Robinson, Navy Sink Syracuse : Center Has 35 Points, 7 Blocks in 97-85 Win; Cleveland St. Advances

David Robinson said he felt a bit sluggish, so perhaps Syracuse got off easy.

Robinson, a 6-foot 11-inch junior, had 35 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocked shots as No. 17-ranked Navy embarrassed No. 9 Syracuse, 97-85, on Syracuse’s home court Sunday and advanced to the NCAA East Regional semifinals.

A stunned Carrier Dome crowd saw the Midshipmen (28-4) register their 15th straight victory and their 22nd win in 23 games.

“Defensively I was alert,” Robinson said. “Offensively, I was slow, sluggish. I didn’t get a decent shot except for layups. Eleven rebounds is nowhere near what I’m capable of. I felt out of it, that I was not doing what I could be doing.”

What Robinson, a 61% free-throw shooter this season, did was hit 21 of 27 shots from the foul line--16 of 19 in the second half when Navy took command and turned the game into a rout.

Not only that, but Syracuse centers Rony Seikaly and Rodney Walker fouled out trying to guard the Navy center.

“What made the win good was that he (Robinson) made his free throws,” Navy Coach Paul Evans said. “He’s been inconsistent with them. But he’s made them when we had to have them.”

Navy connected on 41 of 52 free-throw attempts as four Syracuse players fouled out.

However, Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim had no complaints.

“Free throws were not a factor,” Boeheim said. “We had to foul.

“The key to the game was (Vernon) Butler. We contained him earlier this season, but with Robinson going the way he was, we had to pay too much attention to him.”

Butler, a 6-7, 245-pound forward who keeps the pressure off Robinson inside, scored 23 points as the Midshipmen avenged an 89-67 defeat to the Orangemen in the final of the Carrier tournament in December.

Navy’s opponent next Friday at East Rutherford, N.J., will be Cleveland State. The other East Regional semifinal pairing pits No. 1 Duke and DePaul.

Navy led, 32-31, at halftime and broke away from a 39-39 tie with an 18-7 run that broke the game open for good. Robinson scored 14 points during the spree as Seikaly picked up his third and fourth personal fouls.

Navy, champion of the Colonial Athletic Assn., kept pouring it on, and Seikaly fouled out with 7:11 left. Butler converted a three-point play to put the Middies up, 70-53, with 6:25 remaining.

Dwayne (Pearl) Washington finished with 28 points, 24 in the second half of possibly his last game for Syracuse. Washington refused comment about whether he plans to turn pro.

Wendell Alexis added 19 points and Greg Monroe 15 for Syracuse (26-6), and Rafael Addison had 11 to finish his college career seven points short of Dave Bing, the Orangemen’s all-time scoring leader.

Cleveland State 75, St. Joseph’s 69--Ken (Mouse) McFadden scored 23 points as the Vikings, with no player taller than 6-8, continued their Cinderella story by outlasting the Hawks.

For the Vikings (29-3), who upset Indiana in their first-ever NCAA tournament game on Friday, it was their 14th straight victory.

McFadden, a 20-year-old freshman who never played in his years at New York City’s Seward Park High School, was painting houses and working for his high school diploma when Coach Kevin Mackey found him playing Amateur Athletic Union games.

“McFadden is all New York-shake-and-bake, and I won’t take that away from him,” Mackey said. “He can do it all.”

St. Joseph’s pulled away from a 26-26 halftime tie when Geoff Arnold hit two jumpers for a 32-28 edge. But Cleveland State’s pressure defense kept the game close, and the Vikings pulled into a 38-38 tie on a layup by Clinton Smith with 14:08 to play.

Ed Bryant gave the Vikings breathing room with a basket and two free throws for a 46-42 edge midway through the second half, and McFadden connected on consecutive baskets minutes later, the last a 10-footer good for a 52-47 edge with 6:33 left.

Cleveland State led, 56-52, with 4:40 left when Clinton Ransey, younger brother of Kelvin Ransey of the New Jersey Nets, scored seven of the Vikings’ next nine points.

Ransey’s three-point play with 1:42 left made it 65-57, and Smith’s soaring dunk off McFadden’s long-range assist with 1:00 left put the game out of reach, 71-59.

“They play an aggressive style on offense and defense,” St. Joseph’s Coach Jim Boyle said. “We expected it and we got it. They penetrated too well to lose.”

Ransey added 17 points, and Smith had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland State. Wayne Williams scored 25 for St. Joseph’s.

Mackey said he plans to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today by holding a short practice.

“I thought it would take a lot longer to reach the Sweet 16,” said Mackey, who has been at Cleveland State for three seasons. “But being St. Paddy’s Day, the good Lord answered my prayers. We’re just enjoying this, and when we reach Cleveland tomorrow, the green beer will be flowing.”