College Basketball Roundup : Memphis State Takes Lead in Metro Conference

Memphis State took over the Metro Conference lead and probably moved up in the national rankings, but Coach Dana Kirk was more pleased with something else.

“I’m happy for the win, but I’m not as concerned about the conference standings as I am at getting enough wins for the NCAA Tournament,” Kirk said Monday night after an 81-61 victory over Cincinnati at Memphis, Tenn. “What matters is how many wins you have in the left-hand column.”

Memphis State (16-1, 6-1), third in the latest national rankings, should move higher with No. 2 Georgetown losing its second straight game.

Kirk was also pleased with the victory because he was concerned that the Tigers would be sluggish in their first home game following a hard road trip.

“This was a good win for us, considering that we just got off the road with three big wins,” he said. “I was concerned that we might have a letdown after coming off such a road trip.”

On the road, Memphis State defeated Virginia Tech, 89-79, beat Florida State, 74-69, and bettered Louisville, 69-66.

Boston College 94, Hartford 77--Junior forward Roger McCready scored 21 points and the Eagles rolled past the Hawks at Newton, Mass.

The Eagles (13-5) jumped to a 47-27 halftime and the closest the Hawks (3-15) could come after that was 71-58 with just over seven minutes left.

Boston College freshman forward Skip Barry had 19 points in 19 minutes, and Michael Adams added 14 points, six assists and three steals. Reserve guard Eric Crawford scored 21 points in 20 minutes for the Hawks.

Tulane 64, Florida State 61--John Williams hit 20 points, most of them from the inside, and Clyde Eads got 17 from the outside as the Green Wave kept the Seminoles winless in the Metro Conference at New Orleans.

Tulane (10-8, 3-4) won the game at the foul line, making 20 free throws to two for the Seminoles (7-10, 0-6). Dean Shaffer had 17.

Connecticut 90, U.S. International 65--Earl Kelley scored 19 points and added eight assists and the Huskies trounced the Gulls at Storrs, Conn.

The Huskies (7-9) ran off 14 straight points during a 17-2 spurt in the opening 7:35 and went on the send the Gulls (1-19) to their 13th consecutive defeat.

Carl Chenault scored 16 points and Dwayne Cross added 15 for USIU.

South Carolina 90, Southern Mississippi 72--Linwood Moye scored 18 points and Jimmy Hawthorne added 15 as the Gamecocks turned back the Golden Eagles at Columbia, S.C., in a Metro Conference game.

The Gamecocks (10-6, 3-3) broke away from a 43-43 tie with a surge that built a 67-52 lead with 5:45 left.

James Williams led Southern Mississippi (6-13, 2-4) with 25 points.

Notre Dame 70, Providence 63--Ken Barlow scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and the Irish came from behind to beat the Friars at South Bend, Ind.

The Friars (9-11) took a 31-27 halftime lead as reserve Matthew Palazzi scored their last six points. But Notre Dame (10-5) scored the first 11 points of the second half and never trailed again.

Brian Waller scored 20 points for the Friars and Palazzi added 16.

Utah State 93, Pacific 67--Vince Washington scored 20 points and the Aggies handled the Tigers in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at Logan, Utah.

Washington made all eight of his free throws to stretch his consecutive streak to 46, breaking the school record of 42 set by Wayne Estes in 1964.

Jerome Johnson added 14 points for the Aggies (10-7, 3-5), while James Ray Richardson scored 15 for the Tigers (7-10, 3-5).

Washington 74, Nevada Reno 62--Detlef Schrempf collected 25 points and 15 rebounds as the Huskies turned back the Wolfpack at Seattle.

The Huskies (14-5) were leading, 56-37, with 11:22 when Curtis High, who scored 27 points, hit for nine points in a 15-4 run as Nevada Reno (11-8) cut the lead to 60-52 with five minutes left.

A basket by Tony Sommers with 3:43 left reduced the margin to 63-56, but a jumper by the Clay Damon, Schrempf’s free throw and a tip-in by Shag Williams put the Huskies up 68-58 with 1:44 remaining.

San Diego State 74, Air Force 64--Michael Kennedy scored 19 points and Anthony Watson and Creon Dorsey added 13 each to lead the Aztecs (15-4, 6-2) past the Falcons (4-13, 0-8) at San Diego.