College Basketball Roundup : Memphis State Spoils a Cinderella Story

Florida State, which finished in seventh place in the eight-team Metro Conference after regular-season play, came within one second of winning the conference tournament Saturday at Louisville.

The Seminoles outscored Memphis State, 20-5, to take a 69-67 lead with 3:10 left and later led, 76-74, before the Tigers’ Baskerville Holmes put in an offensive rebound with one second left to send the game into overtime.

The Tigers, ranked fourth and fifth in the polls, scored the first five points in the overtime and went on to win, 90-86.

The Tigers (27-3) came into the tournament with a 24-3 overall record and a 13-1 conference mark. The Seminoles, meanwhile, were 4-10 and 12-15 before upsetting Virginia Tech and Cincinnati to advance to the final and finish respectably.

“It didn’t surprise me that Florida State played well,” Memphis State Coach Dana Kirk said. “We knew they were a good ballclub, and they played us tough all year.”

Florida State lost its two regular-season games with Memphis State by a total of just seven points.

Holmes was the Tigers’ top scorer Saturday with 24 points. Keith Lee, who fouled out with 1:21 left in regulation, had 19 points, three shy of the total needed to break the Metro Conference career scoring mark of 2,333 held by former Louisville star Darrell Griffith.

Center Alton Lee Gipson scored 26 points for FSU, and guard Dean Shaffer had 24. Shaffer was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS

Big Eight Oklahoma 73, Iowa State 71--Despite playing without All-American center Wayman Tisdale for most of the second half because of foul trouble, the Sooners defeated the Cyclones at Kansas City to win the tournament championship.

Tisdale picked up his fourth foul 90 seconds into the second half and sat down. The Sooners led by only one at the time. But they led by four, 63-59, when Tisdale returned with 5:19 left to play.

Oklahoma’s Linwood Davis dropped in two free throws with 24 seconds left to give the Sooners a 73-67 lead.

Tisdale, the three-time Big Eight Player of the Year, scored 14 points in the first half and got six more in the final five minutes to finish with 20. Tim McCalister had 18 points and Anthony Bowie 12. Barry Stevens, Iowa State’s all-time leading scorer, had 23.

Oklahoma, ranked fourth and fifth in the polls, is 23-7. Iowa State, which upset Kansas Friday night, is 21-12.

ACC Georgia Tech 75, Duke 64--Mark Price scored 24 points to lead the Yellow Jackets in the semifinals at Atlanta. Georgia Tech, which had won one tournament game in its previous five seasons in the conference, will face North Carolina in today’s final.

Duke went ahead, 42-41, on a jumper by Johnny Dawkins with 11:02 remaining, but Georgia Tech (23-7) eventually pulled away. Jay Bilas led Duke (22-7) with 21 points and Dawkins added 19.

North Carolina 57, N.C. State 51--Kenny Smith scored 16 points, including five points in the final minute, as the Tar Heels, ranked sixth and seventh, advanced to the ACC final for the 15th time.

North Carolina (24-7) took the lead for good, 48-46, on a Steve Hale jumper with 3:05 left to play. Smith ensured the victory with three free throws and a dunk in the final 33 seconds.

Spud Webb, who scored all but one of his 13 points in the first half, led North Carolina State (20-9).

Southeastern Auburn 53, Alabama 49--Auburn, seeded eighth, got a pair of free throws by Gerald White with 10 seconds left in overtime and a dunk by Frank Ford at the buzzer to win the final at Birmingham, Ala.

The victory gave the Tigers, playing their final season under Coach Sonny Smith, their first SEC tourney title in history and also earned them the conference’s automatic NCAA berth. They beat Mississippi in a first-round game Thursday, then got by SEC champion LSU and Florida to advance to the final.

Chuck Person, the tournament’s MVP, led the Tigers (20-11) with 16 points.

Western Athletic San Diego St. 87, Texas El Paso 81--Senior center Leonard Allen scored 18 points, including 11 in a four-minute second-period stretch, to lead the Aztecs (23-7) in the final at El Paso. The Miners (21-9) were led by Dave Feitl, who scored 24. Guard Luster Goodwin added 22 and was named the tournament’s MVP.

Missouri Valley Wichita St. 84, Tulsa 82--Xavier McDaniel scored 34 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as the Shockers won the final at Tulsa, Okla. The Shockers (18-12) broke open a close game with a 13-2 run that gave them a 78-63 lead. Wichita State still had an 82-68 lead with 2:50 left when the Hurricane (23-7) mounted a final charge.

Southwest Arkansas 68, SMU 55--Freshman reserve Byron Irvin scored 18 points and Joe Kleine muscled in 17 as the Razorbacks (21-11) won in the semifinals at Dallas. Carl Wright led SMU with 20 points, and center Jon Koncak had nine points and 11 rebounds.

Texas Tech 72, Texas A&M; 63--Guard Bubba Jennings scored 23 points as regular-season champion Texas Tech (22-7) advanced to today’s title game at Dallas.

Southland Louisiana Tech 70, Lamar 69--Karl Malone, who led the Bulldogs with 16 points, scored the winning basket from inside with 1:23 left as Tech (27-2) won the final at Ruston, La. Tech, ranked sixth and eighth, came from behind for the third straight game. Tech has won 31 straight at home. Lamar (19-11) beat Tech at Beaumont, Tex., during the regular season.

Atlantic 10 Temple 59, Rutgers 51--Nate Blackwell scored 18 points to lead the Owls (24-5) in the final at Piscataway, N.J. John Battle scored 16 points for the Knights (16-14).

OTHER GAMES Notre Dame 80, Dayton 73--Forward Donald Royal scored 24 points as the Irish (20-8) beat the Flyers (19-9) in a double overtime battle of the nation’s top two independents at Dayton, Ohio. The Flyers are 19-9.

Illinois 82, Minnesota 56--Reserve Ken Norman scored 20 points at Champaign, Ill., as the Illini (24-8, 12-6) secured second place in the Big Ten.

Ohio St. 90, Michigan St. 79--Ron Stokes scored 22 points and Troy Taylor added 19 to lead the Buckeyes (19-9, 11-7) at Columbus, Ohio. The Spartans finished Big Ten play 19-9, 10-8.

Marquette 68, DePaul 64--Terry Trotter scored 17 points and Mandy Johnson hit two key baskets in the last two minutes as the Warriors upset the Blue Demons at Milwaukee.