College Basketball Roundup : Wake Forest Stuns Clemson, 69-62

Rod Watson scored 15 points in the second half, and Tyrone Bogues, a 5-3 senior guard, added 11 as Wake Forest came from 17 points behind to upset Clemson, 69-62, in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament Friday night at Landover, Md.

Bogues and Watson each finished with 21 points.

Wake Forest, 14-14 overall but only 2-12 during regular-season conference play, will face North Carolina State in the semifinals today. Clemson is 25-5.

Clemson center Horace Grant, who finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds, did not score a basket in the final 14:35.

It was Wake Forest’s first ACC tournament win in five years.

North Carolina St. 71, Duke 64--Vinny Del Negro scored 9 of his 15 points in overtime as North Carolina State upset No. 14 Duke. The sixth-seeded Wolfpack (18-14) will play Wake Forest today.

North Carolina 82, Maryland 63--David Popson, who made 10 of 13 field-goal attempts, scored a career-high 23 points for second-ranked to lead North Carolina (28-2).

Virginia 55, Georgia Tech 54--Andrew Kennedy capped a 22-point performance by hitting two foul shots with three seconds left as fourth-seeded Virginia (21-8) beat fifth-seeded Georgia Tech (16-12).

Other tournaments:

BIG EAST

Pitt 96, Seton Hall 88--At Madison Square Garden, Pitt’s Jerome Lane led a 12-0 burst that turned a 44-39 deficit into a 51-44 lead as the Panthers (24-6) advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament. They face Syracuse today. Lane had 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Syracuse 72, Villanova 66--A Villanova press, led by 5-8 guard Kenny Wilson, keyed a 13-0 spurt that cut a 52-36 Syracuse lead with 13:39 left to 57-55. But Sherman Douglas led Syracuse back, sinking four free throws in the final 28 seconds.

Rony Seikaly scored 17 for the Orangemen (25-5).

Georgetown 56, Boston College 51--Boston College threw a scare into seventh-ranked Georgetown, but Reggie Williams, held in check in the second half until the last 2:51, scored six clutch points for the top-seeded Hoyas (24-4).

Providence 80, St. John’s 51--Billy Donovan scored a tournament-record 34 points as the Friars (20-7) earned the right to face top-seeded Georgetown in today’s semifinals.

BIG EIGHT

Missouri 65, Colorado 59--At Kansas City, Mike Sandbothe’s three-point play with 1:14 left snapped a 59-59 tie for Missouri in a first-round game that Colorado led most of the way. Derrick Chievous led the 19th-ranked Tigers (22-9) with 22 points.

Kansas State 47, Nebraska 45--Norris Coleman’s basket with 1:57 left gave Kansas State a 46-45 lead, then Mitch Richmond pulled down a rebound with five seconds left and hit a free throw. Kansas State faces Missouri today.

Kansas 67, Oklahoma St. 58--Danny Manning scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and sparked a second-half rally that carried the Kansas over Oklahoma State.

Oklahoma 83, Iowa St. 73--Harvey Grant scored 25 points as 17th-ranked Oklahoma rallied from 10 points down at halftime to beat Iowa State. The Sooners (22-8) meet Kansas today.

SOUTHEASTERN

Auburn 79, Kentucky 72--Jeff Moore scored 23 points, including 5 in a row that stymied a Kentucky comeback that had reduced a 14-point deficit to 57-55 midway through the second half of a first-round game at Atlanta. Auburn (17-11) had lost twice to Kentucky (18-10) during the regular season.

Alabama 68, Tennessee 60--Terry Coner scored 16 points and sparked two bursts by ninth-ranked Alabama that helped carry the Tide (25-4) over Tennessee. Alabama faces Auburn today.

Georgia 65, Mississippi 63--Dennis Williams’ 27-foot three-point basket at the buzzer gave Georgia its victory over Mississippi, which had overcome a six-point deficit in the final three minutes and taken a 63-62 lead on a jumper by Joe Ayers.

LSU 72, Florida 66--Anthony Wilson scored 23 points and Nikita Wilson 19 as Louisiana State (20-13) upset second-seeded Florida (21-10). LSU will play Georgia.

SOUTHWEST

Texas A&M; 81, TCU 70--In a major upset at Dallas, Winston Crite scored 30 points as Texas A&M; (15-13) built a 21-point second-half lead, then hung on after the 15th-ranked Horned Frogs cut it to six points. Darryl McDonald’s four free throws and two dunks by Crite clinched it for the Aggies. Today, Texas A&M; plays Texas Tech, a 73-59 winner over Arkansas.

Baylor 83, SMU 69--Mark Buchanan, who hit six three-pointers, scored 24 points and Darryl Middleton, a 6-7 center, added 21 to put the Bears (17-11) in the tournament semifinals for the first time in the 12-year history of the SWC tournament. They play Houston, a 59-49 winner over Texas.

METRO

South Carolina 86, Florida St. 85--Terry Dozier scored a tournament-record 38 points, including two free throws with 12 seconds left, as the Gamecocks won at Louisville. Today, South Carolina plays Memphis State, an 87-58 winner over Cincinnati. Southern Mississippi, an 83-66 over Virginia Tech, plays defending national champion Louisville, which had a first-round bye.