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Men's college basketball briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 31, 2000

Spartans romp to best start ever

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- For the second time in school history, Michigan State will head into the Big Ten schedule undefeated.

Charlie Bell scored 26 points and matched a career high with 11 assists as the top-ranked Spartans extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games with an 88-61 rout of Wright State.

Mike Chappell added a career-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Michigan State (11-0), which is off to the best start in school history. The Spartans also took an unblemished record into conference play in 1991-92.

Bell had 10 points to help Michigan State close the first half with a 25-9 run for a 51-24 lead.

Andre Hutson added 14 points for the defending national champions, who also have won 36 straight home games. Michigan State, which avenged last season's 53-49 loss, hosts Penn State on Wednesday in the Big Ten opener.

Kevin Melson scored 14 points to lead Wright State, which has dropped two in a row since a five-game winning streak.

NO. 15 SYRACUSE 95, NIAGARA 69: Damone Brown matched his career highs with 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the host Orangemen.

Syracuse, which opens Big East play Tuesday against Notre Dame, beat Niagara for the eighth straight time in their first meeting since the 1982-83 season.

The Orangemen took control late in the first half, outscoring the Purple Eagles 20-7 after Daryl Greene hit three free throws for Niagara to tie the score at 26 with 6:31 left.

Preston Shumpert began an 11-point Syracuse run with a three-pointer from the left corner with 4:06 left in the half. A dunk and four free throws by Kueth Duany and a layup by Shumpert gave Syracuse a 42-30 lead with just over a minute left.

Duany, who had a career-high 14 points, added four points to give the Orangemen a 46-33 halftime lead.

Brown scored Syracuse's first 10 points in the first four minutes and scored another 10 in the first six minutes of the second half as it got its transition game going.

Syracuse took a 77-53 lead on Brown's dunk off an alley-oop pass from Allen Griffin.

Shumpert had 14 points, Griffin 13 and five of Syracuse's 24 assists, and DeShaun Williams added 12 points.

The Purple Eagles fought hard at the outset despite subpar performances from their top scorers. They hit their first four shots and were 6-for-7 when Demond Stewart hit a pull-up jumper to give Niagara a 17-16 lead with 14:43 left.

Stewart had a team-high 22 points, 19 in the second half. He was 1-for-7 from the floor and was whistled for three fouls in the first half.

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