Section A·Page 10
The University Daily Kansan
College Basketball
Thursday, March 9, 2000
Championship week rolls on; some teams fall away
Ball State wins conference moves into NCAA tourney
CLEVELAND — Lonnie Jones blocked seven shots, and Ball State earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament last night with a 61-58 victory against Miami of Ohio in the championship of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
The Cardinals (22-8), the tourney's No. 2 seed, made their free throws down the stretch to hold off the surprising Red Hawks (15-15), the No. 9 seed.
Tournament MVP Duane Clemens scored 14 points and Theron Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals, who next week will be making their seventh NCAA tournament appearance and first since 1995.
The key for Ball State was the 6-foot-11 Jones, who dominated inside in the second half, blocking six shots and altering several more.
Jason Stewart scored 25 points and Rob Mestas had 11 for Miami, which scored only two field goals in the final 4:27 and shot just 31 percent from the floor.
Ball State's season began to take a dive shortly after a 20-point victory against Purdue, and the Cardinals began the MAC regular season 3-6. But with Clemens, a senior guard, leading the way, Ball State won 11 of its last 12 and its seventh MAC tourney title.
"We're going dancing, baby!" Ball State coach Ray McCallum yelled as his players pounded on each other near midcourt. "This is what it's all about."
Clemens, who scored a career-high 35 in a semifinal victory against Ohio University, cried and hugged his grandmother, Virginia Cox, after earning his first trip to the NCAAs.
Men's Basketball
Defense ruled in the second half as neither team could get an open look at the basket. Both teams went 514 without scoring a field goal. Before Mestas made a layup with 22 seconds left, Stewart was the only player to score for Miami.
Ray Jackson's three-pointer gave
the cardinals a 51-46 lead, but Ball State went the next 8:08 without scoring before Jones hit a short hook to make it 53-52 with 3:22 remaining.
Stewart, who made a MAC-record 10 three-pointers in the semifinals against Marshall, missed on Miami's next possession and Smith hit a tough leaver to put the Cardinals up 55-54.
Stewart made two free throws with 2:09 left, but Smith scored the game's biggest basket, getting fouled on a layup. His free throw put the Cardinals up 57-54 and, after Stewart forced a three-pointer that missed, Patrick Jackson hit two free throws as Ball State opened a 59-54 lead with 27.3 seconds left.
Mestas's layup closed it to three, but Smith made two more free throws with 20.9 second left.
UConn thumps Eagles in Big East tourney opener
NEW YORK — In an up-and-down season for defending national champion Connecticut, there remains one constant.
The Huskies always beat Boston College.
Connecticut (22-8)
extended its winning streak against the Eagles to 23 games yesterday with a 70-55 victory that was built largely on the backboards.
With Jake Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman each grabbing 11 rebounds, the two-time Big East tournament champions opened defense of the title decisively.
It was the seventh straight Big East tournament victory and 10th in the last 11 conference tournament games for the No. 21 Huskies, who have won this title three of the last four years.
Connecticut, which beat Boston College 87-58 in the regular season, has not lost to the Eagles since the
"When you're in a tournament like this, you know, anything can happen."
Jim Calhoun Connecticut coach
1987-88 season. The 23 straight victories Syracuse's record of 23 in a row against Seton Hall from 1982 to 1992.
Voskukhl led the Huskies with 16 points and Freeman had 11. Khalid El-Aim scored 14 points and Albert Mouring added 12.
Connecticut outrebounded the undermanned Eagles 46-26.
"I just think that our domination inside on the offensive glass and overall limited them to one shot and done," coach Jim Calhoun said. "That made a difference in this game. When you're in a tournament like this, you know, anything can happen."
Boston College opened fast and led 14-6 following consecutive three-pointers by Xavier Singletary. But then the Eagles went scoreless for nearly eight minutes and Connecticut shot in front with a run of 12 points.
And for a while, undermanned Boston College (11-19), playing without injured Big East Rookie of the Year Troy Bell, had the Huskies on the run.
The victory was the fourth straight for Connecticut and Calhoun said the difference was El-Amin.
"We feed off him," Calhoun said.
"Teams are built around certain things. If you have a great quarterback, you run a particular offense. Everything's predicated on that. We feed off K's energy. When he was energized for those first 10 minutes in the second half, we became energized."
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Led by Desiree Fr桥'18 points, Iowa State advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 women's basketball tournament with a 93-58 victory yesterday against Oklahoma State.
Cyclones breeze past the Cowgirls, 93-58
The Cyclones (23-5) scored 19 straight points in the first half to cruise to a 38-10 lead as Oklahoma State made only 5 of 28 shots.
38 shots — 13 percent — and trailed
43-14 at the break.
Iowa State shot 53 percent for the game, compared to 26 percent for the Cowgirls. The Cyclones set tournament records for margin of victory, three-point goals made and attempted, and field goal defense in both a game and a half.
Francis missed only one of the seven shots she took, and she was 4-for-5 from three-point range. The Cyclones were 14-of-32 from beyond the arc.
Iowa State's 19-0 run began right after Oklahoma State point guard Chantyo Hutchins, who scored 28 points in an opening-round victory against Kansas State, picked up her third foul.
Lindsey Wilson added 15 points, Megan Taylor 14 and Stacy Freese had ten for the Cyclones.
Oklahoma State (14-16) got 20 points from Jennifer Crow — most of them scored long after the game was decided.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Aleah Johnson scored 18 points as Texas Tech built an early lead and sailed to a 76-60 victory against Colorado yesterday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Texas Tech grabs spot in semifinals
Texas Tech (25-3) led by as many as 20 points in the first half before taking a 43-29 lead at halftime.
The Lady Raiders kept the margin between 12 and 18 most of the second half. Colorado managed to cut it to 61-52 with 65-0 left, but Tech responded with a quick seven-point run.
ers on its roster, appeared to run out of gas against the deeper and rested Lady Raiders. Colorado
Women's Big 12
Colorado, with only eight play-
beat Missouri in the first round on Tuesday, while Texas Tech had not played in more than a week.
Melinda Schmucker-Pharies scored 14 points in the first half for Tech, including 4-for-4 on three-point baskets. She finished with 16. Teammates Amber Tarr added 11 and Keitha Dickerson grabbed 14 rebounds.
Colorado (10-19) was led by Britt Hartshorn with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Longhorns rope Sooners, advance
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Edwina Brown hit a layup with 16.8 seconds remaining and a free throw with 4.7 seconds left as Texas beat No. 18 Oklahoma 71-68 last night in the Big 12 Conference women's tournament.
Texas (20-11) scored 17 of the final 20 points as Brown outdueled Big 12 Player of the Year Phylesha Whaley.
Brown scored 26 points, including 16 in the final 8:35. Whaley scored 21 points, but her night ended with a traveling call in the final seconds.
Oklahoma (23-7)
5:45 remaining.
But the Longhorns scored nine straight points, seven by Brown, to draw within two.
Oklahoma (23-7) led 65-54 with
The Associated Press
With the score 68-68 with 48 seconds left, Oklahoma tried to get the ball inside, but Tai Dillard made a steal and passed to Brown for a layup. On its next possession, Oklahoma tried to get the ball to Whaley, but she traveled as the defense collapsed around her.
Texas advanced to the semifinals to play sixth-ranked Texas Tech, which beat Colorado 76-60.
Oklahoma clears Najera in financing investigation
NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma released a statement yesterday stating that its review of high school financing for seniors Eduardo Najaver and Victor Avila found nothing that would affect their college eligibility.
The Associated Press
The university reviewed the issue as a result of a question posed by a reporter at the San Antonio Express-News.
Najera and Avila attended Cornerstone Christian School in San Antonio.
"Any aid they received was provided by the school and was part of the school's aid program available to all students at the school," the university statement said.
It also said the school's program was consistent with NCAA rules.
Najera, a native of Mexico, attended Cornerstone Christian during the 1994-95 school year. The San Antonio newspaper said an official of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools said the tuition was subsidized by the Mexican National Basketball Federation.
The university said its information confirmed that neither Najera nor Avila received any financial assistance of any kind from the Mexican Basketball Federation or from any other people or organizations to attend the school.
This season, the NCAA has penalized basketball players who have had third parties outside their immediate family pay for prep school tuition. Oklahoma State freshman Andre Williams missed five games as the result of such an investigation.
According to Oklahoma, the review involved the Big 12 Conference, the NCAA, Cornerstone Christian and the Mexican Basketball Federation.
PRESENTS STAGED READINGS OF FOUR NEW ONE-ACT PLAYS BY K.U. STUDENTS
AND YOU GET TO PICK THE WINNING BABIES IN THIS FINAL FOUR!
8 PM Friday March 10:
Directed by Avi Seaver
8 PM Saturday March 11:
Directed by Paul Lim
Vote for "Trinity" by Joshua Hart or "Moving" by Matthew Gaus
8 PM Sunday March 12:
Vote for "Fly by Night" by Jeremy Gates or "Tin for Ten" by Jason Beaver
The two winning babies get paired in one final performance!
ALL PERFORMANCES AT 100 SMITH HALL—ADMISSION FREE
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