Kansas Holds Off Oklahoma, 72-66

Raef LaFrentz slammed home an alley-oop dunk to halt an Oklahoma surge and No. 3 Kansas went on to defeat the Sooners, 72-66, in a Big Eight game Monday night at Lawrence, Kan.

Tyrone Foster’s three-point basket pulled Oklahoma to 66-59 with under three minutes to play. But Jacque Vaughn connected with LaFrentz on the alley-oop and Kansas, 15-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Eight, then used the clock to keep Oklahoma (10-7, 2-3) at bay.

Scot Pollard led the Kansas attack with 15 points and Vaughn finished with 13. Ryan Minor had 22 points for Oklahoma, which was coming off a home-court loss to Kansas State on Saturday.

Pollard scored in the first minute of the second half and Jerod Haas made a three-point shot as the Jayhawks opened a 44-28 lead.

The Sooners rallied and were within 49-38 when Minor, driving the baseline, was stripped of the ball by Billy Thomas. Thomas passed to Vaughan at midcourt, who went in for the layup.

A three-point shot by Minor with barely over eight minutes to play got the Sooners within 58-50, but LaFrentz answered with a three-point shot of his own at the other end.

No. 8 Virginia Tech 65, St. Bonaventure 58--Damon Watlington scored 22 points and Ace Custis had 13 as Virginia Tech held off a late challenge in an Atlantic Ten conference game at Olean, N.Y.

St. Bonaventure (5-10, 1-5) cut Virginia Tech’s lead to 63-58 with 11.9 seconds left on the first of two free throws by Shandue McNeill. But McNeill’s second free throw glanced off the rim and Watlington grabbed it, was fouled and made both shots to seal the victory.

Virginia Tech (12-1, 5-0) stretched its winning streak to nine games.

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College Basketball Notes

Center Marcus Camby had a light workout and will make a last-minute decision about whether he is ready to play for No. 1 Massachusetts tonight, Coach John Calipari said. The Minutemen play a nonconference game at Pittsburgh. . . . Duke freshman Matt Christensen will miss at least a month after suffering a fractured left wrist in Saturday’s victory over Florida State, leaving the team with only 10 healthy players. . . . Texas El Paso Coach Don Haskins, who has been hospitalized since suffering a heart attack, will undergo double bypass surgery today to repair two blocked arteries, school officials said. . . . Dismissed Indiana player Sherron Wilkerson’s scholarship will be revoked at the conclusion of this school year. Coach Bob Knight kicked Wilkerson off the team Friday when Wilkerson, a redshirt sophomore, was jailed for 12 hours after Bloomington police went to an apartment where a 20-year-old woman said she had been struck in the face by the player.