Harrick Is Successful in Rhode Island Debut

Jim Harrick made his return as a basketball coach 3,000 miles away from UCLA.

Harrick, fired in disgrace at UCLA last year for lying on an expense account, won his debut at Rhode Island on Monday night when the No. 20 Rams held off N.C.-Wilmington, 78-69, in the first round of the Preseason NIT at South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

Cuttino Mobley scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half as the Rams (1-0) advanced against No. 12 Connecticut in the second round Wednesday night at the Hartford Civic Center.

Mobley, who made all four of his three-point shots, scored 10 of Rhode Island’s 12 points in a two-minute span in which the Rams took a 43-36 lead with 16:15 to play.

No. 12 Connecticut 68, Boston University 54--Richard Hamilton scored 29 points and made two key three-point baskets as the Huskies pulled away to win their first-round Preseason NIT game at Storrs, Conn.

Connecticut (2-0) closed the first half with a 15-5 run to turn a 20-19 lead into a 35-24 halftime advantage. Hamilton scored 10 of the Huskies’ last 12 points of the half, including two three-pointers in the final 1:10.

OTHER TOP 25 GAMES

No. 2 Kansas 88, Rice 61--Raef LaFrentz had 26 points and 10 rebounds and fueled two second-half runs that carried the Jayhawks past the Owls at Lawrence, Kansas.

Paul Pierce and Eric Chenowith also had double figures in scoring and rebounds for the Jayhawks (2-0). Pierce had 16 points and 10 rebounds and Chenowith 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Kansas’ pressure defense forced Rice into shooting only 38%. The Owls (0-2) also made only 11 of 28 free throws.

No. 8 Purdue 73, Valparaiso 56--Chad Austin found his shooting touch just in time for Purdue.

Austin scored 16 points, including 10 in the final 4:01, to help the Boilermakers hold off the Crusaders at Valparaiso, Ind.

Brian Cardinal scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half for the Boilermakers (2-0), who were playing at Valparaiso for the first time since 1969.

Valparaiso (0-2), which played without leading scorer Bryce Drew, lost its opening game to Bethel, an NAIA Division II school.

No. 13 Fresno State 89, Florida A&M; 69--Tremaine Fowlkes had 22 points and 17 rebounds in his Fresno State debut as the Bulldogs won their season opener at Fresno.

Avondre Jones had 13 points, seven rebounds and a school-record eight blocked shots for the Bulldogs, starting their third season under Coach Jerry Tarkanian.

OTHER GAMES

Charles Hathaway tipped in a shot as the final buzzer sounded to give Tennessee (2-0) a 75-74 victory over Miami of Ohio (0-1) at Knoxville, Tenn. . . . Jermaine Watts scored six consecutive points during a 12-0 second-half run at Chicago and DePaul (1-0) posted a 58-34 victory over Alabama State (0-1) in Pat Kennedy’s debut with the Blue Demons. Kennedy, who led Florida State to five NCAA tournament appearances, was named in June to replace Joey Meyer, who was fired after a 3-23 record last season.

Trez Kilpatrick had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Daymond Jackson scored 14 points off the bench as Georgetown (2-0) beat Morgan State, 98-51, at Landover, Md. The Hoyas have beaten the Bears (0-2) 11 consecutive times. . . . Freshman Charlie Bell had 15 points as Michigan State opened its season with an 82-59 victory over East Tennessee State (0-2) at East Lansing, Mich. . . . Phil Hickey scored 15 and Antoni Wyche added 14 as Notre Dame defeated The Citadel, 72-53, in its season-opener at South Bend, Ind. Virgil Stevens scored 15 to lead The Citadel (0-2).