College Basketball Roundup : Pitt Squeezes Orangemen, 84-70

Pittsburgh had a dual mission Monday night in the Carrier Dome.

The 17th-ranked Panthers ended a 26-year winless streak at Syracuse with an 84-70 victory over the sixth-ranked Orangemen, who lost their first Big East Conference team.

“It was a little hump we had to get over,” said Pitt’s 6-foot 10-inch center Charles Smith, who scored 21 points for the Panthers, who had lost 13 straight games at Syracuse.

“We also had to give ourselves confidence and let people know that we’re just as good as any other team in the Big East,” Smith said, noting that the Panthers’ two Big East losses came against Georgetown and St. John’s.

Pitt Coach Paul Evans also coached the last team to defeat the Orangemen at the Carrier Dome, when his Navy squad beat Syracuse, 97-85, in last season’s NCAA Eastern Regionals.

“It was a good win for us in that we’ve had some trouble against the name teams in the Big East,” Evans said.

Syracuse (17-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big East), made a late comeback, cutting the Panthers’ 17-point lead to 66-57 with seven minutes left. Greg Monroe made two three-pointers, and Sherman Douglas, who scored 18 points, added two free throws in the rally.

Pitt (15-4, 4-2) rebuilt its lead in the final minutes.

“It would have broken our backs to lose this game,” said Pitt sophomore Jerome Lane, who had 26 points and 15 rebounds.

“I didn’t know about the streak,” said Lane, the nation’s leading rebounder. “But, yo, we broke it, and got a Big East rival in the process.”

Nevada Las Vegas 106, Fresno State 58--Armon Gilliam scored 23 points as the third-ranked Runnin’ Rebels buried the Bulldogs in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game at Las Vegas.

The Runnin’ Rebels (19-1, 8-0) reeled off 20 consecutive points to open the second half and led, 76-24, when Coach Jerry Tarkanian pulled his starters with 13:50 left.

Mike Mitchell scored 22 points for Fresno (7-12, 2-6).

It was the worst loss in Fresno State history.

Duke 85, Cornell 59--John Smith scored 22 points and Kevin Strickland added 21 as the No. 13 Blue Devils rolled past the Big Red at Durham, N.C.

Duke (15-3) shot 60% from the field while building a 41-33 halftime lead, and Smith hit four baskets early in the second half when the lead grew to 54-36.

Cornell (8-7) closed to 61-52 before Duke took command with an 18-5 run, which featured 12 points by Strickland.

John Vajusz had 18 points for Cornell.

Clemson 96, Winthrop 69--Anthony Jenkins scored 19 points as the 14th-ranked Tigers bounced back from their first defeat of the season to rout the Eagles at Clemson, S.C.

The Tigers (18-1) were beaten, 105-103, Saturday by Duke.

Clemson was nursing a 28-23 lead with 7:49 left in the first half but broke open the game by scoring the next 18 points.

Horace Grant and Michael Tait added 17 points each for Clemson. Jenkins connected on 5 of 7 shots from three-point range, and Tait hit 5 of 6 three-pointers.

Ted Houpt scored 21 points for Winthrop (5-13).

Baylor 67, Houston 62--Darryl Middleton scored 25 points and Michael Williams added 24 to lead the Bears past the Cougars in a Southwest Conference game at Houston.

Williams, who scored 16 points in the second half, had two baskets, a blocked shot, a steal and an assist in a surge that gave Baylor (10-7, 5-2) a 60-50 lead with two minutes left.

Rickie Winslow had 21 points and 15 rebounds for Houston (11-6, 4-3).