Thomas Gets Teeth Into Win by Lobos

Kenny Thomas started Friday night with Carl Law’s elbow in his mouth.

Thomas finished it on the way to a dentist for a root canal.

In between, Thomas scored 13 points and had five blocks for No. 15 New Mexico in an 84-82 overtime victory over New Mexico State in Albuquerque.

Gibson, who gave the Lobos the lead with a basket early in the extra period, and reserve guard Royce Olney each scored 17 points for New Mexico (8-1) and all 14 of the Lobos’ points in overtime.

Thomas sat out much of the first half after being hit by Laws and had only two baskets. But he made nine of 10 free throws.

“He was in excruciating pain, but he came into the locker room just before the second half started and said, ‘Let’s go,’ ” New Mexico Coach Dave Bliss said.

Thomas left soon after the game to get the damage repaired.

Olney made only one of eight three-point shots in the first 38 minutes. But his three-point basket with 1:46 left in regulation cut the Aggies’ lead to 68-67. A free throw by Gibson and two by Thomas made the score 70-67, before Louis Richardson made a jump shot for New Mexico State (3-3) to force overtime.

No. 12 Indiana 73, Louisiana Tech 44--Freshman A.J. Guyton scored 21 points for the Hoosiers (8-1) in beating the Bulldogs (2-4) in the first round of the Indiana Classic, a 15-year-old tournament in Bloomington, Ind., in which Indiana has never lost.

In tonight’s finals, Indiana will play Santa Clara, a 90-80 winner over Eastern Illinois.

OTHER GAMES

Josh Unruh scored five of his 14 points in an 8-0 run early in the second half to give St. Mary’s (5-2) the lead for good in its 72-65 win over Houston (3-3) in the first round of the Cougar Classic in Provo, Utah. In tonight’s finals, St. Mary’s will face Boise State, a 65-58 winner over Brigham Young. . . . Miami sophomore forward Tim James had 26 points and six of his team’s 17 blocked shots to lift the Hurricanes (4-2) to a 74-58 victory over Hartford in Miami.

WOMEN

Colorado State 67, USC 64--Becky Hammon thwarted a Trojan rally with two free throws to give the Rams (7-1) a 61-59 lead with 3:32 to play, then added two with 6.5 seconds left when USC (2-2) was assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout over the limit in the UC Irvine/Newport Marriott tournament at the Bren Center.

College Basketball Notes

Corey Benjamin, a 6-foot-5 guard from Fontana who was considered one of the top high school players in the country last season, was cleared by the NCAA to join Oregon State and will play tonight against Portland State. Benjamin already had passed the American College Test, but the NCAA ruled that he took it on an improper date and ordered him to take it again.

Former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges was fired as coach at Chicago State (0-6). . . . Forward Oliver Simmons is transferring from No. 3 Kentucky. . . . No. 13 Texas (4-0) will be without freshman point guard Anthony Goode for 10 to 14 days because of a sprained knee.