Princeton Struggles in Victory

Playing its first game in 16 days due to an exam break, a rusty No. 11 Princeton got 16 points from Brian Earl in a 59-50 victory over Division III College of New Jersey on Monday night at Princeton.

Princeton (14-1) annually schedules a lower division opponent as a warmup after its annual exam break. It was the first time the Tigers played nearby College of New Jersey (14-2), which is ranked No. 5 in the Division III coaches’ poll.

“We’re going to lose to every team in the Ivy League if we play like this,” Princeton Coach Bill Carmody said. “They were tough, they came in here and wanted this game more than we did. They looked like the Division I players physically and we looked like little boys.”

No. 13 South Carolina 79, Furman 52--BJ McKie scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half, including three of the Gamecocks’ season-high 11 three-point baskets at Greenville, S.C.

South Carolina (14-3) made nine three-point shots in the first half in taking a commanding 44-20 lead. Chuck Vincent scored 13 points for Furman (7-13), which has not beaten South Carolina since 1980.

No. 20 Syracuse 84, Georgetown 66--Etan Thomas surpassed his career high in the first half, scoring 17 of his 23 points before the break to lead the Orangemen to a key Big East Conference victory at Washington D.C.

Working against an undermanned Hoyas frontcourt, sophomore center Thomas made eight of 11 shots from the field and seven of 10 free throws as Syracuse, 16-4 overall and 6-3 in the Big East, broke a two-game losing streak.

The loss ended a two-game winning streak for Georgetown (11-7, 4-6), which is danger of finishing with a losing record in Big East play for only the second time in the John Thompson era. Hoya point guard Kenny Brunner, the Big East assists leader, had neither an assist nor a point.

OTHER GAMES

All 12 players on Nevada Las Vegas’ (10-8) active roster scored as the Runnin’ Rebels routed Chaminade (6-11), 77-49, in the first ever meeting between the teams at Las Vegas. . . . Desmond Mason scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half to help Oklahoma State (14-3, 6-12) overcome a 12-point deficit to beat Oklahoma (15-6, 6-2), 88-84, in a Big 12 Conference game at Norman, Okla. . . . Lamont Barnes scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in leading Temple (12-4, 5-1), to a 68-62 Atlantic Ten Conference overtime victory over St. Joseph’s (7-9, 1-6) in the 119th meeting between the schools at Philadelphia.