Umass Defenders Stuff Temple

Top 25

Massachusetts survived a serious threat to its No. 1 ranking Saturday, using swarming defense in the final 4 seconds to hold off Temple 59-58 at Amherst, Mass., in the latest game of a series noted for its exciting finishes.

The Minutemen, who beat Temple twice by one point last season on baskets by Mike Williams in the final 8 seconds, let a 55-45 lead drop to 59-58.

Then Edgar Padilla missed a 3-pointer for Massachusetts (5-0 Atlantic 10, 13-1) with 18 seconds left. Temple (3-3, 7-4) took possession of the ball and called timeout with 14 seconds to play.

Levan Alston drove for a layup, but Marcus Camby blocked the ball out of bounds with 3.8 seconds remaining, and Temple called another timeout. Rick Brunson inbounded the ball under his basket, but Massachusetts knocked it out of bounds with 1.5 seconds to play.

Brunson tried again, but Williams, who was guarding him, deflected the ball out of bounds with six-tenths of a second to go.

Brunson finally managed to inbound the ball to Alston, but Alston’s desperation 3-pointer from the left, while surrounded by Minutemen, missed badly as the buzzer sounded.

Williams led Massachusetts with 15 points. Camby and Lou Roe had 11 each. Brunson, who sat out the final 16 minutes of the first half with two fouls, scored all 15 of his points in the second half. Johnny Miller added 11.

The Minutemen won their 12th straight game and increased their oncampus winning streak to 39, second to Indiana’s current 50-game streak. It was their sixth straight win over the Owls, who were 22-1 in the other 23 games in the series.

(2) Connecticut 86, Seton Hall 81

Donny Marshall and Travis Knight played key roles down the stretch as the Huskies (7-0 Big East, 14-0) remained the only unbeaten Division I team by downing the Pirates (3-4, 12-5) at East Rutherford, N.J.

Connecticut will play No. 6 Syracuse at home Monday night for first place in the conference, with each team on a 14-game winning streak.

(3) No. Carolina 87, Virginia Tech 76

At Greensboro, N.C., Jerry Stackhouse recovered from the worst shooting game of his career to score 21 points and lead the Tar Heels (14-1) past the Hokies (13-4).

Stackhouse, 2 for 13 from the floor for a season-low eight points in North Carolina’s win against Virginia on Wednesday, shot 7 for 10 and scored seven of his points in the final 4:46 after picking up his fourth foul.

(5) Kentucky 81, Vanderbilt 68

Tony Delk’s 3-pointer triggered a 20-0 run in the second half as the Wildcats (6-0 Southeastern Conference, 12-2) won their sixth straight game, pulling away to beat the Commodores (1-4, 7-6) at Lexington, Ky.

Vanderbilt, which trailed 41-35 at the half, led 59-57 when J.J. Lucas hit an 8-foot shot from the baseline with 9:43 remaining.

Delk, who finished with a seasonhigh 24 points, then connected from the left corner to give Kentucky a one-point advantage. Kentucky then scored 18 more points, ending on Walter McCarty’s driving jam at 2:56 for a 77-59 lead.

(6) Syracuse 60, Providence 59

Michael Lloyd hit a 23-footer with 2.2 seconds left, giving the Orangemen (7-0 Big East, 14-1) a victory over the Friars (2-5, 10-5) at Providence, R.I., that extended their winning streak to 14 games.

Eric Williams converted a threepoint play to tie it at 57, then added two free throws to give Providence a 59-57 lead with 11.9 seconds left. But Williams’ 24 points were negated by Lloyd’s game-winner.

(7) Kansas 91, Colorado 77

Sean Pearson scored 26 points and spearheaded a 13-point second-half run that broke up a tight game and helped the Jayhawks (3-1 Big Eight, 13-2) defeat the Buffaloes (1-2, 10-4) at Boulder, Colo.

Pearson hit one of his six 3-point baskets during the run that began after Colorado had closed to 55-53 with 14:26 left. Jerod Haase, who wound up with 10 points, had five during the 2-minute spurt.

Colorado never cut the deficit under double figures again.

(9) Arkansas 88, S.Carolina 73

At Columbia, S.C., Corliss Williamson had 22 points and fueled a 19-3 second-half run as the Razorbacks (4-2 Southeastern Conference) dealt the Gamecocks their seventh straight loss.

Williamson had 16 points after intermission, six of them in the decisive spurt.

South Carolina, which led 50-49 with 15:23 to go, was held without a field goal for the next seven minutes.

(14) Iowa State 79, Kansas State 73

Fred Hoiberg and Loren Meyer each hit two free throws in the final minute as the Cyclones (2-1 Big Eight, 15-2) recorded only their third win against the Wildcats (1-4, 10-7) at Manhattan, Kan., in 17 years.

Iowa State was leading by seven points when Elliott Hatcher sank a 3-pointer for Kansas State. Belvis Noland then stole an inbounds pass and fed Demond Davis for a layup that made it 75-73.

However, Meyer was fouled and made both free throws. Hoiberg clinched the victory with two more.

(15) Wake Forest 69, Clemson 60

Tony Rutland rescued the Deacons (3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference, 10-3) in the second half, scoring eight straight points in a rally that produced a victory over the Tigers (1-4, 10-4) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Nevada 74, (19) New Mexico St. 67

Shawn Pughsley had six 3-pointers and a season-high 20 points at Reno, Nev., as the Wolf Pack (6-2, Big West, 10-6) upset the Aggies (4-2, 13-4) while holding them to 19 points below their season average.

Damien Edwards and Jimmy Moore added 13 points each for Nevada, which led by as many as 17 points late in the second half.

Rodney Walker had 23 points for New Mexico State.

Minnesota 77, (20) Illinois 66

Townsend Orr hit six 3-pointers and the Gophers (4-2 Big Ten, 13-5) went 17 of 23 from the field in the second half to overturn the Illini (4-2, 13-5) at Minneapolis.

(23) Cincinnati 92, DePaul 82

Darnell Burton, held scoreless in the first half, hit for 14 points in the opening minutes of the second and rallied the host Bearcats (4-0 Great Midwest Conference, 14-5) past the Blue Demons (0-4, 7-6).

St. Joseph’s 92, (25) Penn 82 (OT)

Mark Bass sent the game into overtime with a 3-pointer, then scored eight points in the extra period as the Hawks (9-5) upset the Quakers (9-3) at Philadelphia.

Bernard Blunt hit a jumper with 2:36 remaining in overtime to give St. Joseph’s a 78-76 lead. Bass followed with four straight points and Blunt added three in a row to stretch the lead to 85-76.