Tark’s team talk of
the town in NIT

By Tom Withers
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- There were no camera crews, photographers or reporters scurrying down the hotel corridor after any of the other three NIT coaches.

As usual, they all were in pursuit of Jerry Tarkanian.

Tarkanian, the coach of troubled Fresno State, was the center of attention at a luncheon yesterday introducing the coaches of this year's National Invitation Tournament semifinalists.

But with Tark in town, Minnesota's Clem Haskins, Penn State's Jerry Dunn and Georgia's Ron Jirsa, all good guys with nice teams and compelling stories of their own, went virtually unnoticed.

Fresno State (21-11), which has endured a season of arrests, suspensions and scrutiny, plays Minnesota (18-15) in today's first semifinal at Madison Square Garden. Penn State (18-12) meets Georgia (19-14) in the second game, with the winners playing for the tournament's 61st championship on Thursday night.

Tarkanian's team has received as much attention as any in college basketball this month, mostly for the wrong reasons. Before the team's trip to Hawaii for its third-round game, Fresno State president John Welty threatened to pull the team out of the NIT if there were any more problems. There weren't any, and the Bulldogs defeated Hawaii, 85-83, to earn a trip to New York.

"It's been a real tough season," Tarkanian said. "We've been up and down. We've had a lot problems and it's been very difficult for us . . . Our kids have hung together, and I'm real proud that they've been able to overcome some of the adversity and still pull together.

Georgetown captures
NAIA championship

Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. -- Will Carlton had 22 points and 12 rebounds as Georgetown, Ky., rallied to beat Southern Nazarene (Okla.), 83-69, yesterday in the NAIA basketball championship.

Carlton, the tournament's most valuable player, led the fourth-seeded Tigers from a 13-point deficit.

Georgetown (36-3) broke a tie midway through the second half, and 14th-seeded Southern Nazarene (29-9) never caught up.