Florida Adds to Arkansas’ SEC Woes

Arkansas had never lost to Florida or started Southeastern Conference play with two losses.

But the 22nd-ranked Razorbacks aren’t themselves.

Greg Stolt scored 21 points in Gainesville, Fla., and Dan William made two three-point baskets that fueled a late-game surge in a 75-62 victory over Arkansas, whose coach, Nolan Richardson, benched three starters--Kareem Reid, Ali Thompson and Derek Hood--because of turnovers.

“To beat a team like Arkansas. . . . I feel like Arkansas and Kentucky are two teams in the SEC that are measuring sticks,” said Florida Coach Billy Donovan. “It was certainly great to come out and beat those guys.”

The Gators, 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the SEC, used a 12-0 run at the start to take the lead for good and a 12-0 run late in the game for a 66-50 lead with 4:11 left.

Arkansas (6-4, 0-2) got no closer than seven points after that.

No. 6 Cincinnati 64, St. Louis 52--Danny Fortson had 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Bearcats won at St. Louis in the Conference USA opener for both teams.

Playing its first road game, Cincinnati (9-2) won its seventh in a row and beat St. Louis (5-7) for the fifth time in a row.

No. 13 Duke 66, Georgia Tech 56--Trajan Langdon, a sophomore who sat out most of last season because of a knee injury, had a big game for the Blue Devils, who overcame an 11-point deficit for an Atlantic Coast Conference victory at Atlanta.

Langdon, who had all 16 of his points in the second half, made a key three-point shot that gave Duke a four-point lead with 1:35 remaining.

The victory was the sixth in a row for the Blue Devils (11-2, 2-0). The loss ended a 12-game home winning streak for Georgia Tech (6-5, 0-2).

Hawaii 75, No. 16 New Mexico 62--Anthony Carter scored 19 points, leading four Rainbows in double figures in a victory in Honolulu in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

Hawaii (11-2) limited Charles Smith and Clayton Shields, the top two scorers for New Mexico (9-2), to 13 points each.

OTHER GAMES

Corey Brewer had 17 points and 10 rebounds as Oklahoma (9-2) recorded a 78-59 victory over Texas A&M; at College Station, Texas, in both teams’ Big 12 Conference opener. . . . Despite getting Anthony Parker back, Bradley (3-7, 0-2) was beaten by Southwest Missouri State, 56-48, in a Missouri Valley Conference game at Springfield, Mo. Parker, last season’s MVC player of the year, broke his foot before the season. He scored 13 points in 30 minutes against the Bears.

Joezon Darby scored 20 points, including six free throws in the final minute, as Mississippi (10-2, 2-0) tied a school record with its 15th consecutive victory at home, a 73-66 win over SEC opponent Georgia (11-2, 0-1). . . . Jerald Honeycutt scored 20 points to lead Tulane (8-5, 1-0) to an 86-61 victory over Alabama Birmingham (9-6, 0-2) in a Conference USA game at Birmingham, Ala. . . . St. Joseph’s (6-3), trailing by five points at halftime but fought back for a 72-68 Atlantic 10 victory over Massachusetts (5-8) at Amherst, Mass.

College Basketball Notes

Freshman Lester Earl, Louisiana State’s No. 2 scorer and No. 3 rebounder, has been dismissed from the team after continually missing practices. “He’s had no contact with the coaching staff,” Coach Dale Brown said.