Deacons down UNC, set free throw record



No. 2 Kansas remained undefeated after beating Colorado, 76-61.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Taron Downey scored a season-high 18 points for the Demon Deacons Saturday as No. 4 Wake Forest handled No. 3 North Carolina 95-82.
Wake Forest (15-1, 4-0) set an Atlantic Coast Conference record by making all 32 free throws -- falling two short of tying the NCAA mark -- with Chris Paul finishing 9-for-9. The 6-foot sophomore finished with 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds to overshadow North Carolina's Raymond Felton, who shot only 5-for-18 and had 16 points.
The Tar Heels (14-2, 3-1) lost for the first time since their opener at Santa Clara.
Rashad McCants finished with 19 points for North Carolina.
No. 2 Kansas 76, Colorado 61
BOULDER, Colo. -- Wayne Simien had 23 points and 17 rebounds, and Keith Langford hit a handful of big shots to help Kansas to a victory over surprisingly persistent Colorado.
Playing with a soft cast on his broken left thumb, Simien was a force underneath, and his solid play helped the Jayhawks (13-0, 3-0 Big 12) to a 17-point lead in the first half.
Colorado (8-6, 0-3) rallied in the second, though, and it was Langford who came through big seemingly every time things got tight.
No. 6 Oklahoma St. 83, Iowa St. 73
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Joey Graham and Ivan McFarlin each scored 20 points for Oklahome State and Eddie Sutton moved into seventh place in career coaching wins.
Sutton won his 768th game to pass Henry Iba, his mentor who coached him during his 36 years at Oklahoma State. After the game, school officials announced they would name the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena after Sutton.
John Lucas added 17 points and Stephen Graham scored 11 for the Cowboys (13-1, 3-0 Big 12) , who won for the 24th straight time at home.
Curtis Stinson had 20 points to lead the Cyclones.
No. 7 Syracuse 75, Providence 71
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Hakim Warrick had 25 points, 12 rebounds and a key steal with 3.3 seconds left to turn back Providence's last chance.
Josh Pace scored 14 points to help the Orange (17-1, 4-0 Big East) win their 10th consecutive game.
Dwight Brewington had 21 and eight rebounds for Providence, but he went 4-for-14 from 3-point range. Ryan Gomes, who averages 21 points, had just 14 as Providence (9-7, 0-3) lost its third straight since the start of conference play.
No. 9 Kentucky 76, Georgia 55
ATHENS, Ga. -- Kentucky's Patrick Sparks scored 15 points against his former coach.
Chuck Hayes added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (12-2, 3-0 SEC), which led by as many as 30 points.
Georgia (6-8) dropped to 0-4 in the SEC for the first time since 1998.
No. 10 Texas 63, Nebraska 53
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Daniel Gibson scored all 12 of his points in the final 14:32, and the Longhorns (13-3, 2-1 Big 12) overcame their second consecutive dismal shooting performance.
Joe McCray was 5-of-12 from 3-point range and had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Nebraska (8-5, 2-1).
Sydmill Harris added 11 points for the Longhorns. Turek had 13 points and Marcus Neal Jr. added 12 for the Huskers.
No. 11 Mississippi St. 80, Arkansas 55
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Lawrence Roberts had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Marcus Campbell had 15 points and Ontario Harper added 12 for Mississippi State (15-3, 3-1 SEC), which held the Razorbacks almost 24 points below their average to win its third straight in the series and ninth straight at home.
Jonathon Modica had 14 points to lead Arkansas (13-4, 1-3), which lost its third straight.
No. 12 Connecticut 78, Rutgers 64
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Josh Boone had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Huskies.
Charlie Villanueva had 14 points, tied his career-high with 14 rebounds and blocked six shots for the Huskies (10-3, 2-1 Big East), who outscored Rutgers 58-28 in the paint.
Marquis Webb had 16 points and Quincy Douby added 13 for the Scarlet Knights (6-7, 0-3), who lost their fourth in a row.
No. 19 Louisville 69, No. 18 Cincinnati 66
CINCINNATI -- Larry O'Bannon got open under the basket for an uncontested reverse layup with 11 seconds to play, completing the Cardinals' comeback.
The Cardinals (14-3, 3-1 Conference USA) got shoved around and trailed by 17 points in the first half, rattled by Cincinnati's unrelenting man-to-man coverage.
Louisville asserted itself inside in the second half, and Taquan Dean found his mark from behind the arc.
Dean hit seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points, leading the Cardinals' furious comeback in one of the most remarkable games in the long-standing rivalry.
Cincinnati drops to 14-2, 3-1.
No. 20 Pittsburgh 67, Seton Hall 63
PITTSBURGH -- Chevon Troutman had 23 points as Pittsburgh (12-2, 2-1 Big East) handed the Pirates' their third consecutive loss.
The Panthers closed the game on an 11-3 run after making only one field goal for a stretch of almost 9 minutes.
The Pirates (8-6, 0-3), were without junior guard Donald Copeland, who did not make the trip after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
John Allen and freshman Justin Cerasoli each had 15 points to lead the Pirates (8-6, 0-3) .
Massachusetts 76, No. 21 George Washington 74, OT
WASHINGTON -- With less than a second to play in overtime, Rashaun Freeman caught Anthony Anderson's pass and laid it in the basket in one motion, lifting Massachusetts .
Freeman finished with season-highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Minutemen (8-6, 2-2 Atlantic 10).
He went 10-for-16 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
J.R. Pinnock scored 15 points to lead the Colonials (11-3, 3-1).
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.