Long-Range Plan Works for Iowa State

Freshmen Jake Sullivan and Shane Power helped Iowa State shoot down Kansas again, and the Jayhawks’ Eric Chenowith can’t understand how they did it.

Sullivan had six three-point baskets and scored 22 points and Power made all four of his shots from behind the arc and had 18 points to lead No. 7-ranked Iowa State to a 79-71 victory over No. 6 Kansas on Saturday at Ames, Iowa.

The point totals for were bests for both Sullivan and Power.

“I thought Sullivan and Power surprised us,” Chenowith said. “To be honest with you, they really don’t have any business playing Division I basketball, and they’re out there doing unbelievable things, hitting huge shots and playing tough defense.”

Sullivan, who made all of his three-point shots in consecutive fashion, was eight for 11 on all of his shots while Power was five for six.

“That’s unreal,” Iowa State’s Paul Shirley said. “You can’t give them enough credit. It was really impressive the way they were hitting open shots and making plays in such a huge game.”

It was huge because Iowa State, 22-3 overall and 10-2 in the Big 12, won a ninth consecutive conference game for the first time in school history and remained alone in first place.

Kansas (19-5, 8-4 played without starter Drew Gooden and key reserve Luke Axtell, both injured, and lost for the fifth consecutive time to Iowa State. The Jayhawks shot 57.7% but couldn’t overcome 22 turnovers, many caused by the ballhawking Cyclone guard Jamaal Tinsley.

Tinsley, who returned Thursday after spending four days at home in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his ailing grandmother, made only one of 13 shots. But he had 11 assists and six steals and made nine of 12 free throws to score 11 points.

He also got Kansas’ starting guards, Kirk Hinrich and Jeff Boschee, in foul trouble and both fouled out.

“I think it met a lot for him to be able to go home,” Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy said. “It’s tough on him. He’s a very sensitive person. You could see it coming. But in spite of 1-for-13, Jamaal Tinsley on the court late is better than anybody else we have.

“We owe him a lot. He’s our guy. He’s the guy that got us here.”

No. 4 Illinois 67, Indiana 61--The Big Ten-leading Illini (21-5, 11-2) limited the Hoosiers (16-10, 7-5) to 35.7% shooting--and only eight baskets in the second half--and took advantage of superior depth at Bloomington, Ind., for its fifth consecutive victory.

Illinois’ reserves outscored those from Indiana, 30-7. The Hoosiers’ top big men, Kirk Haston and Jared Jeffries, combined to score 34 points but were forced to take longer shots than usual by the Illini and made only 11 of 33 attempts.

No. 9 Boston College 81, Providence 73--Troy Bell scored 26 points, nine in the last six minutes, as the Eagles (19-3, 10-2 in the Big East) blew a 14-point second half lead and then came back to beat the Friars (18-7, 9-4) at Boston.

Both teams came into the game with their best-ever starts in the Big East one season after finishing with the worst and second-worst records in the 13-team conference.

Providence used a 20-4 run to take a 50-49 lead with 13 minutes left. The game was tied five times until Kenny Harley’s basket with two minutes remaining gave Boston College the lead for good at 67-65. The Eagles made 10 of 12 free throws inside the final minute.

John Linehan led Providence with 22 points.

No. 12 Virginia 69, Florida State 66--Roger Mason’s three-point basket with one second left lifted the Cavaliers (18-6, 7-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) past the Seminoles (7-18, 2-10) at Tallahassee, Fla.

Virginia scored the final 12 points, tying the game at 66-66 with 25 seconds left on two free throws by Adam Hall--whose last-second basket beat No. 3 Duke at Charlottesville, Va. on Wednesday night.

Mason made all four of his three-point shots and led Virginia with 19 points.

Delvon Arrington had 20 points for Florida State, which upset No. 17 Maryland at College Park, Md. in its previous game.

No. 13 Oklahoma 82, Baylor 60--J.R. Raymond made a career-high seven three-point shots in nine attempts and scored 24 points at Norman, Okla. to allow the Sooners (20-5, 9-4) to beat the Bears (16-7, 5-7) for the 14th consecutive time.

Raymond also had eight assists, six rebounds and no turnovers.

Oklahoma, which moved past Kansas into second place in the Big 12, made a season-high 14 three-point shots in 24 attempts.

Baylor’s Terry Black, who missed seven minutes in the first half after suffering a cut over his left eye, had 25 points.

No. 16 Mississippi 67, South Carolina 61--Rahim Lockhart scored all eight of his points in the second half, including a basket with 2:09 left that put the Rebels (21-4, 9-3 in the Southeastern Conference) ahead for good against the Gamecocks (13-10, 5-7) at Columbia, S.C. Mississippi has won six in a row.

South Carolina shot 60.7% in the first half and led 46-34 with 16 minutes left before committing turnovers in its next five possession to help Mississippi go on 9-0 run. The Gamecocks then had only one basket in the final six minutes.

No. 17 Maryland 73, No. 23 Wake Forest 57--Lonny Baxter had 19 points and 14 rebounds at Winston-Salem, N.C., as the Terrapins (16-9, 7-6) won for the first time in four games and avoided their longest losing streak since 1994.

Maryland improved to 2-6 against ranked teams, with both victories against Wake Forest (17-8, 6-7). The Demon Deacons shot a season-low 31.5%.

No. 18 Georgetown 76, Rutgers 73--Kevin Braswell scored 20 points, including eight of the last 10 for the Hoyas (20-5, 7-5 in the Big East), and made a steal as the Scarlet Knights (10-13, 2-10) were trying to set up a game-tying shot in the last seconds at Piscataway, N.J.

Georgetown won for the first time in three games and reached 20 victories for the first time since 1996-1997, the last season it reached the NCAA tournament.

There were 17 lead changes and the score was tied seven times in the second half.

Texas El Paso 80, No. 20 Fresno State 61--Eugene Costello scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half at El Paso as the Miners (18-6, 7-5 in the Western Athletic Conference) overcame a 12-point deficit and avenged last month’s 52-point loss to the Bulldogs (20-5, 9-3).

Texas El Paso was behind 44-32 Saturday when it went on a game-deciding run. The Miners also got 20 points and eight-for-11 shooting from Brandon Wolfram.

Texas El Paso had suffered the worst loss in conference and school history, 108-56, at Fresno Jan. 25.

No. 21 Alabama 85, Ohio State 67--The Crimson Tide had five players score in double figures and made 10 of 18 three-point shots at Tuscaloosa, Ala., to reach 20 victories for the first time in six seasons.

Erwin Dudley led Alabama (20-5) with 17 points.

Ohio State (17-9) had beaten three ranked teams in its past six games, and had won four in a row.

No. 22 Kentucky 79, Vanderbilt 74--Tayshaun Prince scored 27 points, including 16 of the final 29 for the Wildcats (17-7, 10-2) at Nashville, Tenn., in their seventh consecutive SEC victory.

Prince also had nine rebounds and five assists.

Vanderbilt (15-10, 4-8) lost to Kentucky for the 17th consecutive time.

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OTHER GAMES

Embattled Louisville Coach Denny Crum received a round of applause from a crowd of 12,171 at Utah’s Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, but his Cardinals lost, 84-67, to fall to 10-16 this season. Crum, 63, is rumored to be ousted at the end of the season, but he continues to lobby to hang on. “It seems a lot of people have short memories,” said Crum, who has a 673-292 record with two national championships in 29 seasons at Louisville. “We lost a whole lot of games [18] in 1985 and the next year we won the national championship.” Utah (16-9) made 11 of its first 14 shots en route to its fifth consecutive victory--its longest win streak of the season.. . . Terrance Simmons scored 30 points as Minnesota (17-9, 5-8 in the Big Ten) defeated Michigan (10-14, 4-9), 93-75, at Ann Arbor, Mich. . . . Clarence Gilbert scored 26 points for Missouri (17-8, 8-4 in the Big 12), which won on the road for the first time since Jan. 10 with a 97-90 victory over Texas A&M; (9-16, 2-10) at College Station, Texas. . . . Texas (19-7, 8-4 in the Big 12) held off Oklahoma State (15-7, 6-5) for an 80-69 overtime victory at Stillwater, Okla. . . . Tony Akins scored 17 points as Georgia Tech (15-9, 7-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) defeated North Carolina State, 69-54, at Atlanta. Anthony Grundy led the Wolfpack (12-12, 4-8) with 13 points. . . . Antonio Jackson scored 21 points as Mississippi State (13-10, 4-8 in the Southeastern Conference) ended an eight-game losing streak against Auburn (15-10, 5-7) with an 85-74 victory at Starkville, Miss.