SPORTSWIRE: Thurman to McDaniel lifts Razorbacks over LSU

No. 11 Cavs rout Tech; Minnesota, Missouri lose in upsets; Suns fall to Robinson, Spurs Arkansas (22-5, 10-4 Southeastern Conference) had to come back repeatedly during the game. The Razorbacks led 87-86 with 1 minute, 39 seconds left when Corey Beck was called for an intentional foul against Ronnie Henderson. He sank one of two free throws to tie it at 87-all. Henderson tied it again with 15 seconds left with a left-handed layup, then gave LSU (11-12, 5-8) a 90-89 lead with a free throw. The Razorbacks tied it at :05 on a free throw by Darnell Robinson to make it 90-90, setting the stage for the Thurman-to-McDaniel game-winner. Corliss Williamson led Arkansas with 29 points, McDaniel had 17, Davor Rimac 13, including 3 of 5 from three-point range, and Elmer Martin had 10. Thurman had only 5 points, going 2 of 10 from the field, in 32 minutes. Henderson led LSU with 28 points. Landers Nolley had 17, Roman Rubchenko 16, and Clarence Ceasar had 15. LSU, which has now lost five straight and eight of its last nine, has not beaten Arkansas in eight tries since the Razorbacks joined the SEC in 1992. · No. 11 Virginia 83, No. 24 Georgia Tech 60 ATLANTA -- Harold Deane and Junior Burrough scored 19 points each as 11th-ranked Virginia reeled off its seventh straight victory and took a half-game lead in the Atlantic Coast Conference race by routing No. 24 Georgia Tech 83-60 last night. Curtis Staples added 17 points as he and Deane each made five three-point baskets to help the Cavaliers lift their record to 19-6, 11-3 in the ACC. It gave the Cavs a half-game lead over idle North Carolina (10-3). James Forrest led Tech (16-10, 6-7) with 17 points in his first start since breaking a bone in his left hand in an automobile accident almost four weeks ago. It was Virginia's third victory since stopping Tech's nine-game winning streak in the series. The teams played to a 20-20 deadlock during the first 10 minutes before Virginia took control. Deane had 8 points, Burroug 7 and Jason Williford 4 in a 19-6 burst that ended on Deane's three-pointer for a 39-26 lead with 2:40 left in the first half. · Illinois 94, No. 22 Minnesota 88 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Robert Bennett hit a free throw with six seconds remaining and followed it with a slam dunk in the final second of Illinois' 94-88 overtime victory over No. 22 Minnesota last night. Bennett finished with a career-high 24 points as Illinois scored its 16th straight win over Minnesota at Assembly Hall. Illinois (17-8 overall, 8-5 Big Ten) led for most of the game but could not shake the Gophers (17-8, 8-5). With 20 seconds remaining in regulation and the score tied at 73, Minnesota's Voshon Lenard missed a free throw, and the game went into overtime. Illinois jumped to a 79-74 lead with 3:20 left in overtime. But Minnesota rallied again, tying the score at 81 on a Lenard three-pointer followed by a Sam Jacobson dunk with 1:50 remaining. Trailing by three, Minnesota missed four consecutive three-point shots down the stretch and Illinois pulled away. · Nebraska 78, No. 14 Missouri 75 COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Tom Wald dropped in two free throws with 17 seconds left, and Jaron Boone added a thunderous dunk at the :05 mark last night as Nebraska rallied for a 78-75 victory over No. 14 Missouri. Erick Strickland had 27 points for Nebraska, and Boone added 22. Missouri's Paul O'Liney missed two free throws with 19 seconds left and the Tigers leading 75-74, then fouled Wald going for the rebound. O'Liney had 23 points. Seven-foot sophomore Sammie Haley, hitting career highs in points (24) and rebounds (12), had given the Tigers a 75-74 lead with a free throw at the :52 mark. Nebraska, unable to get off a shot, called time with 6 seconds on the shot clock and 23.5 on the game clock, and then threw the ball away. O'Liney, the Tigers' top foul shooter, missed badly on both attempts, enabling Nebraska (17-9 overall, 4-7 Big Eight) to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year in the conference. · Lehigh 87, Yale 82 NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Rashawne Glenn scored 27 points to lead Lehigh to an 87-82 victory over Yale last night at Payne Whitney Gym. Jason Fichter added 20 and Maurice Hallett scored 13 for the winners. The Engineers (11-14) shot 59 percent (17-29) and led 41-33 at halftime. Yale trailed by as many as 14 in the second half, but closed the deficit to three, 85-82, on a Gabe Hunterton three-pointer with 28 seconds left. After Hallett missed two free throws with 25.7 seconds left, Yale's Andy Karazim missed a short shot from inside. Kem Widmer then sealed then victory for Lehigh with two free throws with 7.5 seconds left. Hunterton led the Bulldogs (8-14) with 23 points, while Karazim added 15. Spurs 105, Suns 100 SAN ANTONIO -- David Robinson scored 34 points as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 105-100 last night for their 12th victory in 14 games. San Antonio took its first lead of the second half on Sean Elliott's basket and free throw with 1:48 left. He had six points in the final two minutes as the Spurs rallied to extend their winning streak to three games. Phoenix has lost three of four after starting the month 5-1. Sean Elliott scored 19 points for the Spurs and Dennis Rodman had 24 rebounds. Charles Barkley led Phoenix with 22 points, while Dan Majerle had 19 and Elliot Perry 16. After Perry tied the game at 98 with 1:34 left, Elliott gave San Antonio the lead for good 16 seconds later on a jumper. The teams traded free throws before Elliott clinched the victory with a 3-point shot with 10 seconds left. The game was played before an Alamodome crowd of 34,215, the largest in the NBA this season and the Spurs' seventh of more than 30,000. San Antonio closed within 74-71 with 4:14 left in the third quarter, scoring four points on a possession when Phoenix guard Danny Ainge was ejected after disputing a call by referee Hue Hollins. Phoenix scored the next seven points, finishing with a 9-3 spurt to take an 83-74 lead after three quarters. Robinson scored 15 points in the second quarter, but the Suns hit 11 of their first 14 shots in the period to take a 56-53 lead.