Syracuse Falls From Unbeatens

Anthony Grundy scored 26 points, including nine in less than three minutes late in the second half, as North Carolina State stunned No. 9 Syracuse, 82-68, on Saturday night at Syracuse, N.Y.

For a team that has been giving five freshmen plenty of playing time, it was an important victory. And it came in front of 20,150 screaming Syracuse fans, who saw their Orangemen lose for the first time after nine consecutive victories.

“It’s something that we have to be able to do as a young team, and we handled it well,” said Grundy, a senior who was 10 of 16 from the field and also had five assists. “Everybody just stepped up, and that’s what we need.”

It’s only the second time the Wolfpack (7-2) has beaten a top 10 team on the road in Herb Sendek’s five years as coach.

“What made me most pleased tonight was the look they had in their eye,” Sendek said. “I was really relaxed and confident on the bench, just feeding off of them. Our team had a real sense of purpose. As the game went on, the confidence continued to build.”

Partly, probably, because Syracuse was playing its second consecutive game without Coach Jim Boeheim. Longtime assistant Bernie Fine is directing the team while Boeheim recovers from surgery for an enlarged prostate gland, and he took the blame for the loss.

“I’m embarrassed, and I’ll take the blame for this,” Fine said. “We kept rushing our offense.”

The Wolfpack trailed only once, 38-37, after DeShaun Williams made a three-point basket with 18:49 left for the Orangemen.

N.C. State rallied with a 9-0 run, and Grundy was the key. Josh Powell, who finished with 14 points, began it with a layup. Grundy, who had 22 in the half, then made a three-point basket, a jump shot from the top of the key, and a soft shot off the glass over Jeremy McNeil to put the Wolfpack ahead, 46-38, with 16:31 remaining.

Every time the Wolfpack built a substantial lead, Syracuse fought back. But after Williams hit a scoop shot to move the Orangemen within 57-52 at 7:23, Grundy went to work again.

He began his spurt with a fastbreak layup, then converted a dunk and jump shot before ending it with a three-point play to give the Wolfpack a 70-59 lead with 3:43 to play.

No. 1 Duke 104, Michigan 83--Jason Williams scored 14 of his career-high 35 points in the first 4:13 as the Blue Devils spoiled Tommy Amaker’s reunion with his former boss.

Duke (8-0) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games, dating to last season’s national championship run. Coach Mike Krzyzewski is now 13-0 against former players and assistants.

Amaker, in his first season at Michigan (3-4), started 138 games for the Blue Devils from 1984-87 and was a Duke assistant from 1989-97 before becoming Seton Hall’s coach.

No. 4 Kansas 79, Missouri Kansas City 68--Jeff Boschee scored 19 points and freshman Wayne Simien added 13 as the Jayhawks (6-1) won at Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas (6-1), which shot only 50% from the foul line against Wake Forest their its game, was five of 11 in the first half and 20 of 30 overall.

Michael Watson tied his career high with 29 points for the Kangaroos (5-1).

No. 5 Illinois 94, Arkansas 91--Frank Williams scored 25 points, making 18 of 24 shots from the free-throw line, and had a last-second steal as the Fighting Illini (7-2) rallied for a victory at Chicago.

Arkansas, which led by 12 early in the second half, failed to get Coach Nolan Richardson his 500th career victory.

Brandon Dean led Arkansas (4-3) with a career-high 29 points, but he was called for an offensive foul with 5.5 seconds to go--his driving shot banked into the basket but didn’t count.

No. 6 Florida 92, South Florida 73--Matt Bonner scored a career-high 31 points and Udonis Haslem keyed a second-half surge that carried the Gators (6-1) to victory at Tampa, Fla.

South Florida (7-1) lost for the 24th consecutive time to a ranked opponent, including an 0-13 mark in six seasons under Coach Seth Greenberg.

No. 8 Virginia 77, Auburn 72--Roger Mason scored 18 points at Birmingham, Ala., and the Cavaliers (5-0) edged the Tigers (4-3).

No. 10 Oklahoma State 90, Jackson State 41--Fredrik Jonzen had 21 points and 11 rebounds at Stillwater, Okla., as the Cowboys (9-0) routed Jackson State (1-6).

No. 11 Kentucky 79, North Carolina 59--Tayshaun Prince scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds at Lexington, Ky., as the Wildcats (5-1) became the first school to win 1,800 games.

Kris Lang had 18 points for North Carolina (1-4).

No. 12 Iowa 78, Iowa State 53--Reggie Evans had 24 points and 17 rebounds, Luke Recker and Glen Worley each scored 14 and the Hawkeyes (7-3) overpowered the Cyclones (5-4) inside at Ames, Iowa.

The 25-point margin matched Iowa State’s worst loss at Hilton Coliseum, which opened in 1971. Vanderbilt defeated the Cyclones, 105-80, in 1975.

No. 13 Boston College 80, Massachusetts 78--Troy Bell scored a career-high 34 points as the Eagles (7-0) nearly squandered a 26-point second-half lead against the Minutemen (4-2) at Boston.

Indiana 74, No. 15 Ball State 61--Jared Jeffries scored 22 points and Tom Coverdale added 19 at Bloomington, Ind., as the Hoosiers (6-2) withstood the Cardinals’ three-point shooting. Chris Williams had 18 points for the Cardinal (5-2).

No. 17 Marquette 79, Fordham 55--Dwyane Wade had 16 points, seven assists and numerous hustle plays at Milwaukee as the Warriors (9-0) remained undefeated with an easy victory against the Rams (2-4).

No. 18 St. Joseph’s 67, Penn 61--Marvin O’Connor scored 18 points and Jameer Nelson added 17 as the Hawks won at Philadelphia.

Damian Reid had 14 points and 10 rebounds for St. Joseph’s (5-1), which used free throws by Nelson and Na’im Crenshaw to put away the Quakers (6-2).

San Diego State 93, No. 21 Fresno State 78--Al Faux matched his season-high with 25 points, including five three-point baskets, as the Aztecs (5-3)snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Bulldogs at San Diego.

Fresno State (7-3), coming off a 10-point loss to Gonzaga, played without Melvin Ely, its leading scorer and rebounder, who was benched again while the school investigates whether he received an improper benefit.

No. 25 Western Kentucky 77, Austin Peay 75--Derek Robinson put in a missed shot at the buzzer as the Hilltoppers (6-2) edged the Governors (3-6) at Clarksville, Tenn.