Minutemen Bid For Lead In Poll

Top 25

Derek Kellogg scored 18 points Saturday as No. 4 Massachusetts survived a lackluster homecoming by Lou Roe in an 87-64 victory over La Salle at Atlantic City, N.J.

By winning, the Minutemen (8-1) staked a claim to the No. 1 ranking in the college basketball poll. No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 Arkansas each lost games last week.

Kellogg had 12 first-half points as Massachusetts built a 41-36 lead, then made two 3-pointers early in the second half to help pull away.

La Salle (7-3) got 20 points from Kareem Townes.

Roe, an Atlantic City native, scored two points, a season low and 17 below his average. He picked up his third foul with 9:25 left in the first half and didn’t start the second half. His only basket came on an alley-oop dunk with 1:12 to play.

(1) N. Carolina 100, (7) Maryland 90

Rasheed Wallace scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, taking advantage of Joe Smith’s foul woes as the Tar Heels (1-1, 10-1) rebounded from their first loss to down the Terrapins (1-1, 11-3) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Wallace won the high-profile battle of sophomore centers as North Carolina, which lost to N.C. State 80-70 Wednesday night, broke Maryland’s five-game winning streak in a battle of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s highest-scoring teams.

The Terrapins have lost nine of the last 10 meetings with the Tar Heels.

Smith missed the final 5:33 of the first half and a 6-minute stretch of the second half after Wallace coaxed him into his fourth personal on a foul-line jumper.

But it was Smith’s return that ultimately hurt Maryland.

With North Carolina leading 73-67 and 9:28 left, Wallace scored on a follow after a missed 3-pointer over Smith, who then turned the ball over on the other end of the court.

Wallace then made a layup over Smith 19 seconds later as the Tar Heels led by 10.

(3) Arkansas 97, Tennessee 79

Corliss Williamson scored seven of his 25 points late in the first half and the Razorbacks (1-1, 12-2) went on to defeat the Volunteers (0-2, 5-5) in an SEC game at Fayetteville, Ark.

Williamson’s points came during a 12-4 spurt that helped Arkansas build a 14-point halftime lead.

Tennessee pulled within 11 early in the second half, but the Razorbacks went on an 11-2 run that included two baskets by Williamson and a 3-pointer by Alex Dillard.

(5) Kansas 97, SMU 58

Freshman Raef LaFrentz scored 18 points and sophomore Jarod Haase added 17 as the Jayhawks (10-1) defeated the Mustangs at Dallas to remain in contention for the No. 1 ranking.

Kansas raced to a 23-point halftime lead, using the height advantage of 6-foot-11 LaFrentz and 7-2 Greg Ostertag to outmuscle the smaller Mustangs.

With his family and friends from nearby Duncanville in attendance, Ostertag supplied 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while 6-10 Scott Pollard of Kennewick, Wash., added 12 points off the bench.

(8) Kentucky 80, S. Carolina 55

Tony Delk scored 18 points and the Wildcats (2-0, 8-2) hit 17 3-pointers - their highest total in four years - in a Southeastern Conference victory over the Gamecocks (0-2, 3-10) in Columbia, S.C.

The long-range shooting by the Wildcats (2-0 SEC, 8-2) tied an SEC mark for most 3-pointers in a game.

(10) Syracuse 89, Seton Hall 77

John Wallace had 21 points and the Orangemen (3-0, 10-1) used an 18-4 second-half run to pull away from the Pirates (1-2) at Syracuse, N.Y., and remain unbeaten in the Big East.

It was the 10th consecutive victory for Syracuse, which stopped Seton Hall’s nine-game winning streak. The Pirates are 0-15 at the Carrier Dome.

(24) Georgia Tech 75, (11) Duke 68

Travis Best scored 22 points and James Forrest had 18 at Atlanta as the Yellow Jackets (1-1, 9-4) handed the Blue Devils (0-2, 9-4) their second loss in a row.

Georgia Tech never trailed in the ACC battle after Forrest broke a 6-6 tie on a layup with 15:49 left in the opening half.

(12) Georgetown 71, Miami 64

Freshman Allen Iverson’s tiebreaking field goal with 2:39 remaining spurred the Hoyes (3-0, 9-1) to their Big East conquest of the Hurricanes (0-3, 5-5) at Landover, Md.

The Hoyas have won nine in a row since a loss to defending national champion Arkansas.

(13) Florida 72, Vanderbilt 62

Andrew DeClercq scored 21 points and led a 19-0 midgame surge that sent the Gators (1-1, 7-3) to victory over the Commodores (1-1, 7-3) in SEC action at Gainesville, Fla.

(14) Michigan St. 69, (22) Iowa 68

Eric Snow’s jumper from the freethrow line as time expired gave the Spartans (2-0, 9-1) the victory over the Hawkeyes (1-1, 11-3) in Big Ten play at East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State was helped when Iowa missed all four of its free throws in the final 2 minutes, including the front end of two one-and-ones.

Colorado 71, (16) Iowa St. 57

Donnie Boyce scored 21 points to lead the Buffaloes (8-2) past the Cyclones in their Big Eight Conference opener at Boulder, Colo.

(18) Wake Forest 72, Florida St. 64

Tim Duncan had career highs of 26 points and 20 rebounds as the Demon Deacons (1-0, 8-1) beat the Seminoles (0-2, 6-4) in an ACC game at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Florida State hit 23 for 69 shots for 33.3 percent.

Missouri 82, (19) Nebraska 74

At Lincoln, Neb., Paul O’Liney scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half as the Tigers (10-1) used a 3-point barrage to turn back the Cornhuskers (11-3) in a Big Eight opener at Lincoln, Neb.

Eight of the 10 second-half baskets by Missouri were 3-pointers. The Tigers also made 12 of 13 free throws in winning their eighth straight game.

(21) Indiana 73, Wisconsin 70

Brian Evans, benched for the second half while going scoreless in his last game, responded with 26 points as the Hoosiers (1-1, 9-5) edged the Badgers (1-1, 6-5) in their Big Ten game at Bloomington, Ind.

Michael Finley had 29 points for Wisconsin.

(25) Penn 85, Dartmouth 70

Scott Kegler made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 26 points as the Quakers (2-0, 8-1) beat the Indians (1-1, 4-8) at Hanover, N.H. to collect a record 31st straight Ivy League victory.