COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Thompson Leads No. 6 Syracuse Past Seton Hall

Stephen Thompson scored 26 points and No. 6 Syracuse made seven of 10 free throws in the final 2:23 as the Orangemen defeated Seton Hall, 74-65, in a Big East game Monday night at Syracuse, N.Y.

Syracuse (17-3, 7-3) won its fifth consecutive game and extended its dominance over Seton Hall to 19 games. Seton Hall (10-10, 3-7) hasn’t beaten Syracuse since 1981.

Derrick Coleman added 19 points for Syracuse, and Anthony Avent paced Seton Hall with 21.

After a layup by Avent with 3:25 left pulled the Pirates to 63-58, they began fouling the Orangemen, who made only 64% of their free throws. But Coleman made three of four free throws and reserve Tony Scott made four of six.

Seton Hall, bothered by Syracuse’s relentless defense, made only seven of 27 shots in the second half. Still, the Orangemen needed to make seven of 10 free throws in the final 2:23 to preserve the victory.

No. 10 Purdue 67, Northwestern 60--Stephen Scheffler scored 16 points, including a basket that broke a 59-59 tie and lifted the Boilermakers to a Big Ten victory at Evanston, Ill.

A basket by Tony Jones and four straight free throws by Woody Austin in the closing minute sealed the decision for Purdue (17-3, 9-1). Northwestern is 8-12 and 1-9.

No. 11 LSU 86, Mississippi State 68--Chris Jackson, who played high school ball in Gulfport, Miss., scored only 19 points, well below his average of 28, but was pleased with the Tigers’ victory over Mississippi State in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rogue, La.

LSU had lost five in a row to the Bulldogs, and Jackson had taken a lot of heat.

“Now I can do the talking,” he said.

LSU improved to 17-4 overall and 6-3 in the SEC. Mississippi State is 11-8 and 4-7.

Stanley Roberts led LSU with 23 points, and Shaquille O’Neal had nine.

Cameron Burns scored 26 for Mississippi State.

No. 14 La Salle 72, St. Peter’s 59--Lionel Simmons scored 26 points to become the 10th-leading scorer in NCAA history, lifting La Salle to its ninth consecutive victory in this Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Philadelphia.

The 26 points gave Simmons, a senior, a career total of 2,845, moving him into 10th place on the NCAA career list. He passed Otis Birdsong, who scored 2,832 at Houston from 1973-77.

La Salle (17-1, 8-0) led most of the game, although St. Peter’s (12-8, 5-4) got within 44-40 with 14:45 left.

North Carolina 87, Miami (Fla.) 74--Scott Williams scored 20 points and Pete Chilcutt added 15 as the Tar Heels beat the Hurricanes at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Tar Heels (16-7) held a 46-34 halftime lead, but Miami (7-11) outscored North Carolina 16-4 to open the second half, tying the score at 50-50 on Doug Elliott’s three-point jumper.

North Carolina regrouped, building the lead back to 71-63. The Hurricanes didn’t get closer than five points after that.

Miami’s Jake Morgan made six of 11 three-pointers and finished with 24 points.

Southern Mississippi 82, South Carolina 65--Clarence Weatherspoon scored 21 points to lead the Golden Eagles (13-7, 4-3) over the Gamecocks (10-8, 4-3) in a Metro Conference game at Hattiesburg, Miss.

Virginia Commonwealth 70, Memphis State 69--Elander Lewis hit two free throws with 42 seconds left in overtime to give Virginia Commonwealth (8-11) a victory over the Tigers (13-7) at Richmond, Va.

Temple 81, St. Bonaventure 64--Donald Hodge scored 24 points to lead the Owls to victory over the Atlantic 10 rival Bonnies at Philadelphia. Temple’s Mark Macon was held to nine points, ending his streak of consecutive double-figure games at 29.

Temple is 12-8, 10-2; St. Bonaventure 6-13, 2-9.

VMI 86, William & Mary 66--Ramon Williams scored 30 points and Virginia Military Institute broke a 16-game, 26-year losing streak against the Indians on their home court at Williamsburg, Va.

Williams’ twin, Damon, added 18 points and Greg Fittz had 14 as the Keydets (10-11) won their sixth consecutive game.

The Indians (4-17) have lost 11 in a row, the longest losing streak since the 1936-37 William & Mary team lost all 17 games it played.

Wyoming 80, Air Force 60--Tim Breaux had a career-high 23 points, including five three-pointers, as the Cowboys (13-9, 5-5) beat the Falcons (7-14, 0-8) in a Western Athletic Conference game at Laramie, Wyo.

Utah 67, Texas Wesleyan 50--Walter Watts scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half as the Utes (13-9) won a nonconference game at Salt Lake City.