Alabama guard Terrance Meade (14) and Notre Dame guard Chris Thomas (1) battle for a loose ball. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        NEW ORLEANS — Rod Grizzard scored nine of his 21 points over the final 2:37 Thursday night and No.21 Alabama beat Notre Dame 79-76 in the Sugar Bowl Classic.

        Alabama (10-2) led by 18 points at halftime, but Notre Dame rallied to take a 62-61 lead on a 3-pointer by Charles Thomas with 6:22 remaining.

        Notre Dame's David Graves hit a 3-pointer to tie the game 67-67 with 4:57 left. But Alabama took the lead for good on a free throw by Terrance Meade, a basket by Erwin Dudley and five points from the field and two free throws by Grizzard as the Crimson Tide went up 77-76 with 1:23 left.

        With 14 seconds to go, Jordan Cornette's basket pulled Notre Dame (9-2) within 77-76. Grizzard made two free throws with 12 seconds left, and Ryan Humphrey's 3-point attempt from the corner at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
        NOTRE DAME (9-2) — Humphrey 4-14 8-15 16, Graves 7-16 2-2 21, Swanagan 3-6 0-0 6, Thomas 4-12 5-5 14, Carroll 4-10 3-4 13, Cornette 3-3 0-0 6, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Timmermans 0-0 0-0 0, Markwood 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 18-26 76.

        ALABAMA (10-2) — Dudley 9-11 2-3 20, Walker 3-5 0-0 6, Meade 3-5 3-4 11, Grizzard 7-11 6-6 21, Williams 4-11 2-2 11, Rambo 0-5 0-0 0, Shelton 1-3 0-0 3, Stinnett 2-7 0-0 5, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Pettway 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 30-59 13-17 79.

        Halftime—Alabama 41, Notre Dame 23. 3-Point goals—Notre Dame 8-21 (Humphrey 0-2, Graves 5-11, Thomas 1-2, Carroll 2-6), Alabama 6-15 (Meade 2-3, Grizzard 1-3, Williams 1-3, Shelton 1-3, Stinnett 1-3). Fouled out— None. Rebounds—Notre Dame 35 (Humphrey 9), Alabama 38 (Dudley 11). Assists—Notre Dame 14 (Humphrey, Thomas 4), Alabama 15 (Williams 4). Total fouls—Notre Dame 18, Alabama 24. A—NA.

        No.8 Maryland 103, William & Mary 75

        COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Juan Dixon had 19 points and career-high nine assists and Byron Mouton added a season-high 19 points as the Terrapins won their 83rd consecutive home victory over a nonconference opponent.

        The Terps (9-2) improved to 22-8 all time against the Tribe (3-6) with their ninth consecutive victory at Cole Field House.

        Adam Hess, a sophomore transfer from Eastern Michigan playing in his first game for William & Mary, scored a career-high 21 points.

        Drew Nicholas scored a season-high 14 points for Maryland and Lonny Baxter posted his 27th career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

        Five Terrapins scored in double figures in the team's biggest offensive output of the season.

        Maryland scored 100 points for the first time this season, the deepest into a season the Terrapins have gone without reaching the century mark since 1990-91, when it took them 18 games.
        WILLIAM & MARY (3-6) — Rivers 1-5 0-0 2, Lee 0-1 0-2 0, Strohbehn 4-9 1-2 9, D'Antoni 0-4 2-2 2, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Markham 2-4 0-0 5, Carbaugh 2-3 0-0 6, Viglianco 0-3 0-0 0, Johnson 5-14 0-0 14, Hess 9-19 1-2 21, Sorenson 0-0 0-0 0, Duggins 0-0 0-0 0, Cope 7-7 2-3 16. Totals 30-71 6-11 75.

        MARYLAND (9-2) — Mouton 4-8 9-12 19, Holden 2-3 1-3 7, Baxter 5-12 2-5 12, Dixon 8-15 0-0 19, Blake 2-8 2-2 8, Badu 0-0 0-0 0, McCall 1-2 1-2 4, Collins 0-0 0-0 0, Nicholas 5-8 2-2 14, Grinnon 0-1 0-0 0, Randle 3-6 2-2 9, Wilcox 4-7 3-3 11. Totals 34-70 22-31 103.

        Halftime—Maryland 50, William & Mary 35. 3-Point goals—William & Mary 9-35 (Rivers 0-1, Lee 0-1, Strohbehn 0-2, D'Antoni 0-4, Markham 1-2, Carbaugh 2-3, Viglianco 0-2, Johnson 4-10, Hess 2-10). Maryland 13-24 (Mouton 2-2, Holden 2-3, Dixon 3-4, Blake 2-6, McCall 1-2, Nicholas 2-5, Grinnon 0-1, Randle 1-1). Rebounds— William & Mary 46 (Johnson 7), Maryland 41 (Baxter 10). Assists—William & Mary 17 (D'Antoni 5), Maryland 28 (Dixon, Blake 9). Total fouls—William & Mary 23, Maryland 17. Technical fouls—Johnson. A—14,500.

        No.15 UCLA 64, Columbia 55

        LOS ANGELES — Jason Kapono scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half when UCLA blew a 22-point lead before escaping with a victory.

        The Bruins (8-2) found trouble at the hands of another Ivy League team before winning their sixth in a row. They hadn't played a school from the league since losing to Princeton in the first round of the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

        The Lions (7-5) hardly looked like a team in the 10th day of a 15-day road trip covering more than 11,000 miles. They hustled after loose balls and put on a 3-point shooting display over the final 8 1/2 minutes.

        Trailing by 22 points, the Lions outscored UCLA 24-7 to pull to 57-52 with 2:58 remaining. Treg Duerksen scored a season-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers in the second half, to spark Columbia.

        Chris Wiedemann's tip-in that would have made it 59-57 with 52 seconds left was no good when teammate Joe Case was called for basket interference.

        After Matt Barnes made one of two free throws to keep UCLA ahead 60-55, Craig Austin's 3-point attempt went in and out with 25 seconds left.

        Kapono hit four consecutive free throws to put the game away.

        COLUMBIA (7-5) — Austin 3-10 2-2 9, Case 3-10 0-0 6, Wiedemann 3-10 3-4 9, Duerksen 7-12 0-0 21, Mayo 1-2 0-2 2, McBrien 3-6 0-0 6, Munoz 0-0 0-0 0, Murphy 0-0 0-0 0, Hill 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 21-53 5-8 55.

        UCLA (8-2) — Barnes 4-7 1-2 9, Kapono 5-8 4-4 16, Gadzuric 1-3 1-2 3, Hines 0-4 0-0 0, Knight 5-12 2-2 14, Cummings 9-11 0-0 18, Patterson 1-4 0-0 2, Thompson 0-3 0-0 0, Walcott 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-53 8-10 64.

        Halftime—UCLA 31, Columbia 21. 3-Point goals—Columbia 8-29 (Duerksen 7-10, Austin 1-7, Wiedemann 0-1, Mayo 0-1, Hill 0-1, McBrien 0-3, Case 0-6), UCLA 4-13 (Kapono 2-3, Knight 2-5, Barnes 0-1, Hines 0-2, Thompson 0-2). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Columbia 27 (Wiedemann 13), UCLA 33 (Kapono 11). Assists—Columbia 14 (Austin 4), UCLA 15 (Kapono, Hines 4). Total fouls—Columbia 13, UCLA 12. Technical—Barnes. A—8,990.

        No.24 Miami 68, LSU 61

        NEW ORLEANS — Marcus Barnes hit a 3-pointer from the wing with less than a minute remaining to break the game's final tie in the Sugar Bowl Classic.

        Barnes' basket gave the Hurricanes (12-0) a 64-61 lead with 55 seconds left and they went on to remain one of five unbeaten Division I teams.

        The winning streak is Miami's longest since the 1964-65 season. MIAMI (12-0) — Rice 3-10 2-2 8, Jones 5-11 1-2 14, Tyler 3-7 2-2 8, Barnes 4-7 2-2 13, Salmons 8-11 1-2 19, Simmons 2-3 0-0 4, Watson 0-0 0-0 0, Berumen 0-2 0-0 0, Coelho 0-0 2-2 2, Djahue 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 10-12 68.

        LSU (9-3) — Dupree 8-15 1-2 18, Williams 4-5 5-7 13, Bridgewater 4-7 0-0 8, Bright 4-11 0-0 11, Temple 2-13 1-1 5, Whipple 0-1 0-0 0, Hudson 1-3 1-2 3, Davis 1-2 0-0 2, Wilson 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 24-57 9-14 61.

        Halftime—Miami 42, LSU 34. 3-Point goals—Miami 8-18 (Barnes 3-5, Jones 3-6, Salmons 2-2, Simmons 0-1, Rice 0-4), LSU 4-18 (Bright 3-8, Dupree 1-3, Whipple 0-1, Hudson 0-1, Temple 0-5). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Miami 25 (Jones, Tyler 7), LSU 38 (Dupree 8). Assists—Miami 15 (Salmons 5), LSU 9 (Temple 5). Total fouls—Miami 16, LSU 15. A—8,023.

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