ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
Damon Flint scored four of his 16 points in overtime as eighth-ranked Cincinnati survived a Conference USA tournament quarterfinal by edging Saint Louis 62-59 on Thursday in Memphis, Tenn.
Foul trouble hurt top-seeded Cincinnati (23-4) as the Billikens (16-13) wore a path to the free-throw line, where they hit 19 of 25 shots.
Danny Fortson forced overtime when he hit a basket that tied the score at 49, but he missed a driving layup before the buzzer that would have given the Bearcats the victory.
Darnell Burton started the overtime with a 3-pointer that put Cincinnati up for good, 52-49. Saint Louis didn't quit, and Carlos McCauley's 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left pulled the Billikens to 60-59. But Jackson Julson sealed the victory with two free throws with 11.9 seconds to go.
Burton finished with 17 points to lead Cincinnati, which advances to a semifinal tonight against No.22 Louisville. Jeff Harris led Saint Louis with a game-high 23 points, going 11-of-14 from the line.
In other games Thursday:
No. 3 Connecticut 79, Seton Hall 58: In New York, Doron Sheffer scored 19 points and Travis Knight had 12 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Huskies past the Pirates in a quarterfinal of the Big East Conference tournament.
Top-seeded UConn (28-2) will meet No. 13 Syracuse in tonight's semifinal round.
In a game when everyone struggled with shooting - even Big East player of the year Ray Allen - the Huskies took a 39-24 halftime lead and coasted through the second half. Allen finished 4-for-17 from the field and had 11 points, half his average.
Adrian Griffin, who won ninth-seeded Seton Hall's opening-round game against West Virginia with a basket with one second to play, led the Pirates (12-16) with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
No. 6 Georgetown 92, Miami 62: In New York, Allen Iverson scored 38 points, 10 in a 14-1 run to open the second half, as the Hoyas (25-6) routed the Hurricanes (15-13) in a quarterfinal of the Big East tournament.
Second-seeded Georgetown advances to tonight's semifinal round against ninth-ranked and third-seeded Villanova.
No. 7 Texas Tech 85, Texas A&M 57: In Dallas, Tony Battie scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked six shots as the Red Raiders rolled to their 19th consecutive victory by whipping the Aggies in a quarterfinal of the final Southwest Conference tournament.
Texas Tech (26-1), which set a school record for victories in a season, will play Rice in a semifinal tonight.
Texas A&M (11-16) was led by Derrick Hart and Tracey Anderson, who scored 14 points each.
No. 9 Villanova 78, Providence 68: Kerry Kittles returned from a three-game suspension and converted six consecutive free throws in the final minute as the Wildcats pulled away for a victory over the Friars in a Big East tournament quarterfinal in New York. Villanova advances to tonight's semifinal round against sixth-ranked Georgetown.
The Wildcats (25-5) had lost two of three games, including a 106-68 blowout against Georgetown, while Kittles sat out his suspension for illegally using a university telephone credit card.
Providence (17-11) was led by Austin Croshere's 18 points.
No. 10 Utah 76, Hawaii 63: Forward Keith Van Horn scored 26 points and had eight rebounds to lead the Utes (24-5) past the Rainbows in a Western Athletic Conference quarterfinal in Albuquerque, N.M.
Hawaii (11-17) was in the game only because Texas-El Paso's victory over the Rainbows on Wednesday night was forfeited because the Miners used an ineligible player.
No. 13 Syracuse 69, Boston College 61: In New York, John Wallace, denied the ball all game by the Eagles' defense, took charge in the final 21/2 minutes and led the Orangemen to victory in a Big East tournament quarterfinal. Fourth-seeded Syracuse (24-7) will meet top-seeded Connecticut in a semifinal tonight.
Wallace scored nine of his 25 points down the stretch, but until Syracuse found a way to get him the ball, the Orangemen were in a fight against BC (18-10). Four consecutive free throws by Danya Abrams, who finished with 31 points, had the Eagles ahead 57-55 with less than three minutes to play. Abrams, who is Syracuse center Otis Hill's cousin and played much of the game against him underneath, added 12 rebounds.
No. 14 Memphis 92, DePaul 69: The Tigers wasted no time in extending their home-court winning streak for at least one more game.
Second-seeded Memphis broke open a tie game with a 24-4 first-half run and downed the Blue Demons in a Conference USA quarterfinal that extended the Tigers' home streak to 34 games.
Memphis (22-6) had 16 steals as DePaul (11-18) turned over the ball 21 times. The Tigers will meet No.21 Marquette in a semifinal tonight.
No. 21 Marquette 65, South Florida 56: In Memphis, Tenn., Chris Crawford scored 13 points as the Golden Eagles (21-6) downed the Bulls (12-16) in a Conference USA tournament quarterfinal.
Third-seeded Marquette wore down 11th-seeded South Florida's six players with their depth and fresher legs. The Golden Eagles will play No. 14 and second-seeded Memphis in a semifinal tonight.
Chucky Atkins led South Florida, playing its last game under coach Bobby Paschal, with 19 points. Paschal had resigned effective at the end of the season.
No. 22 Louisville 98, Tulane 76: In Memphis, Tenn., Alvin Sims scored 23 points as the Cardinals (20-10) ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Green Wave (18-9) in a quarterfinal of the Conference USA tournament. Louisville gave coach Denny Crum his 20th 20-victory season, advancing to meet No.8 Cincinnati tonight in a semifinal.
Jerald Honeycutt led Tulane with 17 points despite 4-of-17 shooting.
No. 24 Texas 86, Baylor 65: In Dallas, Sonny Alvarado had 16 points and 12 rebounds and led a defense that forced 24 turnovers as the Longhorns routed the Bears in the first round of the Southwest Conference tournament. Texas (19-8) will play Southern Methodist in a semifinal tonight.
Brian Skinner had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Baylor (9-18), but most of his points came after the outcome had been decided.
North Atlantic
Drexel 76, Boston University 67: In Philadelphia, Malik Rose scored 22 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Dragons (26-3) defeated the Terriers (18-11) to win the conference tournament and their third consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Rose scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half for Drexel (26-3). Tunji Awojobi, who made 15 of 17 field-goal attempts, finished with 32 points for BU, which is coached by former Virginia assistant Dennis Wolff.
Big South women
Radford 98, UNC Asheville 65: Dede Logemann scored 20 points and Rebecca McNeil (Christiansburg High School) added 18 points as the Highlanders began the quest for their seventh consecutive title with a rout of the Bulldogs in a quarterfinal at the Dedmon Center.
Second-seeded Radford (15-11), which shot a season-high 60.3 percent from the field, advances to meet seventh-seeded Charleston Southern in a semifinal at 8 p.m. today.
Freshman Kim Hairston (Bassett) added seven points and a career-high 10 assists for the Highlanders.
All-Big South forward Vicki Griffin scored 20 points for UNC Asheville (6-20).
UNC Greensboro 84, Liberty 40: Alisa Moore scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the top-seeded Spartans past the Flames in a quarterfinal.
Samantha Ferguson (Fieldale-Collinsville) scored 12 points for UNC Greensboro (17-9). Genie Stinnett and Erin Wall each scored 10 points for Liberty (5-22).
UNC Greensboro will face Winthrop in a semifinal at 6 p.m. today.
Charleston Southern 60, Maryland-Baltimore County 55: Chrissy Kelly's jumper with 1:19 to play gave the Buccaneers their first lead of the game, and sixth-seeded Charleston Southern held on to upset third-seeded UMBC in a quarterfinal at Radford.
Kelly, the Big South Player of the Year, finished with 22 points, including eight of Charleston Southern's last 10 as the Bucs (11-16) reached the semifinals of the Big South tournament for the first time since 1989. Kelly, who has 1,723 points, became the 50th player in NCAA Division I history to record at least 1,000 points and 500 assists when she had two assists in the game.
Kendra Damann and Jennifer Gloyd each scored 15 points for the Retrievers (12-15).
Winthrop 81, Coastal Carolina 71: Misty Mooring had 16 points to lead five scorers in double figures as the fifth-seeded Eagles downed the fourth-seeded Chanticleers in a first-round game at Radford. Leigh-Ann Pursifull (Floyd County) added 13 for Winthrop (12-14).
Tameka Tender scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Coastal Carolina (12-15).
Notes
EASY COME, EASY GO: Texas-El Paso's forfeit of its victory over Hawaii in the Western Athletic Conference tournament could have been avoided with a phone call, the school's athletic director conceded
The Miners (12-16) ended a rough season when their 77-69 opening-round victory Wednesday night over the Rainbows was erased after school officials decided senior forward Kevin Beal was ineligible. The forfeit sent Hawaii, not UTEP, into a quarterfinal Thursday night against No.10 Utah.
Beal, who played 24 minutes and scored six points against Hawaii, was ruled ineligible because he had not earned enough academic credit hours toward his major during the two years he spent at Long Beach City College before transferring to UTEP in the fall of 1994.
But UTEP athletic director John Thompson and school president Diana Natalicio didn't decide Beal was ineligible until after they had left for the tournament site, Albuquerque, N.M., on a flight from Kansas City, Mo., early Wednesday evening. The two, along with WAC Commissioner Karl Benson, met with NCAA officials there during the day to discuss the eligibility status of about a dozen UTEP athletes, among them Beal.
The eligibility issue was part of an NCAA investigation of the entire UTEP athletic program that began in December. Of the UTEP athletes whose academic records were reviewed by the NCAA, Beal was the only one still competing, Benson said.
ETSU GETS NEW COACH: Penn State assistant Ed DeChellis was named head coach at East Tennessee State.
``I'm really well-prepared,'' said DeChellis, who has been an assistant at Penn State for the past 10 years. ``This is not going to be on-the-job training for me.''
DeChellis, 37, replaces Alan LeForce, who compiled a 108-70 record in six years. LeForce is staying on at East Tennessee in an administrative position.
LENGTH: Long : 190 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Baylor's Roddrick Miller (right) bulls intoby CNB24th-ranked Texas' DeJuan Vazquez during their Southwest Conference
tournament game Thursday in Dallas. Texas won 86-65.