Wake Forest Finishes Fast

Top 25

Tony Rutland rescued Wake Forest’s offense in the second half Wednesday night and finished with 19 points as the 14th-ranked Demon Deacons rallied for a 63-54 victory over No. 7 Maryland at Winston-Salem, S.C.

Earlier this season, Rutland provided a lift for Wake Forest (7-4 ACC, 16-5) against Clemson when Randolph Childress couldn’t get started. With the Terrapins clamping down on Childress with a variety of pressure defenses, Rutland stepped up and negated that strategy in a key stretch of the second half. Maryland dropped to 9-3, 19-5).

(8) Michigan St. 68, Illinois 58

At East Lansing, Mich., Shawn Respert scored 35 points, including eight 3-pointers, and Eric Snow matched his career-high with 12 assists to lead the Spartans over the Illini.

The win kept the Spartans (10-2 Big Ten, 18-3) in first place in the conference.

Respert scored 24 points in the second half on the way to his sixth game of the season with 30 or more points.

Jerry Gee led Illinois (7-5, 16-8) with 11 points.

(10) Arkansas 86, (18) Alabama 8

At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Scotty Thurman scored 29 points and Corliss Williamson added 24 as the Razorbacks won their second straight road game.

Arkansas (8-4 SEC, 20-5) erased a 14-point Alabama lead in the closing minutes of the first half to avenge the Crimson Tide’s 18-point victory at Bud Walton Arena last month.

It was the first victory for the Razorbacks at Alabama (7-4, 17-6).

(16) 16 Virginia 64, Duke 58

At Charlottesville, Va., Virginia’s Junior Burrough and Harold Deane fueled second-half runs that helped the Cavaliers add to the Blue Devils’ woes.

Burrough finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds and Deane scored nine of his 12 points in the second half as Virginia (9-3 ACC, 17-6) won its fifth consecutive game and 11th in 14.

The Blue Devils (1-11, 11-13) tied the 1982-83 Duke team as the losingest one in school history in ACC play.

(20) Georgia Tech 85, N. Carolina A&T

At Atlanta, Travis Best scored 27 points and freshman Matt Harpring added 21 and 11 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets held off a late rally.

Georgia Tech (16-8) played without injured starters James Forrest and Drew Barry.

John Floyd led the Aggies (10-12) with 27 points on 11-for-13 shooting and had nine rebounds.

(22) Oklahoma St. 71, (21) Iowa St. 69

At Ames, Iowa., Bryant Reeves kept his composure against the Cyclones’ collapsing defense and scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half, to lead the Cowboys.

Held to one shot in the first half, Reeves dominated down the stretch as the Cowboys (7-2 Big Eight, 17-7) held off a late Iowa State flurry and pulled within one-half game of league-leading Kansas. Iowa State is 18-7, 4-6.

Iowa 74, (24) Minnesota 70

At Minneapolis, Chris Kingsbury scored 25 points, including his seventh 3-pointer of the game with 1:22 to play that gave the Hawkeyes the lead for good in a win over the Golden Gophers.

Kingsbury connected on seven of 12 3-points shots to help the Hawkeyes (5-7 Big Ten, 15-9) avenge a one-point loss to Minnesota three weeks ago at Iowa City.

The 6-foot-5 sophomore, who holds the school season records for 3-pointers made and attempted, was red hot midway through the second half. It was Minnesota (7-4, 16-7) its first loss in four games.

(25) Purdue 71, Penn St. 51

At West Layfayette, Ind., Cuonzo Martin closed in on the Boilermakers record for career 3-pointers by making four.

Martin has made 150 long-range shots and needs one more to tie the school record set by Troy Lewis from 1987-88. He finished with 14 points.

Purdue (8-3 Big Ten, 17-6) held the Nittany Lions (5-6, 13-8) to a season-low point total.