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College basketball
March 3, 2003
NEW YORK -- Marcus Hatten was alone on the court with 19,610 people.
The St. John's senior was fouled with zero time left on the clock, then stepped to the free throw line with a chance to give struggling St. John's an upset of No. 6 Duke.
With the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden silent, Hatten made the free throw to cap a 12-0 run, giving the Red Storm a 72-71 victory that snapped a four-game losing streak.
Hatten had 29 points, including 16 of the last 22 for the Red Storm (13-12), which held the Blue Devils scoreless over the final four minutes.
"Hatten was really good," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He kept making plays and put himself in a position to get fouled."
Duke (20-5) had the ball with the score tied and 30 seconds left after Hatten missed a jumper. The Blue Devils did not call timeout, and Hatten stole the ball from Daniel Ewing near midcourt and went to the basket, getting fouled by Ewing at the buzzer.
The Red Storm was 1-5 in its previous six home games. It trailed 71-60 with 4:05 left when Duke's Dahntay Jones, who had 23 points, made one free throw. Hatten and fellow senior Anthony Glover took over, scoring all but one point in the closing run.
The loss snapped Duke's 26-game winning streak over nonconference opponents in the regular season, which dated to a loss to Stanford on Dec. 21, 2000.
"I'm just glad the kids went out and played," St. John's coach Mike Jarvis said. "They played for the entire game. If you do that, sometimes you get the bounces and even maybe a call here or there. It's a special day and this was a much deserved, special victory."
NO. 2 KENTUCKY 74, NO. 21 GEORGIA 66: With visiting Kentucky trailing in the second half, Marquis Estill was not worried about the nation's longest winning streak. Estill had 16 points for the Wildcats, who forced five straight turnovers during a game-deciding run for their 18th straight win.
The Bulldogs were playing their first game without assistant coach Jim Harrick Jr., who was suspended Friday after a former player accused him of paying part of his expenses and committing academic fraud. The player, Tony Cole, also told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he used the personal credit card of coach Jim Harrick to buy a TV while he was enrolled.
Chuck Hayes added 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Wildcats (24-3, 14-0 SEC), who clinched a share of the East title. They lead Florida by two games with two games left for each, including a season-ending matchup in Gainesville on Saturday. Ezra Williams scored 17 for Georgia (17-8, 9-5), which had won four straight.
NO. 8 PITT 71, UCONN 67: Julius Page scored 11 straight early in the second half, then sealed it on a free throw with five seconds left for the host Panthers. Pitt led 67-60 with 2:43 left but did not secure the win until Brandin Knight and Page each made a free throw. In between, UConn had the ball and a chance to tie, but Ben Gordon and Rashad Anderson each missed a 3. Pittsburgh (21-4, 11-3), tying Syracuse for the Big East West lead with two games left, stopped a six-game losing streak to the Huskies. Connecticut (18-7, 9-5) led by as many as 13 in the first half and fell to a tie with Boston College for the East lead.
NO. 14 MARYLAND 68, N.C. ST. 65: Drew Nicholas hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to lift the visiting Terrapins and give Gary Williams his 500th career win. Maryland (19-7, 11-4 ACC) trailed by 11 with 8:51 left before a 21-7 run sealed it. The Terps moved a half game behind league-leading Wake Forest with one game left against Virginia. The Wolfpack (15-10, 8-6) tied it with 15 seconds left on Marcus Melvin's 12-footer.
NO. 23 CAL 80, ARIZ. ST. 72: Joe Shipp scored 21 and Amit Tamir and Brian Wethers added 20 each for the host Golden Bears (20-6, 13-4). Shipp, the leading scorer in the Pac-10, made three straight baskets early in the second half to keep California in the game, then hit another key basket with 5:32 left for a 69-63 lead. Curtis Millage had 20 points for the Sun Devils (17-10, 9-7), who have lost three straight to ranked teams.
ALABAMA 86, MISS. 63: Kennedy Winston scored 20 and Antoine Pettway added 19, both career highs, to lead the host Crimson Tide (16-9, 6-8 SEC). Alabama shot 59 percent in handing the Rebels (12-13, 3-11) their ninth straight loss. Justin Reed scored 20 to lead Ole Miss.