Sports

College basketball

Huskies take Pac-10 opener

By wire services
Published January 1, 2005

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SEATTLE - Washington coach Lorenzo Romar took a seat in the interview room, adjusted the microphone and started gushing about his point guard.

Will Conroy had 11 points and seven assists, and Romar credited his leadership and defense for carrying No. 13 Washington 81-67 over California in the Pac-10 opener for both teams Friday.

"Will Conroy came up big in the intangible area," Romar said. "He was a warrior down the stretch. He got rebounds. He defended extremely well. ... If Will's not on the floor (Friday), I don't know if we win."

Richard Midgley led Cal with 18 points, but Conroy's defense held him scoreless the last 11 minutes. Washington blew a 16-point lead, then overcame a series of small deficits in the second half. The Bears tied it at 60, then went ahead 61-60 with 8:46 remaining on a free throw by DeVon Hardin. Then the Huskies organized a decisive 10-0 run.

NO. 16 IOWA 67, SAINT LOUIS 58: Pierre Pierce scored 24 and led a late 10-0 run for host Iowa. Saint Louis led 39-34 after two straight baskets by Justin Johnson less than four minutes into the second half. A 12-2 run that included 3-pointers by Pierce and Adam Haluska pulled Iowa ahead to stay, but the Hawkeyes couldn't put the Billikens away for good until the final 51/2 minutes. With Iowa clinging to a 52-51 lead, Jeff Horner hit a 3-pointer from the left corner and that seemed to ignite the Hawkeyes. Pierce scored the next six on two layups and a jumper, and Haluska followed with a free throw to make it 62-51 with 2:53 to play.

STETSON 56, UGA 52: Anthony Register scored 22 to lead visiting Stetson to its first win over an SEC team in more than 20 years. It was Stetson's first win over Georgia since Jan. 16, 1936, and first win over an SEC team since beating Florida 77-73 on Nov. 26, 1983.

The score was tied at 41 after Georgia's Dave Bliss hit a free throw with 6:31 to play. But the Hatters, the nation's 12th-best free-throw shooting team at 76.2 percent, hit 11 of 14 free throws in the last six minutes. The Bulldogs missed 15 of 17 3s, including Steve Newman's off-balance attempt to tie it in the closing seconds.

MISS. 64, SE. LA. 48: Londrick Nolen and Todd Abernethy each scored 13 and host Mississippi won its seventh straight. Abernethy broke out of a mini-slump, scoring 11 consecutive points with three straight 3-pointers to spark a game-clinching 14-2 run during the final eight minutes.

USC 76, WOFFORD 44: Josh Gonner scored 13, including three 3-pointers, and Carlos Powell had 10 points and seven rebounds to lead host South Carolina to a 24-point halftime lead en route to the win. Gonner finished with a season-high 20 points and Powell with 14 points and nine rebounds as the Gamecocks beat Wofford a 20th straight time.

C-USA

UAB 82, SO. ALABAMA 76: Marvett McDonald scored 21 and had six rebounds, leading the visiting Blazers. UAB took its first lead 54-52 with 12:11 left on an Ernest Little dunk. The teams exchanged baskets until South Alabama's Mario Jointer tied it again at 67 with a pair of free throws at the 4:48 mark. UAB closed the game on a 15-9 surge.

TULANE 82, VMI 74: Freshman Taylor Rochestie scored a career-high 22, helping host Tulane erase a 19-point second-half deficit. Tulane, which trailed 70-59 when VMI's Reggie Williams hit a jumper with 4:39 to go, then took the lead with an 18-0 run. Nation

INDIANA 69, ORAL ROBERTS 68: D.J. White hit a 7-foot turnaround jumper with 14.7 seconds left to help host Indiana hold on. The Golden Eagles had a chance to win on the last possession, but Ken Tutt's 3-pointer at the buzzer was long off the back of the rim. White scored 14 of his 23 in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds.

OSU 72, SAINT JOSEPH'S 61: Matt Sylvester scored seven Ohio State points in a row, his only points of the game, to lead the host Buckeyes. Saint Joseph's, which had trailed by as many as 13, scored on its first eight possessions of the second half to draw as close as seven.

State

ECKERD 86, ST. AMBROSE 82: Matt Cenatus, filling in for leading scorer Greg Plummer (personal leave), scored a career-high 29 to lead the Tritons. Eckerd was up 47-36 at the half, but St. Ambrose quickly pulled within six in the second half. In the final two minutes, the Fighting Bees converted on 5 of 6 free throws. Cenatus nailed a 3 with 1:09 left to seal the win.

Women

FSU 64, COLGATE 43: Linnea Liljestrand scored 18 and Roneeka Hodges added 17 to lead the host Seminoles. Alicia Gladden had 11 points for Florida State, which was 24-for-53 (45.3 percent) from the field. Emily Braseth led Colgate with 18 points, but she was the only Raider who scored in double digits. The team was 16-for-68 (23.5 percent) from the floor. Colgate led 26-25 at the half, but scored only 17 in the second half.

NO. 2 DUKE 80, AUBURN 61: Wanisha Smith scored 12 of her 15 in the second half, leading Duke in the final round of the Auburn Holiday Classic. The Blue Devils opened the first half with a 10-3 run and never trailed, leading by as many as 31 in the second half.

NO. 25 NEW MEXICO 63, SAN FRANCISCO 52: Jana Francis scored a career-high 14 with a sprained ankle to lead the host Lobos. Francis had 10 points after halftime, including eight free throws, when New Mexico scored just three field goals.

[Last modified January 1, 2005, 00:31:06]

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