Texas Nearly Lets Win Slip Away

Top 25

Brandy Perryman made up for two missed free throws with 6.6 seconds left by stealing an inbounds pass with 2.7 seconds to play to preserve Texas’ 74-72 victory over No. 11 North Carolina on Saturday in Austin, Texas.

Perryman, an 83-percent free throw shooter, could have iced the victory for Texas (7-2) with his free throws in the final seconds.

After missing them, he anticipated the inbounds pass of North Carolina’s Vince Carter, intercepted it near midcourt and ran out the clock, ending a seven-game winning streak for the Tar Heels (9-2).

Sonny Alvarado, who came up with several clutch offensive rebounds and tough inside baskets down the stretch, led Texas with 20 points and 14 boards.

Reggie Freeman had 18 points and seven assists and Perryman added 17 points, including five 3-pointers in the first half.

Dante Calabria had 15 points and Antawn Jamison had 14 points and 15 rebounds.

(5) Cincinnati 103, McNeese St. 69

In Cincinnati, Danny Fortson scored a career-high 39 points as the Bearcats extended their best start in 19 years with the victory over the Cowboys.

Cincinnati (8-0) went unbeaten through December for the first time since 1976-77, when it opened the season 12-0.

McNeese State (4-3) gave the Bearcats problems with its fast break, traps and quickness, but had no one to cover Fortson, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound power forward, who shot over and muscled around smaller defenders.

Six-foot-nine, 275-pound Donald Fisher, the only Cowboy with the bulk to stop Fortson, picked up two fouls in the first 2 minutes. That cleared the way for Fortson, who scored 25 in the first half and led two big runs.

(6) Georgetown 123, St. Leo 65

Allen Iverson scored 33 points to lead Georgetown to the victory over the Monarchs in Lakeland, Fla., the Hoyas’ eighth consecutive win.

Georgetown (11-1) took control early against St. Leo, their traditional Division II opponent, with aggressive full-court pressure.

St. Leo had turnovers on 12 of its 24 possessions during the first 11 minutes, with the Hoyas taking a 35-15 lead.

The 123 points was Georgetown’s highest total of the season, topping a 113-point effort on Dec. 8 against Sacramento State. It was also the second-highest in school history, nearly matching a 126-51 victory over St. Leo in 1986-87.

(7) Connecticut 102, Hartford 63

Jim Calhoun got his 200th coaching victory at Connecticut as the Huskies (10-1), led by Ray Allen’s 26 points, beat the Hawks (1-8) at the Civic Center in Hartford, Conn.

For Calhoun (200-97 at UConn), it was the 450th victory of his collegiate coaching career, including 250 at Northeastern.

Travis Knight tied his career high with 18 points and Doron Sheffer added 10 for UConn. Reserve center Ryan Howse led Hartford with 16 points.

(8) Villanova 71, Delaware 58

In Villanova, Pa., Eric Eberz scored 17 points and Chuck Kornegay had a season-high 14 points and 11 rebounds as the Wildcats survived a scare before beating the Blue Hens.

Jason Lawson had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats (10-1), who open their Big East season Tuesday night at home against Notre Dame.

Delaware (4-4) took a 41-37 lead on a jumper by Peca Arsic with 15:07 remaining in the game. Eberz then hit a 3-pointer, the first of 11 straight points by Villanova and that was part of a 25-5 run that gave the Wildcats a 62-46 lead with 5 minutes to play.

During that span, Delaware scored only five points, all on free throws, and went 10:15 without a field goal.

(12) Illinois 85, North Carolina St. 76

In Honolulu, Kiwane Garris scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half to rally the Illini from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Wolfpack (7-2) in the fifth-place game of the Rainbow Classic.

Illinois (11-1) also got big second-half scoring from Richard Keene (12 points) and Bryant Notree (10) as it went on a 33-14 run over an 11-minute stretch to wipe out the Wolfpack’s lead.

Jerry Gee’s basket with 5:58 left gave Illinois its first lead of the game and Keene followed with a field goal and a 3-pointer to cap the big run.

(16) Georgia 86, Jacksonville 59

Shandon Anderson racked up 17 points, leading five teammates who scored in double figures, as the Bulldogs trounced the Dolphins in Athens, Ga.

In its last game before the conference season, Georgia (9-1) shut down the Jacksonville (5-4) offense, using a 15-0 run in the first half and outscoring the Dolphins 23-6 from the bench.

It was the sixth straight win for the Bulldogs and new coach Tubby Smith.

Jacksonville’s Artemus McClary led the Dolphins with 21. Jerome Malloy had 18.

(17) Mississippi St. 69, Nebraska 66

At Portland, Erick Dampier had 13 points and 11 rebounds and his late inside basket pushed the Bulldogs past the Cornhuskers to win the Ford Far West Classic.

The 6-foot-11 Dampier gave Mississippi St. a 67-65 lead on a follow shot with 1 minute left in the game.

(18) Missouri 95, Hawaii 89

Also in Honolulu, Jason Sutherland shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and scored 27 points and Corey Tate added a season-high 19 points to lead the Tigers to the victory over the Rainbows for seventh place in the Rainbow Classic.

Sutherland, who had scored only 10 points in the first two games of the tournament, had 18 points by the half as the Tigers (8-4) moved out to a 42-30 halftime lead.

(19) Michigan 82, Davidson 70

Maurice Taylor scored 19 points and Louis Bullock was perfect from the freethrow line as the Wolverines put away the pesky Wildcats for third place in the UNLV Holiday Classic in Las Vegas.

With a strong effort from Quinn Harwood in the second half, Davidson (6-3) managed to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit and pull within two points with less than four minutes to play.

But Harwood picked up his fifth foul, and Michigan (10-3) was able to take control by hitting 11 of 12 free throws down the stretch.

(20) Duke 87, Northeastern 56

Jeff Capel scored 19 points, Chris Collins had 17 and Greg Newton added 16 as the Blue Devils defeated the Huskies (1-8) in Boston.

The score was tied 6-6 before Duke ran off 12 of the next 13 points. The Blue Devils (9-2) led by as many as 25 in the first half and 36 in the second in beating Northeastern for the fourth consecutive year.

(22) Virginia 76, Liberty 48

In Charlottesville, Va., Courtney Alexander had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and the Cavaliers opened a double-digit lead in the opening 6 minutes en route to their victory over the Flames (4-4).

Virginia (5-3) has trailed in five of its past seven games after the first 5 minutes of play. The Cavaliers turned that around, taking a 12-0 lead on a jumper by Harold Deane with 13:54 left.

(24) Clemson 67, Campbell 43

In Clemson, S.C., Greg Buckner scored 13 points, and point guard Merl Code scored 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Tigers beat the Fighting Camels.

The victory also extended Tigers coach Rick Barnes’ perfect non-conference record to 15-0 since coming to Clemson two years ago.

Oral Roberts 90, (25) Tulsa 78

In Tulsa, Okla., the Golden Eagles spoiled the Golden Hurricane’s debut in the Top 25, as Earl McClellan scored a career-high 20 points and Tim Gill made two crucial 3-pointers down the stretch for the victory.

Tulsa (5-1), ranked for the first time in 10 years, blew a 14-point lead late in the first half and then got outplayed and outhustled by Oral Roberts (4-4).