Cleaves Passes On Shots This Time

Even though the losses were to teams ranked No. 1 and No. 3, Michigan State had still lost two in a row.

The 14th-ranked Spartans got back on the winning track, however, with an 86-53 victory over East Tennessee State at Johnson City, Tenn., on Thursday night as point guard Mateen Cleaves had nine assists to go with Thomas Kelley’s game-high 21 points.

“I think our point guard looked more like the point guard we had last year,” said Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo, whose team is 5-3. “He almost ridiculously passed up shots to get other people involved.”

Cleaves, who made only five of 32 shots in losses to No. 3 Duke and No. 1 Connecticut, also helped contain Greg Stephens, East Tennessee State’s leading scorer who finished with seven points. Cleaves took only five shots, making three for seven points.

Kelley, who scored 15 points in the first half as the Spartans took a 46-24 lead, had been averaging 5.0 points and shooting 29% from the field. He made 10 of 15 shots against the Buccaneers (5-2).

St. Joseph’s 55, No. 21 Tennessee 53--Andre Howard made a running one-handed jumper in the lane with four seconds remaining to give the Hawks the victory at Philadelphia.

Howard took the inbounds pass after a timeout, dribbled into the lane and tossed in a left-handed shot. Fans rushed the floor after the Volunteers missed a desperation three-point basket.

Tim Brown had 15 points, Damian Reid had 14 points and 14 rebounds and N’aim Crenshaw had 13 points as St. Joseph’s (2-3) defeated its first ranked opponent since beating No. 23 Boston College in the 1997 NCAA tournament.

Isiah Victor led Tennessee (6-3) with 11 points.

OTHER MEN’S GAMES

Kelvin Price scored 16 points to lead North Carolina Charlotte (6-2) to a 92-57 victory over Virginia Military Institute (2-6) at Charlotte.

WOMEN’S TOP 25

Fifth-ranked Georgia (7-0) made seven of its first eight shots and forced 18 first-half turnovers in a 101-52 victory over Georgia Southern (1-7) at Athens, Ga. Six Georgia players scored in double figures, led by sophomore guard Coco Miller’s 20 points. . . . Brandi McCain had 20 points and 10 assists to lead No. 17 Florida to a 77-71 victory over No. 9 Alabama at Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Lady Gators (9-2, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) overcame a strong effort from Alabama’s Dominique Canty, who had 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Alabama (7-2, 0-1) had a 21-game home winning streak end. . . . Lisa Shepherd scored 17 points and No. 20 Penn State (6-1) defeated Maryland (0-7) 79-44 at State College, Pa., for its sixth consecutive victory.