No. 2 Cincinnati Wins With a Big Comeback

Kenyon Martin got No. 2-ranked Cincinnati back in the game and DerMarr Johnson completed a miraculous comeback Thursday night, making a 17-foot shot with two seconds left in a 64-62 victory over DePaul at Rosemont, Ill.

Cincinnati, 27-2 and 15-0 in Conference USA, rallied from 17 points behind in the second half--and from a 10-point deficit in the final 3:46.

With second-leading scorer Pete Mickeal not playing for undisclosed disciplinary reasons, Martin--Cincinnati’s leading scorer at 19 points a game--took over in the final minutes. He scored eight of his 33 points in a 12-2 run, with his final basket tying the game at 62-62 with 22 seconds left.

DePaul (18-10, 8-7) called time and tried to hold for the last shot, but Jermaine Tate intercepted a Rashon Burno pass, fed to Martin, who in turn passed to Johnson just before he pulled up to make his game-deciding jumper.

Quentin Richardson heaved the ball in desperation and made a three-point shot near midcourt but it came after the buzzer.

No. 7 Michigan State 79, Minnesota 43--Mike Chappell, who sat out last season after transferring from Duke, scored 18 points at East Lansing, Mich., to help move the Spartans (22-7, 12-3) into a tie for first place in the Big Ten with Ohio State.

Michigan State, which also extended its school-record home winning streak to 27 games, ends its regular season Saturday against Michigan (15-11, 6-9), while Ohio State (21-5, 12-3) plays Minnesota (12-14, 4-11).

Chappell led Duke in three-point field-goal percentage (.434) in 1997-98 but came into the game shooting only 29.5% from behind the arc. He made four of seven three-point shots, including two that capped a 16-0 run that helped give Michigan State a 44-15 halftime lead.

OTHER GAMES

New Mexico (17-11, 9-4 in the Mountain West Conference) attempted 23 more free throws and made 27 more than Colorado State (17-11, 7-6) in a rough-and-tumble 76-68 victory at Albuquerque, N.M. Colorado State was called for 27 fouls, eight more than New Mexico, and with 16:16 left in the game the Lobos’ Roland Hannah was ejected for throwing at least two punches to the head of the Rams’ David Fisher. It took three officials and several players to separate the two, and New Mexico Coach Fran Fraschilla and Colorado State’s Richie McKay also exchanged words before calming down and shaking hands. New Mexico is tied with Utah (21-7, 9-4) and Nevada Las Vegas (19-7, 9-4) for first place in the Mountain West. . . . Tony Brown scored 25 points, making seven of nine three-point shots, to lead Utah State (24-5, 15-0 in the Big West) to a 73-52 victory over Idaho (12-15, 6-9) at Logan, Utah. The Aggies have the nation’s longest win streak at 15. . . . Darius Songaila scored 22 points, making 14 of 14 free throws, as Wake Forest (16-13, 7-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) dealt the NCAA tournament hopes of Virginia (18-10, 8-7) a serious blow with an 80-75 victory at Charlottesville, Va.