Clemson Surprises No. 6 Foe

College basketball

Vincent Whitt scored 17 points and Clemson held No. 6 South Carolina scoreless for nine minutes to upset the Gamecocks 62-57 Wednesday night in Clemson, S.C.

Two free throws by BJ McKie and a basket by Recus Nix in the final minute pulled South Carolina (5-1) to 58-57, but foul shots by Whitt and Greg Buckner kept Clemson in front.

The Tigers (6-3) started the year ranked in the top 10, but fell out of the poll after losing three of their previous five games. And against South Carolina, Clemson was without its point guard and 16-point-a-game scorer, Terrell McIntyre.

(17) FSU 77, N.C.-Asheville 60

At Tallahassee, Fla., Terrell Baker scored 18 points as the Seminoles warmed up for Saturday’s date against top-ranked North Carolina with a victory over the Bulldogs (4-4).

The Seminoles (8-1) broke open a close game midway in the first half and opened a 63-33 lead midway through the second half after a 3-pointer by Baker, who also added eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.

(18) Mississippi 100, Belmont 59

Reserve Joezon Darby scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, as the Rebels ran past the Bruins at Oxford, Miss.

Ole Miss (6-1), playing at home for the first time in more than three weeks, scored the first six points on the way to a 30-6 lead. Belmont (2-6), a Division I independent from Nashville, had seven turnovers before scoring its second basket.

E. Mich. 89, (21) Michigan 83 (OT)

At Ann Arbor, Mich., Earl Boykins scored 29 points as the Eagles (3-3) withstood a furious rally by the Wolverines (6-3) to score an upset in overtime.

James Head added 20 points and Derrick Dial had 16 for Eastern Michigan, who dropped Michigan to 0-2 against Mid-American Conference teams. The Wolverines opened their year with a loss to MAC member Western Michigan.

Marshall 73, (23) W. Forest 66

Travis Young scored 17 points and the Thundering Herd (4-3) took advantage of another poor shooting night by the Demon Deacons (6-2) to post the upset. It was Marshall’s first victory over a ranked opponent since 1991 and its first over an Atlantic Coast Conference team since 1983.

Ohio 79, CS Northridge 77

Jim Peterson hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:06 remaining, and the Bobcats hung on for a narrow win over the Matadors at Athens, Ohio.

Dustin Ford scored 25 points to lead the Bobcats (2-5). Carl Holmes led Northridge (2-5) with 20 points.

Southern 97, Cal Poly SLO 85

At Baton Rouge, La., Gregory Martin had 27 points and blocked three shots, and Aaron Bates scored 22 points and had six steals in leading the Jaguars to victory over the Mustangs.

The victory by Southern (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak. The loss by Cal Poly (5-4) left the Mustangs 5-36 in road games since moving to Division I in 1994-95.