Associated Press
The college basketball roundup …
CHARLOTTE ó Jarvis Jones sank a 3-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer to lift East Tennessee State to a 70-69 victory over Charlotte on Tuesday night.
Charlotte led by two but DeMario Mayfield missed a pair of free throws with 8.6 seconds left. The Buccaneers pushed the ball up the court and Thomas Hubbard drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Jones, who spotted up and nailed a perfect shot that swished the net as time expired. Charlotte led by as many as 10 in the second half and held a four-point lead with 15 seconds left.
It was Jonesí only basket of the night.
Marcus Dubose scored 26 points and Isiah Brown added 16 points for ETSU (3-1). Hubbard had 14 points and six rebounds.
EAST CAROLINA 67, APP. STATE 47
CHARLOTTE ó Miguel Paul scored 18 points and Darrius Morrow 15 as East Carolina overcame a 27-point performance by Appalachian Stateís Jamaal Trice for a 67-47 victory Tuesday night.
Trice made 8 of 14 shots, but the rest of the Mountaineers (2-2) made only 6 of 30. They also were ineffective at the free-throw line, converting just 52 percent (13 of 25) of their chances.
Twenty-two of Triceís points came in the second half, after the Pirates (3-1) had taken a 30-17 halftime lead. East Carolina never led by less than 11 points in the second half.
Paul, a junior guard who transferred from Missouri, and Shamarr Bowden hit back-to-back 3-pointers that increased the Piratesí lead to 10 points, 25-15, with 4:36 left in the first half. Paul made 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
WISCONSIN 77, UMKC 31
MADISON, Wis. ó Jared Berggren had been struggling to find his shooting touch from outside.
Not anymore.
The 6-foot-11 Berggren scored a career-high 21 points, including 4-of-4 shooting from 3-point range, and Wisconsin again used a suffocating defense to pave the way to an easy win, beating Missouri-Kansas City 77-31 on Tuesday night.
Berggren, who was 3 of 13 from behind the arc coming into the game, said he felt pretty good at Wisconsinís shootaround earlier in the day, but otherwise did nothing different.
ěMy teammates were just finding me in open spaces, and I was finally able to knock them down today,î he said.
MEMPHIS 99, TENNESSEE 97
LAHAINA, Hawaii ó In control most of the way after a big run early, No. 8 Memphis let Tennessee back in the game, even gave the Vols have a a couple chances to win it.
The Tigers needed two overtimes to get through, but they pulled out the victory, a big step after a short turnaround.
Will Barton had 25 points and 11 rebounds, brother Antonio Barton hit a big jumper in the second overtime, and No. 8 Memphis held off Tennessee 99-97 in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday.
GEORGETOWN 88, CHAMINADE 61
LAHAINA, Hawaii ó Jason Clark hit six 3-pointers and had 28 points to lead Georgetown to an 88-61 rout over Chaminade in the Maui Invitational on Tuesday.
Georgetown (3-1) took control with a big run early against the Division II Silverswords and didnít let up, building the lead to as much as 30 in the second half.
LOUISVILLE 54, ARKANSAS ST. 27
LOUISVILLE, Ky. ó Louisville coach Rick Pitino believes his teamís offense will improve. Even with numerous injuries, the Cardinalsí defensive effort was as good as itís been in 64 years.
Kyle Kuric scored 12 points and No. 7 Louisville beat turnover-prone Arkansas State 54-27 on Tuesday night in the lowest-scoring game for the Red Wolves since the shot clock was implemented in 1986.
ěItís been a while since Iíve seen that,î Kuric said.
PITT 73, LA SALLE 69
PITTSBURGH ó Trailing by three in the final seconds Tuesday night against No. 17 Pittsburgh, La Salleís Sam Mills had the ball ó and a dilemma ó in his hands.
Take the 3-pointer or drive to the basket?
Mills saw Pitt point guard Travon Woodall in the way and opted to head to the hoop.
Bad idea.
Woodall stretched out every last inch of his 5-foot-11 frame to block Millsí late layup attempt, helping the Panthers escape with a 73-69 victory.
ěNormally I would just go up and contest the shot to make it difficult for him,î Woodall said. ěAt that point in time we needed a stop and I just went after it.î
Dante Taylor grabbed the loose ball and was fouled, then made a free throw to provide the final margin as the Panthers narrowly avoided their first November losing streak at the Petersen Events Center.
Pitt coach Jamie Dixon praised Woodallís hustle but lamented his team was in that kind of precarious position in the first place.
The Panthers won despite turning it over 21 times, including a flurry of miscues in the final minutes as the normally sure-handed Woodall and backcourt mate Ashton Gibbs were rattled by La Salleís full-court press.
ěThose types of things just canít happen,î Dixon said.
Woodall made up for it, capping his 12-point, 10-assist night with his career-high third block. The Panthers needed every last one of them, though La Salle coach John Giannini took the blame for Millsí decision to attack the rim.
ěI would have liked to see a 3-pointer in that situation,î Giannini said. ěBut itís early in the year and we havenít worked on late-game situations a lot.î
The Explorers (2-2) should probably get cracking. They let a near upset of crosstown Philadelphia rival Villanova get away in the final minute of regulation a week ago, collapsing in overtime.
It didnít get that far against the Panthers ó La Salle only led once ó yet Giannini is running out of patience with moral victories.
ěWe just were up by five with a minute and a half against Villanova, we donít want to have this become a broken record,î Giannini said. ěObviously weíre going to get better. You just hate to blow special opportunities.î
Nasir Robinson led Pitt (3-1) with 17 points and Ashton Gibbs overcame a slow start to finish with 14, but the Panthers and their roster filled with 10 underclassmen had trouble putting away the Explorers.
Earl Pettis scored 22 for La Salle and the Explorers hung around despite shoot just 4 of 16 on 3-pointers and being dominated on the glass, getting outrebounded 42-24.
Highly touted Pitt freshman forward Khem Birch played a season-high 13 minutes, finishing with four points, six rebounds and three blocks, giving his teamís frontcourt a much-needed boost while making a cameo at center.
ěHe was more effective there,î Dixon said. ěHe was playing both (forward and center) and weíve got to get him more comfortable playing there.î
Birchís athleticism helped give Pittís defense some bite, a trait curiously lacking through the seasonís first two weeks.
Rider put up 45 points in the first half before fading late in an 86-78 Pitt victory on Nov. 13. Long Beach State matched that total last Wednesday and kept right on going in an 86-76 upset, snapping Pittís 58-game nonconference home winning streak.
Dixon promised to shore things up during the layoff, and while the Panthers were back to their usual selves, the Explorers were hardly pushovers.
Pitt led by 10 points early but couldnít shake free as LaSalle clamped down on Gibbs, who missed his first five shots from the floor.
Devon White raced the length of the floor for a layup just before the halftime buzzer to trim Pittís advantage to 28-26 at the break and give the Explorers a confidence boost.
Every time Pitt appeared ready to take control, La Salle would bounce back. A 9-0 burst by the Panthers gave them a 61-53 lead with 4:21 to go, but La Salle ó which lost in overtime to Villanova a week ago ó kept on coming behind Pettis and some sloppy Pitt ballhandling.
Pettis hit a layup with 1:25 to play to get the Explorers back within 68-66. Gibbs hit two free throws and Woodall drew a charge ó the second crucial offensive foul he drew in the second half ó and Pitt appeared to be safe.
Yet as Dixon and his inexperienced roster are learning, no lead is secure.
Pettis drilled a 3-pointer to cut Pittís lead to 72-69 with 45 seconds left. Rather than foul, the Explorers played defense and it paid off when the Panthers bobbled the ball into the hands of Mills, who eschewed the 3-pointer and went to the rim.
Woodall extended every last inch of his frame to get the block, and Taylor snagged the rebound and drew the foul as Pitt escaped.
ěItís a game we really wanted badly,î Giannini said. ěWe were in position to have a chance, we just didnít do certain things.î
The Associated Press
11/22/11 22:31