COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Syracuse, Owens Beat St. John’s at the Pass

Dave Johnson twice scored on lob passes from Billy Owens in overtime and No. 3 Syracuse held off ninth-ranked St. John’s, 92-86, Wednesday night in a Big East Conference opener at Syracuse.

Johnson scored six of his 22 points in overtime as the Orangemen (13-0) made Jim Boeheim the winningest coach in Syracuse history.

It was the 356th victory of Boeheim’s 15-year career at Syracuse, moving him ahead of Lew Andreas (1925-1950).

Jason Buchanan, who scored 28 points for St. John’s (9-1), made one of two free throws with 26 seconds left in regulation to tie the score, 80-80, but missed a chance to give the Redmen the lead.

Syracuse played for the last shot, but Johnson, whose three-pointer gave the Redmen an 80-79 lead with 1:08 left, misfired from underneath in the final second.

Owens scored 28 points for Syracuse and Malik Sealy had 32 for St. John’s.

No. 11 Pittsburgh 87, Villanova 76--Chris McNeal came off the bench to score 17 points in his first Big East game and the Panthers held on down the stretch after blowing a 17-point lead to the Wildcats.

Pitt (12-2, 1-0) used a 13-2 run late in the first half to take a 38-26 lead that stretched to 48-31 early in the second half. But Greg Woodard hit four three-pointers to lead a 24-4 run by Villanova (6-5, 0-2) over the next seven minutes and the Wildcats took a 55-52 lead.

The Panthers, who overcame two seven-minute stretches in which they didn’t score a field goal, took the lead for good, 60-59, on Sean Miller’s layup during an 8-0 run that turned a three-point deficit into a five-point lead.

Pitt made 16 free throws in the final 4 1/2 minutes.

No. 16 Kentucky 81, Georgia 80--Jamal Mashburn made a layup and two free throws as the Wildcats scored six consecutive points in the final minute to down the Bulldogs in a Southeastern Conference game at Athens, Ga.

Georgia (7-4, 0-2) took a 77-75 lead with 1:09 left on Antonio Harvey’s basket, but Kentucky (9-2, 1-0) tied it on Mashburn’s layup. Reggie Hanson made two free throws with five seconds left and Mashburn added two more with three seconds remaining.

Litterial Green, who scored 38 points for Georgia, made a three-pointer at the buzzer.

No. 18 Virginia 94, Marquette 88--Kenny Turner scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half and the Cavaliers overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to down the Warriors at Milwaukee for their sixth consecutive victory.

Turner sank four free throws in the final 24 seconds as the Cavaliers (8-2) held off a rally by Marquette (4-5).

Ron Curry scored 27 points for Marquette and Bryant Stith added 20 for Virginia.

No. 19 Nebraska 70, Wisconsin Green Bay 63--Tony Farmer’s layup with 40 seconds left put the Cornhuskers ahead to stay and Jose Ramos added six free throws to turn back the Phoenix at Green Bay, Wis.

Ramos, who scored 10 points, made two technical free throws after Farmer’s layup and four more free throws in the final 20 seconds. Beau Reid scored 15 points for Nebraska (13-1).

Tony Bennett scored 21 points for Wisconsin-Green Bay (7-3).

No. 1 Nevada Las Vegas 89, James Madison 65--Larry Johnson scored 21 points and Stacey Augmon added 20 as the Rebels ran away from the Dukes at Las Vegas.

The Rebels (7-0) built a 37-point lead with 7:12 remaining before James Madison (5-5) began chipping away against UNLV reserves.

UNLV patiently exploited James Madison’s delay game in the first half, building a 42-26 lead at halftime before opening the second half with 10 consecutive points. Augmon, who had 13 points in the first four minutes of the second half, scored eight in the surge and Johnson got the other two on a dunk.

Steve Hood scored 32 points for the Dukes.

No. 5 Indiana 109, Illinois 74--Calbert Cheaney scored 30 points and the Hoosiers routed the Illini in a Big Ten Conference opener at Bloomington, Ind.

The Hoosiers (13-1) scored the first 13 points of the game, with Cheaney getting 13 of Indiana’s first 17, and Illinois (10-4) never got the deficit under 10.

Larry Smith scored 21 points for Illinois.

No. 15 Georgetown 78, Jackson State 54--Dikembe Mutombo scored a career-high 34 points and the Hoyas defeated the Tigers at Landover, Md.

Georgetown again played without Alonzo Mourning, who has missed five of six games since straining his left arch against Duke on Dec. 5.

Mutombo scored 11 points in the first eight minutes and had 24 at halftime, helping the Hoyas (8-2) to a 44-23 halftime edge.

Eric Strothers had 19 points for Jackson State (5-9) and Lindsey Hunter added 18.

No. 12 Connecticut 96, Boston College 70--Scott Burrell and John Gwynn scored 21 points each as the Huskies beat the Eagles in a Big East game at Newton, Mass.

The Huskies (9-1, 1-0) broke a 33-33 tie on a three-point basket by Gilad Katz that started a 15-1 surge and Boston College (8-4, 1-1) never recovered.

Malcolm Huckaby scored 15 points for the Eagles.

No. 14 LSU 87, Vanderbilt 70--Shaquille O’Neal had 34 points and Mike Hansen added 24 as the Tigers rolled past the Commodores in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rouge, La.

Scott Draud scored 19 points for Vanderbilt (7-5, 1-1), but LSU (8-2, 1-0), held him to three points in the second half.

No. 2 Arkansas 86, Rice 62--Todd Day scored 21 points and the Razorbacks (11-1) rolled past the Owls in a Southwest Conference game at Houston.

Torrey Andrews scored 14 points for Rice (4-6).

No. 20 South Carolina 103, Mercer 67--Jo Jo English scored 28 points and the Gamecocks connected on nine three-pointers while routing the Bears at Columbia, S.C.

Mike Smith scored 19 points for Mercer (0-11), which has lost 12 consecutive games, and Joe Rhett added 17 points for South Carolina (10-2).

No. 24 Georgia Tech 84, Howard 77--Kenny Anderson scored 26 of his 42 points in the first half and the Yellow Jackets (8-3) coasted past the Bison at Atlanta. Anderson has scored more than 40 in four of his last five games.

Julius McNeil scored 27 points for Howard (1-10).

No. 8 Duke 109, Boston University 55--Christian Laettner had 26 points and the Blue Devils (10-2) scored the first 10 points and never let up against the Terriers at Durham, N.C.

Reggie Stewart scored 14 points for Boston University (4-7).