COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NATIONAL ROUNDUP : No. 1 Duke Warms Up With Easy 103-75 Victory

Duke’s first game after its NCAA final victory over Kansas wasn’t exactly a tough test.

“The thing we have to be careful about is not wearing our team down,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said after Monday’s 103-75 season-opening victory over East Carolina at Durham, N.C.

Duke, ranked No. 1, got 20 points from Bobby Hurley and took advantage of superior size and quickness.

Duke, 32-7 in winning the national title, played without last season’s leading scorer and rebounder, Christian Laettner, who was sidelined because of a bruised right foot. Freshman Cherokee Parks replaced the senior and had 16 points and eight rebounds.

“Christian and the coaches get on me every day in practice and tell me that I have to come in and not be a freshman and let the veterans take over the game,” said Parks, who was five for five from the field. “Christian is always getting on me and helping me because he went through the same process I’m going through.”

No. 11 Oklahoma State 89, Tennessee State 58--Byron Houston and Darwyn Alexander led a 22-2 run at the start of the game as the Cowboys cruised to an easy victory at Stillwater, Okla.

Houston, who finished with 24 points, scored eight points and Alexander scored five as the Cowboys put the game out of reach in the first six minutes.

No. 22 Wake Forest 97, The Citadel 57--Sophomore Rodney Rogers scored 25 points and and Chris King added 19 points at Winston-Salem, N.C., as the Demon Deacons improved to 2-0.

MAUI INVITATIONAL

No. 2 Arkansas 92, Minnesota 83--Oliver Miller scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half as the Razorbacks held off the Golden Gophers at Lahaina, Hawaii.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

MIDWEST

Senior guard Freddie Barnes scored 22 points to lead Penn State to a 65-60 victory over Illinois at Champaign, Ill. Illinois, led by an all-sophomore starting lineup, jumped to a 16-0 lead. But the Nittany Lions overcame a number of deficits to prevail. . . . Chip Jones scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half as Dayton rallied from an eight-point deficit to defeat visiting Austin Peay, 101-94. Dayton took a 6-0 lead, but Toine Murphy had 17 of his 27 points in the first half as Austin Peay went ahead, 50-47, at halftime. Murphy was seven for seven from the field, including two three-pointers. . . . Tracy Webster scored 36 points, including 10 in overtime, as Wisconsin defeated Southeast Missouri State, 82-71, in overtime at Madison, Wis.

SOUTH

Kevin Anglin scored 23 points as Vanderbilt held off pesky Tennessee Tech, 96-89, to hand Coach Eddie Fogler his 100th coaching victory. . . . Junior Burrough scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a shot in his college debut at Virginia as the Cavaliers breezed to a 78-43 victory over William & Mary.

SOUTHWEST

David Wesley scored 24 points and Kelvin Chalmers added 23 at Waco, Tex., as Baylor overcame a sloppy performance and a five-point halftime deficit to defeat Texas San Antonio, 79-73. . . . Will Flemons scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Texas Tech defeated Northern Illinois, 82-68, at Lubbock, Tex.

WEST

Reginald Slater scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds at Wyoming to lead the Cowboys to their second win in a row, 78-60, over Boise State. The senior forward seemed to overpower the Broncos as he led the Cowboys on an 18-0 run in the first half. . . . William Benjamin returned from an ankle injury to score 16 points to lead New Mexico State over Texas Southern, 101-78. The Tigers were led by Theon Dotson with 17 points.