NCAA roundup: Liberty upsets Mississippi St 80-76 for 1st tourney win

the associated press

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Down by 10 points with less than seven minutes to play against a more accomplished opponent, Liberty didn’t give in a bit. Instead, the Flames just kept getting the ball to Caleb Homesley.

Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half, and Lovell Cabbil hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:16 to play to send 12th-seeded Liberty to its first NCAA Tournament win, 80-76 over fifth-seeded Mississippi State on Friday night.

“Everybody on the team believed we were going to come back,” Homesley said. “It was just a matter of time that we were going to make a run.”

The Flames (29-6) were making their fourth tournament trip in school history, but lost twice as a No. 16 seed and once in a play-in game. This year’s team had more respect, a higher seeding and capitalized on the opportunity. Liberty advanced to the second round of the East Region to play Virginia Tech — a West Coast meeting between two southwest Virginia schools 85 miles apart.

Homesley helped rally Liberty from a 10-point deficit in the second half by scoring 14 points in a span of less than five minutes.

“He took over. He’s done that on occasion for us. He’s had spurts,” coach Ritchie McKay said. “When he starts to feel good about his shot, he’s such a dangerous offensive player.”

OREGON 72, WISCONSIN 54

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Payton Pritchard scored 19 points, Kenny Wooten protected the rim with four blocks, and 12th-seeded Oregon extended its surprising March run with a victory in the first round.

The Ducks (24-12) won four games in four days to win the Pac-12 tournament last week just to make the NCAAs then followed it with an impressive victory over a higher-seeded opponent. Oregon advanced to play No. 13 seed UC Irvine (31-5) on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.

Louis King added 17 points, Paul White scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and Wooten had nine points, six rebounds and the tone-setting blocks to give the Ducks their ninth straight win.

Ethan Happ and Khalil Iverson each scored 14 points to lead the Badgers (23-11).

OHIO STATE 62, IOWA STATE 59

TULSA, Okla. — Ohio State went from barely making the NCAA Tournament to a spot in the second round with an upset of sixth-seeded Iowa State in the Midwest Region.

Kaleb Wesson had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the 11th-seeded Buckeyes (20-14).

Keyshawn Woods added 19 points for Ohio State, which will play No. 3 seed Houston on Sunday for a spot in the round of 16. Musa Jallow added 11 points for Ohio State.

Iowa State (23-12) led just once in the second half but had a chance to send the game into overtime when Nick Weiler-Babb had an open attempt at a game-tying 3. His shot missed and ended the season for the Cyclones, who won the Big 12 Tournament to earn a spot in the NCAAs.

Marial Shayok scored 23 points and Lindell Wigginton added 14 for Iowa State.

TENNESSEE 77, COLGATE 70

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Admiral Schofield had 19 points and No. 2 seed Tennessee held off a second-half rally by No. 15 seed Colgate in the opening round.

Jordan Bone added 16 and Jordan Bowden 14 for Tennessee (30-5).

The Raiders (24-11) erased most of Tennessee’s 42-30 halftime lead with an 11-2 run, tied the score midway through the second half, and kept the game close after that.

Schofield hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Tennessee a cushion with 45 seconds left.

Jordan Burns had 32 points for Colgate, which played much of the game without leading scorer Rapolas Ivanauskas because of eye problems.

BUFFALO 91, ARIZONA STATE 74

TULSA, Okla. — Jeremy Harris and Nick Perkins each scored 21 points and had 10 rebounds to help lead No. 6 seed Buffalo past No. 11 Arizona State in the West Region.

CJ Massinburg had 18 points and six rebounds for Buffalo (32-3), which won its 13th straight game.

Zylan Cheatham scored 22 points and had eight rebounds before fouling out with 2:06 remaining for Arizona State (23-11). Romello White and Luguentz Dort each added 12 points.

Arizona State trailed 44-31 at halftime and pulled within nine early in the second half before Buffalo’s 7-0 run pushed its lead to 16 with 16:13 remaining. The Bulls’ advantage never fell below 14 the rest of the way.

NORTH CAROLINA 88, IONA 73

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cameron Johnson scored 21 points, and North Carolina quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit to hot-shooting Iona, going on to win 88-73 on Friday night.

The Tar Heels (28-6), who came into the tournament as a top seed for a record 17th time, advanced to play Washington in the second round of the Midwest Region on Sunday. They’re hoping to reach their 11th Final Four.

No. 16 seed Iona surprised the Tar Heels early with their energy and outside shooting. Ricky McGill made all four of his 3-point attempts in the opening half as the Gaels (17-16) led by as many as eight and took a 38-33 lead into halftime.

McGill finished with 26 points. Asante Gist had 17 points and Andrija Ristanovic scored 11 for Iona.

WASHINGTON 78, UTAH STATE 61

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Noah Dickerson had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and ninth-seeded Washington made a successful return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years.

Eighth-seeded Utah State (28-7) had won 10 in a row and 17 of 18 while taking the Mountain West title. The Aggies got the highest seed in school history and were trying to end their own long NCAA Tournament drought — they haven’t won since 2002.

Washington (27-8) got enough from its top players. Jaylen Nowell had 19 points and five assists and top defender Matisse Thybulle finished with 10 points, five steals and three blocks.

Brock Miller had 13 points for Utah State.

TEXAS TECH 72,

NORTHERN KENTUCKY 57

TULSA, Okla. — Jarrett Culver had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help No. 3 seed Texas Tech shake off a slow start against No. 14 seed Northern Kentucky in the first round.

Tariq Owens scored 12 points and Davide Moretti had 10 for Texas Tech (27-6).

Northern Kentucky (26-9) got 23 points from Tyler Sharpe and 11 from Dantez Walton while giving the Red Raiders everything they could handle in the West Region.

95, MISSISSIPPI 72

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma blitzed Mississippi with a season high in points in the first round.

The Sooners (20-13) scored on eight of their first nine possessions for a 12-0 lead and led by 17 at halftime.

The Rebels (20-13) had looked like a tired team for more than a month, and eight days off didn’t appear to help. Terrence Davis led Ole Miss with 17 points.

IOWA 79, CINCINNATI 72

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Luka Garza scored 20 points, Jordan Bohannon made a three-point play during Iowa’s closing surge as the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes rallied past No. 7 seed Cincinnati in the first round.

The Hawkeyes (23-11) got their first NCAA Tournament win in four years despite what amounted to a home crowd for the Bearcats, who couldn’t overcome a subpar game by Jarron Cumberland. He was 3 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points.

Point guard Justin Jenifer scored a career-high 19 points for Cincinnati (28-7), which hasn’t made it past the opening weekend for seven straight years.

UCF 73, VCU 58

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tacko Fall had 10 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks as ninth-seeded UCF won its first NCAA Tournament game.

The win, UCF’s first in five NCAA appearances, sets up an intriguing matchup with overall top seed Duke between the game’s tallest player in Fall and its most dynamic star in Blue Devils freshman Zion Williamson on Sunday.

UCF (24-8) built a 21-point lead in the second half. The Rams (25-8) narrowed the margin to 62-55 on De’Riante Jenkins’ 3-pointer with 4:53 to go, but could get no closer.

VIRGINIA TECH 66, SAINT LOUIS 52

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 20 points, Kerry Blackshear added 15 and fourth-seeded Virginia Tech earned its first NCAA Tournament win in 12 years.

The Hokies (25-8) had lost in the first round the past two years under coach Buzz Williams before finally breaking through and earning a second-round matchup against No. 12 seed Liberty in the East Region.

Virginia Tech got a big boost to go along with the lopsided win with the return of star point guard Justin Robinson.

Javon Bess scored 14 points and D.J. Foreman added 12 for the Billikens (23-13), who lost in their first tournament game since 2014.

HOUSTON 84, GEORGIA STATE 55

TULSA, Okla. — Corey Davis scored 26 points to help third-seeded Houston to victory in the Midwest Region.

Fabian White had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Breaon Brady added 13 for Houston (32-3).

D’Marcus Simonds scored 18 points for No. 14 seed Georgia State (24-10), the Sun Belt Conference Tournament champion.

Houston rolled to a 15-3 lead in the first five minutes and the rout was on.