Kansas Seems Right At Home

College men’s Top 25

Paul Pierce scored 18 points in leading a sluggish and foul-troubled Kansas past San Diego 79-72 Sunday, giving the No. 2 Jayhawks their 24th consecutive home-opening victory.

Kansas probably will be the nation’s top-ranked team today since No. 1 Cincinnati lost to Xavier last week. The Jayhawks have won their first five games despite starting the season without point guard and preseason All-American Jacque Vaughn, who is lost at least until January with a wrist injury.

With 6-foot-11 Scot Pollard and 6-10 Raef LaFrentz saddled with four fouls apiece the final six minutes, the Jayhawks were unable to pull away from the Toreros (2-1), who cut a 12-point halftime deficit to one midway through the second half.

Pierce’s steal and breakaway basket gave Kansas a 78-65 lead with about 3 minutes to go. San Diego then closed the game with a 7-1 run.

The Jayhawks, who had arrived from winning the Maui Classic in Hawaii only 45 hours earlier, closed out the first half with a 9-0 run for a 42-30 lead.

(3) Wake Forest 80, Richmond 55 Tim Duncan had 14 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots at Richmond, Va., as the Demon Deacons (4-0) beat the Spiders (1-2).

Duncan had his 13th consecutive double-double as Wake Forest held Richmond to 34.4 percent shooting from the field to become the fourth team this season to shoot less than 40 percent against the Demon Deacons.

Jerry Braswell led Wake Forest with 16 points and Ricky Peral added 15.

(5) Villanova 85, Tulane 70 Tim Thomas and Jason Lawson each scored 21 points at Bayamon, Puerto Rico, to lead the Wildcats (3-0) to victory over the Green Wave (3-3) in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Shootout.

Lawson, who was 9 for 11 from the field and was named tournament MVP, had 13 points in the first half as Villanova took a 37-30 lead. The Wildcats pulled away in the second half by shooting 70 percent from the field and finished 34 of 56 for the game.

(9) Iowa State 82, Maryland-Eastern Shore 62 Dedric Willoughby led four Iowa State players in double figures with 23 points at Ames, Iowa, as the Cyclones (2-0) swept past the Hawks (1-2).

(24) Minnesota 75, (10) Clemson 65 Eric Harris, the hero of Minnesota’s semifinal victory, scored 17 points to lead the Golden Gophers (5-0) past the Tigers (4-1) in the championship game of the San Juan Shootout at Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Harris, whose jumper with 4 seconds to play beat Creighton Saturday, was selected tournament MVP.