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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Kentucky Rocks Bucke

Associated Press

Top 25

Derek Anderson scored 22 points against his former team and No. 3 Kentucky survived a sloppy performance to beat Ohio State 81-65 Saturday night in the first game of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Shootout.

Anderson, who transferred from Ohio State in 1994, made four consecutive free throws to give the Wildcats (10-1) a 71-60 lead after the Buckeyes had gotten as close as five points in the second half.

Ohio State (5-4) got no closer than seven points after that as Kentucky did not miss a free throw over the last 10 minutes. Anthony Epps made six foul shots and Allen Edwards had a tip-in to seal the victory. Jermaine Tate led Ohio State with 23 points.

(7) Cincinnati 81, W. Kentucky 57

At Cleveland, Danny Fortson scored 24 points and the Bearcats (5-2) won their fourth consecutive game with a victory over the Hilltoppers (5-3) in the second game of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Shootout.

The Bearcats were the preseason No. 1 team but lost two of their first three games as Xavier and Kansas were able to take advantage of Cincinnati’s inexperience and lack of depth.

Against the Hilltoppers, Cincinnati blew open the game with a 16-0 second-half run, effectively ending any threat of an upset.

(8) Utah 77, UC Irvine 50

At Irvine, Calif., freshman Hanno Mottola, starting in place of a flu-stricken Keith Van Horn, scored a career-high 19 points and the Utes (8-1) routed the winless Anteaters (0-8).

Van Horn arrived at the Bren Center, but was sent back to the team hotel before tipoff. He also missed a first-round NCAA Tournament game last season against Canisius because of the flu.

The game was called with 1:56 remaining on the clock after Utah’s Ashante Johnson was injured going down under the basket. There was no contact, but Johnson grabbed at his back as he collapsed.

He lay on the floor for several minutes before being taken away on a stretcher. The nature of his injury was not immediately known.

(10) Villanova 75, Rider 61

At Villanova, Pa., freshman Tim Thomas scored 16 points and Jason Lawson had 14 of his 16 points in the second half as the Wildcats (9-1) beat the Broncs (3-5).

Ken Lacey had 19 points for the under-manned Broncs, who were outsized at every position and were missing their two top players.

Charles Smith, the team’s leading scorer the past three seasons, was bounced from the team in November for rules violations and starting center Kevin McPeek is out for the year with a knee injury.

(13) Indiana 72, Valparaiso 51

At Indianapolis, Andrae Patterson had 20 points and nine rebounds to pace the Hoosiers (13-1) to a victory over the Crusaders (7-2) in the championship game of the Hoosier Classic.

The victory keeps the Hoosiers’ record umblemished in the 15-year-old holiday tournament.

Indiana’s inside strength proved to be too much for the Crusaders, who had won seven consecutive games after losing their season-opener to Vanderbilt.

(14) New Mexico 75, Mississippi 64

At Albuquerque, N.M., backup center Ben Baum scored a career-high 18 points to bail New Mexico (11-1) out of foul trouble and away from the pressure defense of the Rebels (7-2) in the championship game of the Lobo Invitational.

(15) Minnesota 104, Long Island 84

At Minneapolis, Sam Jacobson scored 18 points as the Golden Gophers (10-1) defeated Long Island.

LIU assistant coach Julius Allen and junior forward Jason Cragan both were thrown out of the game in the second half after a shoving match with Minnesota reserve forward Miles Tarver.

Allen was running the team in place of head coach Ray Haskins, who missed the game to be with his ill mother.

Santa Clara 77, (19) Alabama 62

At San Jose, Calif., Craig Johnson had a career-high 16 points and led Santa Clara on a 17-6 run in the second half as the Broncos (6-6) defeated the Crimson Tide (10-2) for third place in the Cable Car Classic.

Johnson, a junior-college transfer in his first season at Santa Clara, also led the Broncos with eight rebounds.

(20) Texas Tech 77, Wyoming 74

At Casper, Wyo., Cory Carr scored 23 points, including some clutch free throws down the stretch, to help the Red Raiders (8-2) to a victory over the Cowboys in the consolation game of the Cowboy Shootout.

Carr made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 53 seconds as the Red Raiders fought off the Cowboys’ comeback bid. Carr made 10 of 11 free throws overall.

LaDrell Whitehead had 34 points, 27 in the second half, to lead the Cowboys.

(22) Arkansas 92, S. Utah 52

At Fayetteville, Ark., Steve Green had a career-high 15 points as the Razorbacks (6-2) routed the Thunderbirds (2-7).

Ali Thompson had 16 points. Derek Hood added 12 points and was one of four Arkansas players with six rebounds in a game in which the Razorbacks cruised to a 47-15 halftime lead.