COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Hoyas Take Their Time to Beat St. John’s

Georgetown doesn’t enjoy a slow pace, but when it has to play a halfcourt game, it knows where to go--to Dikembe Mutombo or Alonzo Mourning.

The ploy worked Wednesday night at Landover, Md., where the 18th-ranked Hoyas beat No. 5 St. John’s, 59-53, in a Big East Conference game that deprived St. John’s Coach Lou Carnesecca of his 500th victory.

Georgetown (13-5, 5-3) went 12 for 12 from the free-throw line while not scoring a field goal over the last nine minutes as it ended a five-game winning streak for St. John’s (15-3).

“We had to take our time and work the halfcourt offense and sometimes we just show our age,� said Georgetown Coach John Thompson, who starts three freshmen with the two big men.

The Hoyas held on despite making only seven field goals in the second half. Four of those were by the 7-foot-2 Mutombo, who finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots and came through when Georgetown went cold from the field.

“We were running what Coach Thompson calls our power game, where we kick the ball inside to the big men,� point guard Joey Brown said. “With our power game, not too many people are going to stop (Mutombo). We were struggling, but luckily Alonzo hit the clutch free throws.�

No. 2 Arkansas 104, Alabama Birmingham 72--Todd Day had 10 of his 33 points in a 21-2 run that helped the Razorbacks (21-1) break open the game in the second half at Fayetteville, Ark.

Arkansas led the Blazers (13-8), 46-42, after the first half in a game in which there were 10 ties and 11 lead changes.

Arkansas then went on its scoring binge in the first 4:53 of the second half.

Roosevelt Wallace added 17 for Arkansas and Oliver Miller had 14. Andy Kennedy led UAB with 20, Elbert Rogers had 13 and Stanley Jackson and Jack Kramer added 12 each.

No. 4 Indiana 73, Wisconsin 57--Damon Bailey scored 21 points and Calbert Chaney added 14 as the Hoosiers (19-2, 7-1) beat the Badgers (10-8, 4-4) for the 22nd time in a row in a Big Ten game at Bloomington, Ind.

Indiana led by as many as 14 points in the first half, helped by a tenacious defense that held the Badgers scoreless for separate stretches of three and four minutes.

The Badgers pulled to 34-24 at the half, then came on strong at the beginning of the second half. Willie Simms scored six of Wisconsin’s first nine points of the second half, pulling his team to 40-33 with 14:20 to play.

But Pat Graham came off the bench to score five points and spark a 12-0 Indiana run in the next three minutes to put the game out of reach, 52-33, with 11:20 left.

No. 7 Duke 77, No. 23 Georgia Tech 75--Thomas Hill made a layup at the buzzer to give the Blue Devils (17-4, 6-2) a victory over the Yellow Jackets (12-6, 4-3) in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Atlanta.

Hill, who led the Blue Devils with 20 points, had tied the score at 75-75 with 27 seconds left when he put back a second shot after his first was blocked by Tech’s Malcolm Mackey.

Kenny Anderson led Tech with 32 points, but missed the second end of a one-and-one with 41 seconds left, leaving the Jackets with a 75-73 lead.

No. 11 Nebraska 89, Missouri 75--Redshirt freshman Eric Piatkowski scored a career-high 22 points and hit a school-record six three-point shots as the Cornhuskers (18-2, 4-1) moved into sole possession of the Big Eight lead at Lincoln, Neb.

The Tigers (12-6, 4-2) played without All-Big Eight guard Anthony Peeler, who injured a knee in practice this week.

Mississippi State 82, No. 14 Louisiana State 79--Cameron Burns staked the Bulldogs to a big lead and reserve guard Keith Hooper preserved it with a pair of clutch free throws as Mississippi State (13-5, 6-3) stunned the Tigers (13-5, 6-3) in a Southeastern Conference game at Baton Rouge, La.

Vernel Singleton, who had 23 points for LSU, hit a rebound with eight seconds remaining, but time ran out before the Tigers could score again.

Shaquille O’Neal led LSU with 27 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots.

No. 16 East Tennessee State 105, Memphis State 102--Keith Jennings scored 31 points, including two free throws with nine seconds left in overtime, to preserve the Buccaneers’ victory over the Tigers (11-8) at Memphis State. East Tennessee State is 17-2.

Memphis State had a chance to take the lead with five seconds left in overtime, but Elliot Perry’s 20-footer missed. Perry, who finished with a career-high 42 points, hit all 10 of his second-half shots before the last shot.

No. 17 Southern Mississippi 97, Southwestern Louisiana 91--Reserve Bernard Haslett hit seven three-point baskets en route to a career-high 29 points as the Golden Eagles (13-2) beat the Ragin’ Cajuns (15-6) at Lafayette, La..

Haslett, starting for the injured Darrin Chancellor, scored 18 of his points in the first half as Southern Mississippi built a 49-40 lead.

Villanova 75, No. 19 Pittsburgh 72--Greg Woodard had a career-high 33 points, including seven three-pointers, as the Wildcats (11-8, 4-3) rallied and upset the Panthers (15-6, 4-4) in a Big East game at Philadelphia.

Villanova used a 15-4 rally to take a 64-54 lead with 10 minutes left in the game. Woodard started the surge with two three-pointers.

Iowa State 82, No. 21 Oklahoma 79--Victor Alexander scored 24 points, including three key free throws in the final 1:24, as the Cyclones handed the Sooners (14-6, 3-3) their third consecutive loss in a Big Eight game at Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State (8-13, 2-3), which broke an eight-game losing streak against Oklahoma, took the lead for good at 78-77 on Brad Pippett’s five-foot shot with 1:49 left.

No. 22 New Orleans 83, Northeast Illinois 51--Freshman Melvin Simon had 19 points to lead the Privateers (18-3) to their 14th consecutive home-court victory.

It was the 13th loss in 14 games for the Golden Eagles (2-17). REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS MIDWEST

Mattias Sahlstrom scored 10 points during a 21-0 second-half flurry that carried Oklahoma State (14-4, 3-2) to a 76-66 victory over Colorado (12-6, 2-3) in a Big Eight game at Boulder, Colo. SOUTH

Jody Patton hit six of eight three-point baskets and finished with 22 points as Georgia (11-7, 4-5) routed Mississippi (7-11, 1-8), 117-62, in a Southeastern Conference game at Athens, Ga. . . Jay Purcell scored 10 of his career-high 25 points in the final five minutes as Virginia Tech (8-9, 2-5) survived a late rally by Louisville (7-10, 1-6) for an 86-79 Metro Conference victory at Louisville. . . . Charles Mayes scored 12 of his 17 points in the second half, including a three-pointer and two foul shots in the final 1:48, to give Vanderbilt (12-7, 6-3) a 60-57 victory over Florida (7-11, 3-6) in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla. SOUTHWEST

Reserve forward Dexter Cambridge scored a career-high 26 points as Texas (13-5, 7-1) won its sixth consecutive Southwest Conference game with a 96-80 victory over Southern Methodist (9-10, 4-4) at Austin, Tex. . . Kelvin Crawford scored 17 points as Texas Christian (13-5, 5-3) beat Texas Tech (6-15, 2-6), 82-66, at Ft. Worth for Coach Moe Iba’s 199th career victory.