ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 15, 1997 TAG: 9701150062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: COLLEGE BASKETBALL
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
Wrapping up a historic final convention Tuesday, the NCAA decided men's basketball players can't return to college if they enter the NBA draft and are selected.
The basketball decision reversed the association's current rules. A player, until now, could return to his college team if he wasn't happy with where he was drafted. But now he'll be out of luck if he's drafted lower than expected.
The NCAA also voted to open practice on the Saturday nearest Oct.15. That will prevent teams from staging Midnight Madness practice openers on weeknights, encouraging students to stay up late with classes the next day.
UCONN INJURIES: Connecticut starting point guard Ricky Moore and reserve forward Ruslan Inyatkin were injured in separate incidents during practice.
Moore, a sophomore, strained a muscle in his lower right leg after stepping on a teammate's foot and turning his leg and ankle. His status is listed as day-to-day. Inyatkin, a junior, sustained a dislocated big toe on his right foot and will be out for about three weeks.
Tuesday's games
No. 5 Kentucky 86, No. 21 Georgia 65: In Athens, Ga., the Wildcats rebounded from a rare Southeastern Conference loss, getting 24 points from Derek Anderson and a strong first-half performance from their bench to beat the Bulldogs.
Kentucky (15-2 overall, 3-1 conference) broke open a close game late in the first half with one of its patented defense-generated runs. The Wildcats outscored Georgia 15-6 in the final 5:43 of the half to build a 40-26 lead. The Bulldogs (12-3, 1-2) never cut the margin below 12 points in the second half.
Illinois 96, No.7 Minnesota 90: In Champaign, Ill., Kevin Turner scored 24 points, including three free throws in the final 36 seconds, as the Illini snapped the Golden Gophers' 10-game winning streak.
The Gophers (15-2, 4-1 Big Ten) led for most of the second half, but Illinois (13-4, 3-2) came back behind some scrappy defense and a 23-15 rebound advantage in the second half. Minnesota entered the game holding opponents to an average of 60 points per game.
Kiwane Garris also scored 24 points for the Illini, including four free throws in the final two minutes as he finished 13-of-14 from the line. Chris Gandy scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
No.16 Villanova 68, Notre Dame 57: In South Bend, Ind., Alvin Williams scored seven of his 16 points during a second-half run that sealed the Wildcats' victory, a second straight game in which Villanova was affected by technical fouls.
In their loss to Miami on Saturday, freshman Tim Thomas called a timeout the Wildcats didn't have with eight-tenths of a second to play in a tie game and the Hurricanes made two free throws.
On Tuesday, two technical fouls, one against Thomas, almost cost the Wildcats (13-3, 4-2). But Notre Dame (7-7, 1-5) couldn't take advantage, losing its fourth in a row.
Women
Eastern Mennonite 81, Washington and Lee 75: In Harrisonburg, Michelle Weaver scored 10 of her 24 points during a late 14-2 run as the Royals turned back the Generals in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference game.
Sasha Jackson added 16 points, Laurie Miller 14 and Elena Kaufman 10 for Eastern Mennonite (2-7, 2-4). Weaver added 14 rebounds.
Jessica Morton led W&L (5-6, 3-5) with 24 points. Chrissy Burghardt added 14 points and Ansley Miller 13. Tonia Dean pulled down 16 rebounds.
Averett 71, Ferrum 57: In Ferrum, Michelle Warner scored 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds as the Cougars dominated on the boards en route to a victory over the Panthers.
Lisa Morris had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Shannon Yopp (Northside High School) added 10 points and 15 rebounds for Averett, which held a 71-36 rebounding edge.
Marilea Hale (Glenvar) and Marlo Ferguson led Ferrum with 14 points apiece.
Guilford 82, Hollins 65: In Greensboro, N.C., center Abby Dickson (Roanoke Catholic) scored a career-high 11 points as the Quakers downed Hollins in an ODAC game.
Tonya Holmes (Northside) scored 22 points, Amy Worley (Blacksburg) 21 and Erica Williams 14 for Hollins (2-7, 1-6).
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