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NCAA basketball tournament roundup

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Winthrop, Pacific, Xavier just miss pulling off stunning upsets GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Chris Lofton’s remarkable shot allowed Tennessee to avoid a major upset and sent the Volunteers into the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time in six years.

The sophomore guard took an inbound pass with 2.9 seconds left and rattled home a fallaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line to help the second-seeded Volunteers beat Winthrop 63-61 Thursday in the first round of the Washington Regional.

Craig Bradshaw missed a shot right before the buzzer that would have tied it for the Eagles (23-8), who remained winless in six trips to the tournament. They were trying to become the fifth 15th seed to record an upset in the first round, and the first since 2001. Instead the Volunteers advance to face seventh-seeded Wichita State.

The frantic finish capped a heart-pounding game that featured nine ties and eight lead changes, the final one coming on Lofton’s shot. His were the only points in the final 2:42 as both teams squandered chances to advance to the second round.

The Volunteers (22-7) had a couple of opportunities in the final seconds. C.J. Watson missed a 3, but they retained possession when Dane Bradshaw chased down a long rebound on the other end of the court.

Coach Bruce Pearl – who led underdog Wisconsin-Milwaukee to two victories in last season’s tournament – called a timeout to set up the play for Watson, and Bradshaw fed him the pass.

Major Wingate led Tennessee with 15 points, and Torrell Martin finished with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Eagles.

Wichita St. 86, Seton Hall 66

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Sean Ogirri had 23 points and hit six 3-pointers to lead Wichita State, giving the Missouri Valley Conference an impressive debut after hearing plenty about its haul of four NCAA tournament bids.

Paul Miller scored 15 points for the seventh-seeded Shockers (25-8) who were playing their first NCAA tournament game since 1988. They advance to play Tennessee on Saturday.

Kelly Whitney scored 18 points to lead the 10th-seeded Pirates (18-12), who battled through the rugged Big East to reach the tournament for the second time in three seasons. It was Wichita State’s first tournament win in 25 years and provided the MVC a quick bit of vindication after raising eyebrows with four bids, the same as the Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Pac-10 conferences.

Minneapolis Regional

Boston College 88,

Pacific 76, 2OT

SALT LAKE CITY – Boston College derailed scrappy Pacific and the Maraker Express.

The final overtime was anticlimactic, but the fourth-seeded Eagles (27-7) sure made this one interesting for the first 45 minutes. They advanced to play Montana.

BC trailed by six early in the first overtime and needed a pair of free throws from Craig Smith, a 66-percent shooter, with 4 seconds left to send the game into the next extra period.

With 9 seconds left in regulation, Pacific’s star, Christian Maraker, hit an open 3-pointer to tie the game at 65. But the Eagles held Maraker scoreless in the two overtimes, and the 13th-seeded Tigers (24-8) failed in their quest to advance to the second round for the third straight year.

Montana 87, Nevada 79

SALT LAKE CITY – Montana overcame a sizable height disadvantage and became the latest No. 12 seed to pull an upset.

Since 1985, at least one 12th-seeded team has upset a No. 5 seed in the tournament every year except for 1988 and 2000. A year after being overwhelmed early in a first-round loss, the Grizzlies (24-6) returned like NCAA tournament veterans and never trailed against the Wolf Pack (27-6).

Andrew Strait, Montana’s second-tallest player at 6-foot-8, had 22 points and Virgil Matthews scored 20 for the Grizzlies. Nick Fazekas had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Nevada. Montana moves on to play Boston College.

Wis.-Milwaukee 82,

Oklahoma 74

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Pulling off their third major upset in two years, 11th-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee got 24 points apiece from Joah Tucker and Boo Davis to knock off sixth-seeded Oklahoma.

Tucker, one of the stars in Milwaukee’s stunning run to the round of 16 last season, scored nine during a 23-7 surge that carried the Panthers (22-8) to a 60-46 lead with just over seven minutes to go.

The closest Oklahoma (20-9) got the rest of the way was six. Terrell Everett led the Sooners with 21 points, but most of his production came after it was too late. Wisconsin-Milwaukee plays Florida on Saturday.

Florida 76,

South Alabama 50

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lee Humphrey scored 20 points, including 12 on four 3-pointers in the second half, and the third-seeded Gators advanced in front of a partisan crowd at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Florida (28-6) extended its winning streak to six games and will play Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday. Joakim Noah and Al Horford combined for 30 points and 21 rebounds and dominated inside, not surprising considering Florida’s significant size advantage.

Leandro Buboltz made led the 14th-seeded Jaguars (24-7) with 14 points, most of them coming on four 3-pointers. Mario Jointer added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Oakland Regional

Alabama 90, Marquette 85

SAN DIEGO – Jean Felix was nearly perfect in scoring a season-high 31 points for the Crimson Tide, in a game that was delayed 70 minutes after bomb-sniffing dogs detected something suspicious at San Diego State’s arena.

Once order was restored, Felix made five 3-pointers in the first 121/2 minutes to help the 10th-seeded Crimson Tide (18-12) take a 15-point lead.

With Alabama leading 86-85, the ball bounced off Felix’s foot and went out of bounds, but Steve Novak missed a turnaround jumper. Alabama’s Ronald Steele made two free throws for an 88-85 lead. Novak, Marquette’s all-time 3-point shooter, missed from behind the arc with 7.8 seconds left.

Seventh-seeded Marquette (20-11) was eliminated in its first NCAA tournament appearance since reaching the Final Four in 2003. Alabama moves on to play UCLA.

Gonzaga 79, Xavier 75

SALT LAKE CITY – Adam Morrison scored seven of his 35 points in the final two minutes as Gonzaga rallied for the win.

Morrison led the third-seeded Bulldogs (28-3) on a late 10-2 run, finally overcoming No. 14-seed Xavier. The Musketeers held off every previous Gonzaga surge, but ultimately they were overrun by the nation’s leading scorer.

Morrison was 11-for-21 from the floor and had four assists. J.P. Batista added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Zags, who are in their eighth straight NCAA tournament.

A magical run of four wins in four days of the Atlantic 10 tournament got Xavier (21-11) into the national field, and that stellar play carried over into the first round of the NCAA. Stanley Burrell led Xavier with 22 points.

Atlanta Regional

George Washington 88,

UNC Wilmington 85, OT

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Maureece Rice scored 20 points and had a key defensive play in overtime to help the Colonials rally from an 18-point deficit.

Omar Williams had 16 points and nine rebounds for the eighth-seeded Colonials (27-2). Carl Elliott added 15 points and hit two free throws with 11.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime, while Danilo Pinnock had all 11 of his points after halftime.

T.J. Carter scored 25 points to lead the ninth-seeded Seahawks (25-8), who shot 59 percent and hit 11 3-pointers for the game but couldn’t hold onto a four-point lead with 2 minutes left in OT.

LSU 80, Iona 64

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Glen Davis scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and the fourth-seeded Southeastern Conference regular-season champions overcame a sluggish start to advance.

Davis, a 6-foot-9, 310-pound sophomore nicknamed “Big Baby,” took over after missing eight of his first nine shots and being held to five points in the opening half. The SEC player of the year finished 7-of-15 from the field and had 13 rebounds – six of them after halftime.

Steve Burtt and Ricky Soliver, the highest-scoring guard tandem in Division I, did all they could to keep No. 13 seed Iona (23-8) in the game. Burtt had 23 points and Soliver 14 in their final college contests, but were a combined 2-for-14 on 3-point attempts.

Darrel Mitchell scored 19 for the fourth-seeded Tigers (24-8).

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