COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENT : EAST REGIONAL : Villanova Slips Past Princeton

By JERRY CROWE

March 16, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Lance Miller made a running jump shot in the lane with less than one second to play Friday night, giving Villanova a 50-48 victory over Princeton in the first round of the East Regional.

“Coach (Rollie Massimino) called an isolation for me to take my man to the hole--make my move and go to the hole as strong as possible,” Miller said.

“Coach said either we’d go to overtime or I’d win the game.”

Miller’s shot capped a brilliant second half for the sophomore swingman, who made all seven of his shots after halftime for the Wildcats (17-14).

Miller scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half.

It was another near-miss for Princeton, which wasted a 30-25 halftime lead. The Ivy League champions lost in the first round to Georgetown two years ago, 50-49, and to Arkansas last year, 68-64, after leading at the half.

“We don’t seem to pull them out down the stretch,” said senior Kit Mueller, who led the Tigers (24-3) with 14 points and eight assists. “It’s the same old story. It’s so much like the last few years.”

A potential go-ahead shot by Mueller was blocked by Calvin Byrd with 19 seconds to play, setting up Miller’s winner.

“I probably should have given him a pump fake,” Mueller said. “I probably would have gotten fouled.”

Villanova played almost flawlessly in the second half, making 10 of 14 shots while limiting Princeton to six-of-16 shooting.

“We were a little ragged out there,” said Princeton Coach Pete Carril, whose team made 52.4% of its shots in the first half.

“You’ve got to give Villanova some credit for that, except that it’s been happening all year. This offense of ours is not fluid. It’s not a very confident offense. We have to rely too much on (Mueller) and it throws everything out of shape.”

Also hurting Princeton was a lack of rebounds. The Tigers were outrebounded by the taller Wildcats, 27-10.

North Carolina 101, Northeastern 66--Coach Dean Smith used 15 players as the East Region’s No. 1-seeded team scored its most lopsided victory in 76 NCAA tournament games, bettering a 31-point margin over Pennsylvania in 1987.

“North Carolina is a very good basketball team playing its best basketball,” Northeastern Coach Karl Fogel said.

“They play good defense, their fast break was awesome and their depth will be tough for any team to contend with in this tournament.”

Rick Fox scored 16 points in 26 minutes and Hubert Davis scored 16 in 21 minutes for the Tar Heels, who outshot the Huskies, 58.2% to 37.5%, and outrebounded them, 47-32, while improving to 26-5.

Steve Carney led Northeastern (22-11) with 22 points.

Eastern Michigan 76, Mississippi State 56--The Hurons, champions of the Mid-American Conference, extended their winning streak to 10 games with a surprisingly easy victory over the Southeastern Conference co-champion.

Mississippi State, making its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1963, opened a 12-2 lead in the first five minutes, but after Eastern Michigan took the lead at 19-16, the Hurons never trailed again.

“Defensively, we came out and and played very hard and aggressive,” Coach Ben Braun said of the Hurons, who got 22 points and 16 rebounds from center Marcus Kennedy while improving to 25-6.

Cameron Burns scored 22 points for Mississippi State (20-9).