2/27/2006 - Rice's final flurry powers George Washington past Fordham

Strawberry Mansion graduate Maureece Rice scored 13 of his 19 points in the final seven minutes and No. 6 George Washington (24-1) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 16 games with a 78-67 victory over Fordham (12-15) yesterday in New York.

The Colonials played their first game without second-leading scorer and rebounder Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who injured his knee against La Salle on Wednesday and will miss the final two games of the regular season. He might be able to play in the Atlantic Ten tournament quarterfinals, which begin March 9.

Danilo Pinnock added 17 points and eight rebounds, and Carl Elliott scored 16 points for George Washington, which tied the school record for wins set in 1953-54 and matched in 1997-98.

Memphis 78, Tulsa 67 - Shawne Williams scored 21 points, including nine during the game-deciding run over the final six minutes, to lead No. 4 Memphis over visiting Tulsa.

Tulsa (10-15) stayed close until Williams began scoring inside as Memphis (26-2) outscored the Golden Hurricane by 18-3 down the stretch to win its 15th game in a row and earn at least a share of the Conference USA title.

Gonzaga 75, San Diego 59 - J.P. Batista amassed 26 points and 11 rebounds to help Gonzaga (24-3) overcome a rare off night from Adam Morrison and win its 37th consecutive home game, the longest streak in the nation, by routing San Diego (16-10) in Spokane, Wash.

Morrison, the nation's leading scorer at 29 points per game, was held to a season-low 11, but Gonzaga kept alive its hopes of a second undefeated West Coast Conference season in three years.

Texas 80, Kansas 55 - LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points on near-perfect shooting and No. 7 Texas (24-4) inched closer to its first Big Twelve title in seven years with a whipping of No. 16 Kansas (20-7) in Austin, Texas.

Aldridge hit his first eight shots, not missing until Texas had a 20-point lead late in the second half. He finished 9 of 10 from the floor and grabbed eight rebounds.

Illinois 71, Iowa 59 - Rich McBride scored 15 points and Illinois' bench helped the eighth-ranked Illini send star seniors Dee Brown and James Augustine out of Assembly Hall in style with a win over No. 20 Iowa in Champaign, Ill.

The win kept Illinois (23-5) in the hunt for its third straight Big Ten title and dropped Iowa (20-8) out of first place for the first time since Jan. 30.

Pittsburgh 81, Providence 68 - Aaron Gray contributed 17 points and nine rebounds, and reserve guards Antonio Graves and Levance Fields keyed a first-half run to lead No. 9 Pittsburgh (21-4) past visiting Providence (12-13) in the Big East.

Arkansas 73, Tennessee 69 - Darian Townes scored 15 points and Jonathon Modica added 14 to help Arkansas (19-8) rally to upend No. 10 Tennessee (20-5) in Knoxville, Tenn.

Arkansas clinched at least a share of the Southeastern Conference East crown and further bolstered its case for an NCAA tournament invitation.

Boston College 74, North Carolina State 72 - In the Atlantic Coast Conference, Sean Marshall's three-point play early in the second overtime gave Boston College the lead for good and the 11th-ranked Eagles (22-6) slipped past No. 15 North Carolina State (21-7) in Raleigh, N.C.

Ohio State 64, Michigan 54 - Terence Dials had his fifth consecutive double-double, with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 13 Ohio State (21-4) stayed atop the Big Ten with a victory over Michigan (18-8) in Columbus, Ohio.

West Virginia 68, Louisville 64 - Kevin Pittsnogle scored 21 points and Mike Gansey added 17 as No. 14 West Virginia (19-8) snapped a season-long three-game losing streak by edging Louisville (17-10) in a Big East game in Morgantown, W. Va.

Oklahoma 71, Kansas State 70 - Taj Gray scored 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1 minute, 15 seconds to play, and Terrell Everett added 12 points and 10 assists as No. 22 Oklahoma (19-6) nipped Kansas State (14-11) in a Big Twelve game in Norman, Okla.

Georgetown 68, Syracuse 53 - Jeff Green scored 18 points, Darrel Owens added 12, and No. 23 Georgetown (19-7) wore down Syracuse (18-8) in the second half in a Big East game in Washington, snapping a five-game losing streak against the Orange.

Louisiana State 71, Kentucky 67 - Darrel Mitchell and Glen Davis each sank two free throws in the final seconds to lift No. 24 Louisiana State (20-7) over Kentucky (18-10) in Baton Rouge, La.

The win moved LSU into sole possession of first place in the overall SEC standings.

Southern Illinois 46, Northern Iowa 45 - Matt Shaw scored 16 points to lead Southern Illinois (19-10) to an upset of No. 25 Northern Iowa (22-8) in a Missouri Valley Conference game in Carbondale, Ill.

Nevada 75, Utah State 57 - Marcelus Kemp scored 26 points and Nick Fazekas had 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 25 Nevada (22-5) over Utah State (19-7) in Logan, Utah, clinching at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference title for the third straight year.