ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701070033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOURCE: From Associated Press and staff reports
Nykesha Sales scored 22 points and Shea Ralph keyed a crucial first-half run as the top-ranked Connecticut women's team beat No. 8 Tennessee 72-57 Sunday in Hartford, Conn.
Ralph scored the first eight of her 14 points in a 12-0 run that brought the Huskies (11-0) from behind and sent them on to their 24th straight regular-season win.
Carla Berube added 15 points for UConn before a nationally televised audience and a sellout crowd of 16,294, the largest to watch a women's college game this season.
Chamique Holdsclaw scored 23 points for defending national champion Tennessee (10-5), which was limited to 23 percent shooting in the first half and finished 30 percent from the floor.
The Huskies won for the fourth time in five meetings between the two rivals. UConn's only loss came during last year's NCAA Final Four, when Tennessee beat them in overtime in the semifinals.
In another women's game:
Roanoke 81, Hollins 41: Thirteen players scored for the Maroons as they cruised to an Old Dominion Athletic Conference win at home.
Roanoke (5-1, 2-0) forced 31 turnovers and came away with 20 steals. The Maroons led 48-18 at halftime.
Amy Athey (Cave Spring) had 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Roanoke. Ashley McCallum (William Byrd) added 10 points.
Amy Worley (Blacksburg) and Tonya Holmes (Northside) led Hollins (2-5, 0-3) with 16 points apiece.
Men
No. 6 Cincinnati 64, Saint Louis 52: In St. Louis, Danny Fortson had 24 points and 10 rebounds and the Bearcats turned back the Billikens in the Conference USA opener for both teams.
Fortson made his first six shots, all from the baseline about 10 feet from the basket, and seven of his first eight. Twelve of his points came in a 16-4 run that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 21-9 lead with 7:19 left in the first half.
Saint Louis made only 15 of 54 shots and went almost eight minutes between baskets at one point in the second half. The Billikens kept it close with free throw shooting, hitting 15 of 17 in one stretch to help cut the gap to 52-47 with 4:21 left.
No. 13 Duke 66, Georgia Tech 56: In Atlanta, Trajan Langdon and Jeff Capel hit key 3-point baskets in the final five minutes, and the Blue Devils won their sixth straight game, an ACC win over the Yellow Jackets.
Duke (11-2, 2-0) trailed 42-31 with 16:56 remaining after Matt Harpring hit a 3-pointer for the Yellow Jackets (6-5, 0-2).
Duke used two runs to close the gap and eventually take the lead, the first an 11-3 spurt in which Greg Newton scored seven of his 17 points.
The first surge cut Tech's lead to 45-42, then the Blue Devils went on a 14-4 run in which Landgon scored seven and Capel five to take a 58-54 lead on Langdon's 3-pointer with 1:35 remaining.
Capel's 3-pointer at the 4:39 mark put Duke ahead to stay, 53-52.
Newton led Duke with his 17, Langdon added 16 and Capel 11.
Eddie Elisma paced the Yellow Jackets with 22 points and 13 rebounds and Harpring added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Florida 75, No. 22 Arkansas 62: In Gainesville, Fla., Greg Stolt scored 21 points and Dan Williams' two 3-pointers keyed a late surge that led the Gators to a Southeastern Conference victory over the Razorbacks.
The Gators (8-5, 1-0) used a 12-0 run at the start to take the lead for good, and a 12-0 run late in the game for a 66-50 lead with 4:11 left.
The Razorbacks (6-4, 0-2), who had never lost to Florida since joining the league six years ago, are off to their worst start ever in the SEC.
Pat Bradley had 14 points and broke Lee Mayberry's school record by making a 3-pointer for the 29th straight game. Lee Wilson had 13 points, but missed six minutes of the second half because of foul trouble.
St. Joseph's 72, Massachusetts 68: In Amherst, Mass., Arthur Davis scored 14 points as the Hawks, trailing by five points at halftime, fought back to defeat the Minutemen in an Atlantic 10 game.
St. Joseph's (6-3) broke a seven-game losing streak to UMass (5-8), including two in overtime a year ago.
UMass led 68-67 with 1:45 to play on two free throws by Tyrone Weeks. But successive free throws by Nemanja Petrovic and Robert Haskins gave St. Joseph's the lead for good.
Petrovic added 13 points for St. Joseph's, followed by Terrell Myers and Duval Simmonds with 10 each.
Carmelo Travieso led UMass with 23 points, followed by Weeks with 19.
Notes
LSU: Freshman Lester Earl, LSU's No. 2 scorer and No. 3 rebounder, has been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules. The expulsion came two days after coach Dale Brown indefinitely suspended Earl for missing practices. Earl missed practice Jan. 1-3 following an apology Dec. 31 for his abrupt disappearance from the team two days earlier, Brown said.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Georgia Tech's Kevin Morris (left) and Duke'sby CNBRoshown McLeod battle for a loose ball during Sunday's ACC game in
Atlanta. No.13 Duke outlasted the Yellow Jackets 66-56.