COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : Reserves Give Duke a Much-Needed Lift

Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski cleared his bench in the second half of Wednesday’s Atlantic Coast Conference game against Clemson, but not because his No. 1-ranked Blue Devils were running away from the Tigers as they had done in a 39-point victory earlier this season.

Instead, Duke was trailing, 66-51, with 16:01 when Krzyzewski sent in the reserves, who helped ignite a 27-7 run that lifted the Blue Devils to a 98-97 victory at Clemson, S.C.

The Duke reserves gave up four points after entering the game, then got it going. Erik Meek scored six points to help the Blue Devils cut their deficit from 19 to 11 in a four-minute stretch, whereupon Krzyzewski reinserted his starters.

Christian Laettner, playing with four fouls, then took control, scoring 17 of his 23 points in the final 12 minutes to allow Duke, 24-2 overall and 13-2 in the conference, to overtake Clemson (14-12, 4-11) twice and break two ties. Laettner’s three-pointer with 1:39 left gave the Blue Devils the lead for good at 95-92.

“I was pretty (mad),” said Duke starter Brian Davis, who had a career-high 30 points. “But I thought the guys came off the bench and showed us how to play. They played harder than we were playing, and we can’t allow the second team to outplay us like that. We showed some character after that.”

Even so, Clemson had a chance to take the lead with 30 seconds left, but freshman Sharone Wright--a 57% free-throw shooter--missed the front end of a one and one.

“When you got the No. 1 team in the country, you’ve got to hit those,” Wright said. “I take the full blame for this loss.”

Indeed, free throws did seal Clemson’s fate. The Tigers made 16 of 25; the Blue Devils made 31 of 35.

“They’re a smart team, and they made the plays a No. 1 team needs to make,” Clemson’s Devin Gray said. “And we probably relaxed a little when we were up 19.”

Clemson shot 58% from the field and had four players score in double figures, led by Kevin Hines’ 19 points. Duke shot 46% from the field.

No. 2 Indiana 64, Iowa 60--Calbert Cheaney scored 29 points, including his team’s first 10 of the second half, to lead the Hoosiers at Iowa City.

Cheaney’s scoring at the outset of the second half allowed Big Ten leader Indiana (22-4, 13-2) to turn a three-point deficit to a five-point lead. Cheaney then picked up his fourth foul and went scoreless the final 11:29, but the Hoosiers maintained the lead..

Iowa (16-9, 8-7) couldn’t capitalize on poor Indiana free-throw shooting in the final 40 seconds (two of seven), missing three shots from three-point range.

James Moses scored 20 points for Iowa.

Iowa State 70, No. 3 Kansas 66--Julius Michalik scored 17 points, including two baskets in the final minute, as the Cyclones kept their NCAA tournament hopes alive at Ames, Iowa.

Kansas (22-4, 10-3) still clinched the regular-season Big Eight championship as second-place Missouri lost to Oklahoma.

Iowa State (19-10, 5-8) blew an 11-point lead in the second half but recovered in time to end a losing streak at four games. The score was was tied, 64-64, when the Cyclones converted three consecutive Jayhawk turnovers into their final six points.

Iowa State had lost to Kansas, 91-60, in Lawrence three weeks ago.

Florida 79, No. 10 Kentucky 62--The Gators outshot the Wildcats, 60% to 36%, in a Southeastern Conference game at Gainesville, Fla., for their first victory over a ranked team in more than two years.

Stacey Poole led Florida (16-10, 9-6) with 19 points and ignited a decisive 19-3 run in the second half.

Kentucky (22-6, 11-4) got just 12 points from leading scorer Jamal Mashburn, who was five of 22 from the field. Mashburn’s 17 missed shots equaled the total by the entire Florida team.

Oklahoma 81, No. 11 Missouri 67--The Sooners shot 64% from the field in the first half in handing the Tigers their worst loss at Columbia, Mo., in seven years.

Oklahoma (19-7, 7-6) also became the first Big Eight team other than Kansas to beat Missouri (20-6, 9-4) at home the last five years.

Missouri’s Jeff Warren made all 10 of his field-goal attempts to set a Big Eight record with 22 consecutive baskets. The previous record was 17 in a row by Ed Nealy of Kansas State in 1980.

No. 12 Oklahoma State 69, Colorado 63--Byron Houston scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Cowboys in a Big Eight game at Stillwater, Okla.

Oklahoma State (23-6, 7-6) made eight of 12 free throws in the final 1:37, and outscored Colorado (12-14, 3-10) on three-point baskets, 27-0, for the game.

The Buffaloes have lost 65 of their past 66 Big Eight road games.

Marquette 73, No. 15 DePaul 65--The Warriors had five players score in double figures in a Great Midwest Conference game at Rosemont, Ill.

DePaul (19-7, 8-2), playing without starters David Booth (sprained ankle) and Curtis Price (suspension), had won 20 straight home games. It was the first victory in 11 tries for Marquette (15-12, 5-5) at the Rosemont Horizon.

No. 16 North Carolina 79, Georgia Tech 75--Hubert Davis scored 27 points to lead the Tar Heels in an ACC game at Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina (19-7, 9-6) ended a losing streak at four games--its longest since 1965.

The Tar Heels made nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to hold off Georgia Tech (19-10, 7-8).

No. 20 Alabama 84, Mississippi 83--Elliott Washington made two free throws with six seconds left to lift the Crimson Tide in an SEC game at Oxford, Miss.

Washington’s foul shots broke a three-minute scoring drought by Alabama (22-7, 9-6).

Memphis State 68, No. 21 Tulane 67--Anfernee Hardaway’s three-point shot with five seconds left gave the Tigers (18-8) the victory at New Orleans.

It was the fifth loss in a row for Tulane (19-7).

No. 22 Seton Hall 90, Miami 82-- Terry Dehere had a season-high 31 points and Bryan Caver made 11 of 12 free throws in overtime as the Pirates prevailed at Miami.

Seton Hall (19-7, 11-6) can clinch a tie for the regular-season Big East championship with a victory over St. John’s Saturday.

Connecticut 85, No. 24 Syracuse 78--The Huskies, a 68% free-throw shooting team, made 34 of 43 foul shots in a Big East game at Hartford, Conn.

Scott Burrell, a 57% free-throw shooter, was 11 of 12 in the second half and finished with 25 points for Connecticut (18-8, 9-8).

The loss ended the slim hopes Syracuse (18-8, 10-7) had for a share of a third straight regular-season Big East championship.

No. 25 Massachusetts 96, Rhode Island 88--Anton Brown scored 22 points to pace the Minutemen, 25-4 and 13-3 in the Atlantic 10, at Amherst, Mass.