Long Island’s House Is Rockin’ Again

The old Brooklyn Paramount building was reelin’ and rockin’ like the old days Thursday.

After Long Island University defeated Monmouth, 72-67, for the Northeast Conference tournament championship and one of the coveted 64 berths in the NCAA tournament, the floor of the tiny gym became a sea of fans that engulfed the players as they celebrated.

It was a scene reminiscent of 40 years ago when the building was always packed and audiences rocked to the sounds of artists such as Little Richard, Fats Domino and Chubby Checker.

When the beat did not go on, the theater was turned into a gym. And under the Art Deco ceiling and moldings and statues left from the old days, there has been a rebirth of Long Island basketball.

A crowd of about 1,700 for Thursday’s game probably stretched the fire-limit capacity, with people in the upstairs portals and jammed under one basket, making every layup an adventure.

Maybe that’s why Long Island, 21-8 and the nation’s highest-scoring team at 92.3 points a game, scurries about at breakneck speed to throw up three-point shots--a stark contrast to the methodical, take-no-shot-before-its-time days of Hall of Fame Coach Clair Bee, who had a 412-87 record from 1929-51.

Long Island took 29 three-point shots against Monmouth (18-11), with six of its first seven baskets dialed up from long distance.

Monmouth countered with an inside-oriented game led by 6-foot-9 blue-collar forward Corey Albano, who had 33 points and 21 rebounds.

In one stretch, Albano scored 15 consecutive points to give Monmouth a 48-42, but Long Island went ahead for good with five minutes left after three consecutive three-point baskets.

Monmouth had a chance to go ahead with less than two minutes left but an intimidated Mustafa Barksdale missed a layup. Long Island guard Charles Jones, whose 21 points were nine below his nation-leading scoring average, scored the game’s final basket with 22 seconds left on--of all things--a layup.

Long Island will bring a 12-game winning streak into its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1984.

TOURNAMENT

Atlantic Coast

North Carolina State (14-13) was a 60-46 winner over Georgia Tech (9-18) at Chapel Hill, N.C., in the lowest-scoring ACC tournament game since the inception of the 35-second clock in 1986. North Carolina State advances against No. 7-ranked Duke (23-7), the tournament’s top-seeded team.

Atlantic 10

Temple 69, No. 11 Xavier 62--Freshman forward Lamont Barnes scored eight of his 16 points in overtime to lead the Owls (19-9 and No. 39 RPI) past the Musketeers (22-5) in a quarterfinal game at Philadelphia. Barnes, after missing two free throws, got the rebound and flung in a shot as he was pulled down to give Temple control of overtime, 66-62. “It was the dumbest [looking] shot I’ve ever seen in my life,” Temple Coach John Chaney said. Temple advances against Rhode Island (19-8 and No. 30 RPI), a 67-63 winner over Virginia Tech.

No. 19 St. Joseph’s 75, St. Bonaventure 59--The Hawks (22-6) got 41 points and 17 rebounds from reserves Terrell Myers, Harold Rasul and Robert Haskins against the Bonnies (14-14). St. Joseph’s advances against George Washington (15-12), which ended a tournament winning streak of 16 for Massachusetts (19-12 and No. 35 RPI) in a 58-41 victory.

Big East

No. 21 Villanova 80, Syracuse 70--Forward Chuck Kornegay, wearing a facemask after breaking his nose in the first half, had season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds in the quarterfinalsat Madison Square Garden as the Wildcats (22-18) damaged the NCAA hopes of last year’s finalist Syracuse (19-12, No. 55 RPI).

Forward Austin Croshere, from Santa Monica Crossroads High, ended his consecutive free-throw streak at 57 but scored 21 points to lead Providence (21-10 and No. 43 RPI) to a 76-69 victory over West Virginia (19-9 and No. 38 RPI). Providence, which probably earned an NCAA berth with the victory, advances against Villanova. . . . Guard Victor Page had 31 points, including 25 of his team’s 39 in the half, to lead Georgetown (20-8) to a 63-59 victory over Miami (16-12). “I told him to keep shooting,” Georgetown Coach John Thompson said. “That’s the new John, the mellower John. Remember the old conservative John. Now it’s ‘Let it fly.’ ” Georgetown, which has won nine of its last 10, advances against Boston College (19-8 and No. 53 RPI), a 76-68 winner over Pittsburgh (16-14).

Big 12

Oklahoma (18-9 and No. 44 RPI) was a 67-58 winner over Texas A&M; (9-18), which had as many turnovers as field goals (23) in the first-round tournament game at Kansas City, Mo. Oklahoma advances against No. 18 Colorado (21-8) . . . Oklahoma State (16-13), an 80-66 winner over Baylor (18-12), goes against No. 1 Kansas (29-1) today. . . . Texas Tech (19-8), a 73-57 winner over Kansas State (10-17), advances against No. 16 Iowa State (19-7), while Missouri (14-16) takes on Texas (16-10) after a 78-72 victory over Nebraska (16-14).

Conference USA

No. 10 Cincinnati 71, St. Louis 43--The Bearcats (25-6), with leading scorer Danny Fortson missing 10 of 15 shots and injuring his shoulder, relied on a man-to-man defense that limited the Billikens (11-18) to 26% shooting in the quarterfinals at St. Louis. Cincinnati guard Damon Flint, who suffered an eye in practice this week, wore sunglasses and scored eight points on two-of-four shooting. The Bearcats advance against Marquette (20-8 and No. 67 RPI), a 63-45 winner over Memphis (16-14).

North Carolina Charlotte 64, No. 20 Louisville 60--Forward DeMarco Johnson and guard Sean Colson combined for 44 points and made four free throws in the final 16 seconds as the 49ers (20-8) took an important step toward getting an NCAA berth. Louisville, 23-8 after starting the season 15-1, blew a 14-point second-half lead by missing 20 of its last 25 shots.

The NCAA hopes for Tulane (20-10 and No. 50 RPI) were hurt for a second consecutive season as it missed 22 of its last 32 shots in a 74-70 loss to Alabama Birmingham (18-12), which advances against North Carolina Charlotte. Tulane lost its first Conference USA tournament game last season and didn’t receive an NCAA berth.

Southeastern

No. 24 Georgia 75, Louisiana State 54--Dale Brown’s 25-year coaching career for the Tigers (10-20) came to an end against the Bulldogs (22-7, No. 26 RPI) in a first-round tournament game at Memphis. Georgia advances against Arkansas (15-11).

Drew Maddux accounted for the final points of regulation with a three-point play and had nine of his 22 points in overtime as Vanderbilt (19-10, No. 29 RPI) beat Mississippi State (12-18), 73-67. Vanderbilt advances against Mississippi (19-7, No. 45 RPI). In games today, No. 4 South Carolina (23-6), the tournament’s top-seeded team, plays Alabama (17-13), an 80-66 winner over Florida (13-7), while No. 6 and defending national champion Kentucky (27-4), plays Auburn (16-14), a 67-54 winner over Tennessee (11-16).

Western Athletic

Fresno State (20-11), amid a report that the FBI was investigating rumors of point-shaving by the team, was a 106-81 loser to Texas Christian (20-11), which got a tournament-record 44 points from Mike Jones in a quarterfinal tournament game at Las Vegas. Dominick Young, a reported target of the point-shaving investigation, had nine points and seven assists. TCU advances against Tulsa (23-8 and No. 18 RPI), a 68-65 winner over Nevada Las Vegas (20-9).

NONTOURNAMENT

No. 2 Minnesota 81, Michigan State 74--The Golden Gophers (27-1, 16-1) stretched their winning streak to 12 and completed their first unbeaten home season (14-0) since 1948-49 in a Big Ten game against the Spartans (15-11, 8-9) at Minneapolis.

College Basketball Notes

Colgate junior center Adonal Foyle announced he will make himself eligible for June’s NBA draft. Foyle, 6-10, is the all-time NCAA leader in blocked shots at 492. . . . Coach Bob Wenzel was fired at Rutgers after an 11-16 season. He was 128-135 with two NCAA tournament berths in nine seasons.