Memphis Escapes With Last-Second Win
Top 25
Lorenzen Wright scored 18 points and Mingo Johnson added 17 Monday as ninth-ranked Memphis edged North Carolina Charlotte 57-55 at Memphis, Tenn., in the Conference USA debut for both schools.
The lead changed hands 12 times in the second half with neither squad holding more than a three-point advantage.
The victory put Memphis at 9-2, while unranked N.C. Charlotte fell to 6-5.
Ponce James gave the 49ers a chance to tie the game with 24 seconds to play when he went high out of bounds to grab a slapped-away Tiger pass and called a timeout while still in the air. N.C. Charlotte brought the ball back into play, even though James landed outside of the court.
(3) Kansas 76, Oklahoma St. 61
At Stillwater, Okla., the Jayhawks (11-1, 1-0 Big Eight) opened defense of their Big Eight title with a dominating performance, using a 19-2 run at the start of the second half to end the Cowboys’ (8-3, 0-1) 24-game home winning streak.
The loss was the first at home for the Cowboys since Missouri beat them in January 1994. They have lost just five times in 75 home games under coach Eddie Sutton.
Kansas used its size advantage and tough, man-to-man defense to keep the Cowboys out of sync most of the night.
Fresno State 65, Utah 64
At Salt Lake City, Dominic Young’s 3-pointer with .8 seconds remaining gave the Bulldogs (9-5) a come-back win over the Utes (9-3).
Mark Rydalch made two free-throws with 7.5 seconds left to put Utah ahead 64-62.
(25) New Mexico 77, San Diego St. 74
At Albuquerque, freshman Kenny Thomas scored a season-high 24 points, including a pair of free throws with 16.7 seconds left, as the Lobos (12-1, 2-1 Western Athletic Conference) held off the Aztecs (6-4, 2-1).
Thomas, playing this season despite the NCAA’s ongoing efforts to declare him ineligible, hit 10 of 15 shots and teamed with 7-foot-1 sophomore Daniel Santiago to give New Mexico enough offense to turn back a series of rallies by San Diego State.
(6) UConn vs. (7) Villanova
Monday’s game was postponed because of snow and rescheduled for tonight at 4:30 PST.