ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 20, 1996 TAG: 9612200027
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Danny Fortson returned from a foul-induced benching and scored 23 points in the second half Thursday night in Cincinnati, rallying the No. 7 Bearcats to a 102-79 victory over previously unbeaten Eastern Michigan.
Fortson sank 14 of 15 shots overall, a school record for accuracy, and scored a season-high 33 points on an assortment of dunks, layups and jump shots. He also had a team-high 11 rebounds.
Fortson scored the game's first seven points and went to the bench a few minutes later with two fouls, allowing Eastern Michigan (6-1) to pull ahead by six points in his absence.
Fortson started the second half and helped Cincinnati (4-2) turn a close game into a decisive victory. The 6-foot-7 power forward scored 17 points in an opening 30-18 run that pushed the lead to 14 points.
Earl Boykins scored 23 points to lead the Eagles.
In other games:
No. 19 Arkansas 95, McNeese St. 68: Ali Thompson scored a career-high 25 points as the 19th-ranked Razorbacks beat McNeese State in Fayetteville, Ark.
Thompson had 15 points in the first half as Arkansas (5-1) built a 20-point lead. The Cowboys (5-4) were scoreless during the first 3:15 of the second half as the margin grew to 30.
Mississippi St. 80, Old Dominion 73: Bart Hyche scored 21 points, including six of Mississippi State's record 14 3-pointers, as the Bulldogs beat the Monarchs in Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State (5-4) overcame a 15-point second-half deficit.
The Bulldogs hit eight straight free throws in the final 32 seconds while Old Dominion (7-2) missed five straight from the free-throw line.
N.C. State 70, Cent. Florida 52: The Wolfpack continued its best defensive streak in 14 seasons and used a pair of first-half scoring spurts to dump Central Florida in Raleigh, N.C.
North Carolina State (6-1) held its seventh straight opponent to 55 points or fewer, matching a similar streak early in the 1982 season.
C.C. Harrison led the Wolfpack with 17 points and Danny Strong scored a season-high 16.
Richmond 69, Campbell 54: Rick Edwards had a season-high 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Spiders smothered Campbell in the second half in Richmond. Richmond (2-3) harassed the Camels to 29 percent shooting in the second half and broke open a close game.
East Carolina 68, St. Joseph's 64: Raphael Edwards hit all seven of his free throws in the last 42 seconds and scored a career-high 23 points as the Pirates (6-2) beat the Hawks in Greenville, N.C. Dmitri Domani led St. Joseph's (3-2) with 15 points.
Former Salem High School standout Mark Byington scored 18 points, 12 of them on 3-pointers, to lead UNC Wilmington (2-5) to a 64-58 victory over Manhattan in Wilmington, N.C.
Princeton led by 41 points at one time before settling for a 73-42 rout of Lehigh in Princeton, N.J. The Tigers (5-2) bolted to a 26-0 lead and reeled off 17 straight points after Lehigh got its first basket, extending the lead to 43-2.
Women
Richmond 82, Virginia Tech 76: Michelle Florin had 24 points - 18 on six 3-point goals - as the Spiders beat the Hokies in Richmond.
Erin Curran scored the final five points of the game as the Spiders (5-2) pulled away from a 77-76 lead in the final minute.
Virginia Tech (2-5) got 24 points from Kim Seaver and 15 from Lisa Witherspoon.
No. 12 Virginia 96, Rider 41: Mimi McKinney scored 21 points to lead four Cavaliers in double figures in a rout of Rider in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers (5-2) put the game out of reach early with a 25-4 run to open the game and led at the half 43-11. Rider (1-3) shot to 5-of-41 (12.2 percent) from the floor in the first half.
DeMya Walker had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Virginia.
Notes
UVA'S ALEXANDER DOUBTFUL: Virginia forward Coutney Alexander is not expected to play Saturday against Maryland-Baltimore County. Alexander sprained his left ankle with 2:02 remaining in the Cavaliers' 67-54 victory over Liberty Wednesday at Charlottesville.
X-rays of Alexander's ankle taken Thursday were negative.
Alexander leads the Cavaliers in scoring with an average of 19 points per game and is averaging 4.1 rebounds per game.
PHILLY TO HOST REGIONAL: The Atlantic 10 Conference will be the host for the 2001 NCAA Tournament East Regional, which will be held in Philadelphia's CoreStates Center.
The 2001 regional will be held March 22 and 24 and will be the first NCAA event hosted by the A-10.
MELEE HALTS GAME: A game between two junior colleges Wednesday had to be stopped after a brawl erupted between fans of Jamestown Community College and players and a fan of Butler County (Pa.) Community College.
Officials ended the game with 2:36 to play and Jamestown leading 87-85.
About 10 to 12 people apparently attacked a Butler County fan who was taunting the Jamestown players.
FURMAN LOSES TWO: Sophomore forward Andre Kerr of Furman, a member of the Southern Conference's all-freshman team last season, will miss the rest of this season with a herniated disk in his back.
Furman also announced that freshman Michael Green had quit school. Green, a 6-foot-8 forward, did not score in four games this season.
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