle (2-7) and a date in the championship game of the Sierra Medical Center Sun Classic in El Paso. . . . Brandon Wharton made a driving layup with less than five seconds to play to boost Tennessee (6-3) to a 56-54 victory over Miami (6-3) in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. . . . Reggie Rose scored 14 of his game-high 17 points in the first half as Idaho (5-3) cruised to a 65-54 victory over Old Dominion (3-7) in the opening game of the Sacramento Holiday Classic. . . . Mark Hendrickson and Isaac Fontaine scored 23 points each for Washington State (6-1), which was a 90-74 winner at San Jose State (1-7).