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--> --> Syracuse on a seven game win streak SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - After five straight starts, freshman forward Hakim Warrick is starting to blossom for No. 12 Syracuse. Warrick had 22 points and 11 rebounds Thursday night, keying spurts in each half and leading the Orangemen past Cornell 76-58. "When you come off the bench, you've got the nerves and you're just watching everybody. You just want to get out there," said Warrick, who shot 10-of-12. "But when you start and hit the first couple of shots, you get more confidence, and the basket just looks bigger and bigger." Warrick scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes to help stake the Orangemen to an 18-8 lead. Two of his four baskets were spinning jumpers in the lane, a shot he has struggled making. "I've been working on the turnaround, post-up jumper a lot in practice," said Warrick, who was averaging just five points a game. "Everything is just starting to pay off now." In other games involving ranked teams, it was No. 3 Missouri 106, Jackson State 68; No. 14 Oklahoma State 95, New Orleans 47; and No. 21 Alabama 90, McNeese State 61. It was the 26th straight win for Syracuse (7-0) over the Big Red (0-4) and 80th overall since the series began 100 years ago with an 18-15 Cornell victory. After an impressive start, the Big Red started focusing too much on Syracuse sharpshooter Preston Shumpert, who scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half. "We tried to extend ourselves, and Shumpert started penetrating," Cornell coach Steve Donahue said. "Now, he's getting in the gap and we're double-teaming him, and now they've got advantages. In the first half, we kept everyone in front of us." And kept the score respectable. Cornell only allowed Syracuse four offensive rebounds in the first half, and when Cody Toppert and Ka'Ron Barnes converted fast-break layups in the final minute, the Big Red trailed just 34-25 at the half. At that point, Syracuse held only a 17-16 rebounding edge. "They did a better job on the boards than we should allow them to," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "They block out and they're physical." Barnes led Cornell with 15 points, and Jake Rohe and Eric Taylor each had 10. The Orangemen, just as they did in a 70-51 win Tuesday over Colgate, broke open the game early in the second half as guard DeShaun Williams, the team's leading scorer, sat on the sideline. He has one game remaining on a three-game suspension for violating the school's code of conduct. After A.J. Castro hit a 3-pointer to close Cornell to 36-30 at 17:23, Shumpert converted two free throws to begin an 8-0 run. Warrick then hit three straight baskets - including another spinning jumper in the lane - in the next 80 seconds to put the Orangemen ahead 44-30. A one-hand windmill slam by Warrick, and a steal and fast-break dunk by Shumpert gave Syracuse a 62-40 lead with 9:29 left. "They were playing such tight defense on me. Other guys found opportunities to get loose and get easy buckets," Shumpert said. "Hakim was the main guy. He kept himself available around the basket and just kept working. He's an untapped talent. He needs to expect that out of himself every game." No. 3 Missouri 106, Jackson State 68 Kareem Rush had his second straight 24-point game and hit six 3-pointers as host Missouri beat Jackson State. Rush, the Big 12 player of the week, was 6-for-8 from 3-point range and 8-for-14 overall. He's shooting 47 percent on 3-pointers this season. Arthur Johnson had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (6-0), off to their best start since 1991-92, when they began the season 11-0. Missouri is 7-0 against Jackson State (1-3). No. 14 Oklahoma St. 95, New Orleans 47 Maurice Baker scored 22 points and Ivan McFarlin had 19, leading Oklahoma State past visiting New Orleans. The margin of victory was the sixth-largest in school history for the Cowboys (7-0), who have won six straight games by double digits. Oklahoma State held New Orleans to 29 percent shooting (18-of-62) and grabbed 17 more rebounds than the Privateers (3-4). No. 21 Alabama 90, McNeese St. 61 Erwin Dudley scored 16 points and Rod Grizzard added 13 as host Alabama beat McNeese State. Dudley, who was 8-for-11, scored 10 points in the first half as Alabama (5-1) held McNeese State (1-3) to just 29.9 percent shooting. Alabama shot 51.5 percent and never trailed. Terrance Meade and Maurice Williams added 11 apiece for the Crimson Tide. E. Washington 47, Boise St. 42 Marco Quinto scored 11 points, going 2-2 from the 3-point line, to lead Eastern Washington over Boise State 47-42 Thursday night. Jason Lewis and Chris Hester combined for 18 points and added seven assists for the Eagles (3-2). The Broncos (1-3) took the lead at the beginning of the second half on a Jason Ellis jump shot and a lay-up by Richard Morgan to go up 28-26. The Eagles responded with a 7-2 run sparked by a Quinto 3-pointer and never gave up the lead again. The Broncos missed six opportunities to take the lead or tie the game in the final five minutes. Quinto hit two free throws to seal the game with 1.9 seconds remaining. Brian Defares scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds for the Broncos. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing