COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Duke Rallies Behind Hurley

Duke kept it close and Bobby Hurley finally broke it open.

The fifth-ranked Blue Devils beat No. 6 North Carolina, 81-67, Wednesday night in a key Atlantic Coast Conference game at Duke.

Neither team led by more than three points, and there were four lead changes in the first 14 minutes of the second half. During that time, Hurley was scoreless and North Carolina center Eric Montross was in foul trouble.

Duke (16-3, 5-3) took the lead for good on two free throws by Grant Hill with 6:16 to play. Hill added a 15-footer 33 seconds later to give the Blue Devils the largest lead in the second half.

Duke extended it to 61-56 with 3:13 left and after Donald Williams sank a shot for the Tar Heels (17-3, 6-2) with 2:58 left, Hurley came up with the game’s biggest basket.

The senior point guard made his fourth three-pointer of the game with 2:35 left. Montross made one of two free throws 23 seconds later and then Duke closed the score with a 17-8 run, including a 12-for-13 effort from the free-throw line over the final 1:37.

Hurley finished with 20 points. Thomas Hill had 16 and Grant Hill 15 for the Blue Devils. Montross led North Carolina with 22 and George Lynch had 17.

No. 2 Kentucky 87, Mississippi State 63--Travis Ford made three three-pointers in a 23-2 first-half run, and the Wildcats withstood a second-half rally in a Southeastern Conference game at Lexington, Ky.

The Bulldogs, who had won three in a row, rallied from a 42-23 halftime deficit to pull to 56-50 with with 10:37 left. But Kentucky went on a 14-6 spurt to take control. Ford led Kentucky (16-1, 7-1) with 21 points and Jamal Mashburn added 18 as the Wildcats won for their fifth in a row. Marcus Grant topped Mississippi State (11-8, 3-5) with 17 points.

No. 4 Cincinnati 98, Austin Peay 61--Nick Van Exel scored 31 points as the Bearcats (17-1) gained their 14th consecutive victory while handing the Governors their 21st consecutive road loss.

Van Exel made four three-pointers to become Cincinnati’s career leader with 114. Rick Yudt led Austin Peay (3-15), with 19 points.

No. 11 Vanderbilt 76, South Carolina 72--Billy McCaffrey scored six of his 27 points in the final 53 seconds as the Commodores held off a late rally by the Gamecocks in an SEC game at Vanderbilt.

South Carolina (8-10, 4-5) trailed, 45-34, at halftime. But, the Gamecocks made a run in the second half as the teams exchanged leads throughout the final minutes. Vanderbilt (17-3, 7-1), which has won six consecutive games, needed a late three-point basket and three free throws by McCaffrey to pull the game out. South Carolina was led by Troy McKoy with 15 points.

Villanova 82, No. 15 Pittsburgh 76--Lance Miller scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half as the Wildcats reversed a season-long trend of close losses to Big East opponents by upsetting the Panthers at Pittsburgh.

James Bryson added 20 points and Calvin Byrd 16 as the Wildcats (7-9, 3-7) won their second consecutive game after losing seven in a row.

The Panthers (13-4, 6-4), who made only two of 20 three-point attempts, lost their second in a row to cost themselves the chance to play conference-leading St. John’s for the Big East lead on Saturday.

Kansas State 62, No. 16 Oklahoma 61--Anthony Beane made two free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Wildcats a home upset victory over their Big Eight rival.

Oklahoma (14-6, 2-3) had a chance to take a three-point lead late in the game, but Terry Evans missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw.

After a blocked shot by the Sooners’ Pete Lewis, Beane was sent to the line when he was fouled while battling for a loose ball. Beane sank both free throws.

Kansas State (14-3, 4-1), was led by Askia Jones’ 17 points. Angelo Hamilton led Oklahoma with 19 points.

No. 19 Purdue 62, Ohio State 57--Glenn Robinson scored 29 points, including two free throws, to put the Boilermakers ahead for good with 1:41 left against the Buckeyes in a Big Ten game at Columbus, Ohio.

Robinson made 13 of 22 shots and had 11 rebounds for Purdue (13-4, 4-4). The loss was the sixth in a row for Ohio State (9-8, 2-6).

OTHER GAMES

Stacey Poole scored 26 points and Dan Cross sank five of six free throws down the stretch to lead Florida (12-6, 5-3) past Alabama (11-7, 3-5), 69-59, in an SEC game at Florida. . . . Fred Burley scored 24 points and Randy Rutherford added 22 to pace Oklahoma State (12-4, 3-3) to an 85-61 Big Eight victory at Colorado (8-10, 0-6). . . . Voshon Lenard scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half and Randy Carter added 16 as Minnesota (12-5, 4-4) rolled to a 95-67 Big Ten victory over visiting Penn State (6-10, 1-6).