College Basketball Roundup : Las Vegas Wins NIT in 2 Overtimes, 96-95

Freddie Banks sank a three-point shot with 13 seconds left in the second overtime period, and third-ranked Nevada Las Vegas defeated Western Kentucky, 96-95, to win the preseason National Invitation Tournament Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.

It was the fifth three-point shot of the night for Banks, who finished with a game-high 31 points.

With the Rebels trailing, 95-93, Armon Gilliam missed a shot and grabbed the rebound. He passed to the open Banks, who shot the game-winner from the left of the top of the key. Gilliam had 23 points for UNLV (4-0).

The Rebels at one time in the first half trailed by 21 points but rallied behind the three-point shooting of Banks and Gary Graham, who each made three three-point shots in the half.

Western Kentucky’s Tellis Frank hit a bank shot with eight seconds left to tie the score and send the game into double overtime. Frank led the Hilltoppers with 25 points.

Nevada Reno 74, California 60--The Wolf Pack outscored the Bears, 14-2, during a three-minute stretch midway in the first half to pull ahead for good as they upset the Pacific 10 team at Reno.

Nevada Reno, which sank 28 of 40 free throws, was led by Boris King, who scored 17 points. It was the season opener for the Wolf Pack.

Leonard Taylor and Chris Washington each scored 14 points for California, which fell to 1-1.

Kansas 88, Tennessee Martin 69--The Jayhawks, who led, 41-37, just 1:30 into the second half, scored 15 consecutive points over the next four minutes to blow open the game at Lawrence, Kan.

Danny Manning, who scored seven of those points, led all scorers with 26 points as sixth-ranked Kansas won its 13th straight season opener. It also was the Jayhawks’ 34th consecutive victory in Allen Field House, breaking the 31-year-old record of 33 straight home-court wins set by the Kansas teams of 1951-55.

The victory also gave Kansas Coach Larry Brown his 600th career coaching win. Brown has coached nine years in the professional ranks, four years at Kansas and two at UCLA.

South Carolina 85, Eckerd 68--Terry Dozier and Bill Vernau each scored 20 points to pace the Gamecocks to their season-opening win in George Felton’s coaching debut at Columbia. S.C.

South Carolina held a 20-18 lead midway through the first half when it outscored the Tritons, 12-2, to open a 32-20 lead and take command. The Gamecocks led, 42-30, at the half.

Eckerd’s Joel Canfall led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 3 for 3 from three-point range.

Syracuse 87, Loyola (Chicago) 66--The Orangemen opened a 60-41 lead with 11:51 remaining in the second half to win their season opener before 22,160 at the Carrier Dome at Syracuse.

Freshman forward Derrick Coleman led the surge by scoring eight points in the first seven minutes of the second half. He finished the game with 13 points and 7 rebounds.

Andre Moore, Loyola’s 6-foot-9 senior center, led the Ramblers with 20 points. He also had 14 rebounds.

DePaul 78, Northern Illinois 51--Dallas Comegys scored 23 points, and Terence Greene added 17 to lead the Blue Demons to the win at the Rosemont Horizon in the season opener for both teams.

Comegys, who also had 13 rebounds, made his first seven shots to help DePaul take a 26-16 lead. The Blue Demons then scored seven straight points to extend the lead to 33-16.

DePaul outrebounded Northern Illinois, 54-30. The Huskies made only 5 of 17 free throw attempts.

Ohio State 90, Bucknell 62--The Buckeyes scored the final 13 points of the first half to take a 45-26 lead, then scored the first six points of the second half at Columbus, Ohio, as Gary Williams won his coaching debut at Ohio State.

Dennis Hopson scored 21 points and Jay Burson had 16 to lead the Buckeyes.

Bucknell went scoreless more than seven minutes during the 19-0 Ohio State run.

Wyoming 71, Weber State 54--Eric Leckner scored 21 points as the Cowboys, who built a 25-point first half lead, coasted to the victory at Laramie, Wyo.

A dunk shot by Fennis Denbo with 21 seconds left in the first half gave Wyoming a 49-24 lead. The Cowboys shot 51 % from the field. Weber State, meanwhile, made just 19 of 60 shots from the field.

Weber State’s Walt Tyler led all scorers with 23 points.

Arkansas 90, Louisiana Tech 64--Tim Scott scored 23 points and combined with Mike Ratliff to lead a second-half rally that caried the Razorbacks to the win at Little Rock, Ark.

Scott made 9 of 17 shots, including all 3 of his attempts from three-point range. He and Ratliff, who finished with 12 points, each had 4 points in a 14-4 run that put Arkansas ahead to stay, 48-43.

After hitting only 13 of 33 shots in the first half, the Razorbacks made 20 of 33 in the second.

Washington 69, Louisville 54--Chris Welp scored 21 points to lead the Huskies past the Cardinals in the consolation semifinals of the Great Alaska Shootout at Anchorage, Alaska.

It was the second defeat in as many days for the defending national champions. In the tournament opener Friday night, the Cardinals were upset by Northeastern, 88-84.

Welp, a 7-foot center, who scored 15 of his points in the first half, controlled the key and sent Louisville’s Pervis Ellison to bench with three fouls with 8:57 left in the first half.

Washington led by as many as 23 points in the opening minutes of the second half.

Oregon State 83, Texas El Paso 72--Center Jose Ortiz scored 33 points as the Beavers won their season opener at El Paso, Tex.

Ortiz, 6-10, shot 13 of 19 from the field and made 7 of 9 free throw attempts. He also had 7 rebounds.

Wichita State 71, Pacific 60--Henry Carr scored 19 points, including 9 of his team’s 20 points during in an 11-minute stretch of the second half, to lead the Shockers at Wichita, Kansas.

Trailing, 41-40, with 16:07 left in the game, Carr, who also had 16 rebounds, and Gus Santos combined for 17 points as the Shockers outscored the Tigers, 20-8, to take a 60-49 lead with 5:02 remaining.

Portland 54, San Jose State 49--Greg Attaway scored 21 points, including 12 on his 4 three-point shots, and had 4 steals as the Pilots won at Portland.

Guard Anthony Perry led Pacific with 14 points. The Spartans played without top scorer Rick Berry, who is out with a knee injury.