Catlett Makes the Right Choice

West Virginia Coach Gale Catlett figured the time was right to gamble on senior guard Greg Jones and give him the first start of his career.

The gamble paid off.

Jones, a junior college transfer, nearly matched his season average in the first half with 11 points, providing the 16th-ranked Mountaineers the spark they needed to defeat No. 6 Connecticut, 80-62, Wednesday night at Morgantown, W.Va.

Jones, who averaged 11.5 points in 23 games as a reserve this season, led the Mountaineers with 18 points. Catlett inserted him in the starting lineup after he scored 23 points Saturday in a loss to St. John’s.

“It worked. If it didn’t work it wouldn’t have been a smart move,” Catlett said.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for. [Starting] gave me a big boost. I wasn’t really nervous. I was more excited,” Jones said.

The victory puts West Virginia, 20-4 overall, back in the race for first place in the Big East 6 at 10-4. The Mountaineers are tied with St. John’s, one-half game behind Connecticut (21-4, 10-3). The winners of each of the Big East’s two divisions and the second-place team with the best winning percentage receive first-round byes in the conference tournament.

It was the Mountaineers’ first victory over the Huskies since joining the Big East three years ago and was their first over a Top 10 team since beating No. 8 Temple in Morgantown in 1994.

No.1 North Carolina 60, Virginia 45--Antawn Jamison outscored the Cavaliers, 13-12, in the second half as the Tar Hills breezed at Charlottesville, Va.

North Carolina (25-1, 11-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) also won despite playing without guard Shammond Williams for all but four minutes.

Williams got into a disagreement with Coach Bill Guthridge in the first half and was benched. Williams was coming off a career-high 42 points in a double-overtime win over Georgia Tech.

Virginia (10-14, 2-9) missed 25 of its 30 shots after making 13 of 30 in the first half.

Jamison and Vince Carter finished with 19 points each, and Jamison had 14 rebounds.

No. 7 Kentucky 80, Tennessee 74--Scott Padgett scored the first eight points of the second half and made a three-point shot late in the game to spark the Wildcats at Lexington, Ky.

Tennessee (15-6, 5-6) fell behind, 56-43, but went on a 15-8 run behind Tony Harris’ eight points to move to within 64-58 with 5:35 left. Kentucky’s Nazr Mohammed scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, his second consecutive double-double and seventh of the season.

No. 15 South Carolina 74, Alabama 63--The Gamecocks (18-4, 8-3) rebounded from an upset loss to Tennessee to win for the eighth time in nine games.

South Carolina’s previous four games all had been decided by four points or fewer, with three coming down to the final seconds. The Gamecocks won for the 20th consecutive time at Frank McGuire Arena, the nation’s ninth-longest current home winning streak.

Brian Williams scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Alabama (10-14, 2-9). The Crimson Tide lost for the 10th time in 12 games. Alabama officials have already told Coach David Hobbs he will not be asked to return next season.

No. 18 Mississippi 87, Vanderbilt 76--Ansu Sesay made two quick three-point shots that put the Rebels (16-5, 7-4) ahead to stay as they extended their school-record homecourt winning streak to 18 games at Oxford, Miss.

Sesay finished with 14 points, his 45th consecutive game in double figures. He also had 12 rebounds.

The Rebels, who have won 33 of their last 34 home games the past two seasons, moved within two games of No. 12 Arkansas in the SEC Western Division with five regular-season games left. Mississippi plays host to the Razorbacks on Feb. 25.

Vanderbilt (15-9, 4-7) fell to 0-7 against ranked opponents.

No. 21 Michigan 76, Ohio State 68--Louis Bullock scored 22 points at Ann Arbor, Mich. for the Wolverines, who kept the Buckeyes winless in the Big Ten.

Robert Traylor added 17 points for Michigan (18-7, 8-4). Freshman Michael Redd led Ohio State (7-16, 0-10) with 22 points.

No. 24 Maryland 78, North Carolina State 63--Rodney Elliott scored 19 points at College Park, Md., to help the Terrapins clinch their fifth consecutive winning ACC record.

Laron Profit added 16 points for Maryland (15-7, 8-4), which improved to 11-1 at Cole Field House. The Terrapins have won 13 of their last 15 against the Wolfpack (12-11, 3-9).

OTHER GAMES

Earl Boykins scored 41 points as Eastern Michigan (14-8, 10-4) overcame 24 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals from Bonzi Wells to defeat Ball State (17-5, 11-3), 89-77, in a Mid-American Conference game at Muncie, Ind. . . . Charles Jones, the nation’s leading scorer, had 42 points and 12 assists and set a school record with eight three-point baskets as Long Island University (15-9, 10-2), beat Wagner (11-13, 6-7), 127-77, at New York. . . . Colorado (12-9, 6-5) outscored Texas Tech, 16-5 in the second overtime at Boulder, Colo., for a 91-80 victory. Texas Tech is 12-9 and 6-5. . . . Georgia Tech (15-9, 4-7) blew a nine-point lead in the final minute but was saved when Michael Maddox made a free throw with 7.4 seconds left for a 77-76 victory over Wake Forest (12-10, 4-7) at Winston-Salem, N.C.