College Basketball Roundup : Duke Pulls Away to 75-59 Rout of Georgia Tech

Mark Alarie scored 24 points and Johnny Dawkins added 22 as fourth-ranked Duke broke open a tight game early in the second half and routed second-ranked Georgia Tech, 75-59, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Sunday at Durham, N.C.

The victory moved the Blue Devils (22-2 overall, 9-2 in the ACC) to within a game of top-ranked North Carolina in the conference standings. Georgia Tech (18-4, 6-3) lost for the second time in three games.

Duke had a 34-33 halftime lead, but Alarie scored eight points as the Blue Devils broke away with a 16-6 outburst for a 50-39 lead with 15:41 left.

The Yellow Jackets climbed back to within 52-46 with 9:55 left, but Duke scored six straight points and later increased its lead to 68-53 on Dawkins’ dunk with 3:25 remaining.

John Salley scored 17 points for Tech, which committed 21 turnovers, 12 in the second half. The Yellow Jackets shot 56% in the first half but cooled after halftime and finished at 46%.

Minnesota 65, Iowa 60--Marc Wilson scored 22 points and John Shasky added 18 as the shorthanded Gophers scored another surprising Big Ten victory by beating the Hawkeyes at Minneapolis.

The Gophers (15-8, 5-5) trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but rallied to take a 51-48 lead with 4:26 left on two straight layups by Wilson. Iowa (16-7, 6-4) never caught up.

The Hawkeyes were credited with a point in a bizarre play when Bill Jones missed a technical-foul free throw with 15:19 left to play. Even though it appeared that Jones missed the foul shot, the official scorer and the game referees thought the ball went in and awarded the Hawkeyes the point.

The Gophers were playing their third game since three players were arrested on sexual assault charges, two others were suspended for breaking team rules and Coach Jim Dutcher resigned. Playing with only six scholarship players, Minnesota is 2-1. And the crowd at Williams Arena Sunday was 16,115.

Alabama 80, LSU 71--Derrick McKey scored 26 points and Buck Johnson added 18 as the 20th-ranked Crimson Tide moved to within one game of Southeastern Conference-leading Kentucky by beating the Tigers at Baton Rouge, La.

The Tide (17-4, 10-2) led, 43-38, at halftime but LSU (18-7, 6-6) crept to within two points early in the second half. Johnson scored six points as Alabama widened its lead to 54-46, and minutes later the Crimson Tide scored eight straight points for a commanding 62-50 lead.

John Williams had 25 points for LSU, and Don Redden added 21.

Villanova 59, Connecticut 53--Harold Jensen scored 12 points and Harold Pressley had 13 rebounds and 9 points as the defending national champion Wildcats turned back the Huskies at Villanova, Pa.

The Wildcats (17-10, 7-4) had a 24-21 halftime lead, but trailed most of the second half until Jensen scored six points in a surge that put Villanova ahead for good. Earl Kelley scored 17 points for the Huskies (11-8, 2-7).

Virginia 64, Missouri 62--Olden Polynice made two free throws with two minutes left and Richard Morgan stole a pass with five seconds remaining as the Cavaliers scored a victory over the Tigers at Columbia, Mo.

Polynice scored 14 points for Virginia (15-6), and Derrick Chevious had 16 for Missouri (17-10), which lost its third straight game.