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Weber St. Shocks Jud, Michigan St.

Associated Press

Twentyfour years in college coaching didn’t prepare Jud Heathcote for the premature end to his career.

Although the 67-year-old Michigan State coach held his composure while his two star players wept at a postgame news conference, Heathcote clearly was frustrated after Friday night’s 79-72 loss to Weber State in the opening round of the NCAA Southeast Regional.

“Hey, we’re devastated. I’m sorry for the seniors and I’m sorry for myself,” he said as All-American Shawn Respert and backcourt mate Eric Snow wept and consoled one another.

“I knew going in it would be over when it was over, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. I thought we would make a run in the tournament,” Heathcote added.

Ruben Nembhard scored 27 points and Jimmy DeGraffenried made three 3-pointers on his way to 12 second-half points. It was Weber’s first win in the NCAA tourney in 16 years, but coach Ron Abegglen downplayed the magnitude in deference to Heathcote.

“They’re a great ballclub, and I do not want to be remembered as the guy who beat Jud Heathcote in his last game,” Abegglen said. “I respected him a long time. I’m tickled for my team.”

Respert put on a dazzling 3-point shooting performance in scoring 16 first-half points, but Weber State extended its zone defense after halftime, and the Big Ten scoring leader didn’t make another shot until dropping in the sixth of his seven 3s with 9:25 left.

By that time, Weber State (21-8) had built a 10-point lead.

Weber St. 79, Michigan St. 72

WEBER STATE (21-8)

K.Smith 1-2 5-6 7, DeGraffenreid 5-11 1-2 15, Lentfer 0-0 0-0 0, Nembhard 9-20 7-8 27, Lofton 6-12 0-0 14, Tebbs 3-7 0-0 8, Nielsen 0-0 0-0 0, A.Smith 4-9 0-1 8. Totals 28-61 13-17 79.

MICHIGAN STATE (22-6)

Garavaglia 1-2 0-0 2, Brooks 4-6 2-4 10, Feick 5-5 1-4 11, Snow 4-7 1-3 9, Respert 10-23 1-1 28, Weathers 1-3 0-0 2, Penick 2-3 0-0 6, Prylow 0-0 0-0 0, Beathea 2-4 0-2 4. Totals 29-53 5-14 72.

Halftime-Michigan St. 46, Weber St. 37. 3-Point goals- Weber St. 10-25 (DeGraffenreid 4-8, Nembhard 2-8, Tebbs 2-3, Lofton 2-4, A.Smith 0-2), Michigan St. 9-22 (Respert 7-17, Penick 2-3, Garavaglia 0-1, Weathers 0-1). Fouled out-Snow. Rebounds-Weber St. 30 (A.Smith 8), Michigan St. 29 (Snow, Garavaglia 6). Assists-Weber St. 6 (Nembhard, Lofton 2), Michigan St. 14 (Snow 8). Total fouls-Weber St. 15, Michigan St. 21. A-NA.

N.Carolina 80, Murray St. 70

Center Serge Zwikker came off the Tar Heels’ usually unproductive bench to alter the Racers’ shots with his imposing height, and Jerry Stackhouse scored 25 points to rally UNC.

The 7-foot-2 Zwikker scored a career-high 19 points.

“He has always been a good shooter, but I think sometimes he loses his confidence in practice when (injured starter Rasheed Wallace) blocks his shots,” coach Dean Smith said.

MURRAY STATE (21-9)

Walker 0-2 0-1 0, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Brown 9-20 6-6 26, Rainey 9-21 2-2 21, Moore 5-16 0-0 14, Howard 0-1 0-0 0, Barry 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 2-4 0-0 4, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Levine 0-0 0-0 0, Echols 1-6 3-4 5. Totals 26-73 11-13 70.

NORTH CAROLINA (25-5)

Stackhouse 9-12 7-9 25, Wallace 2-5 2-3 6, McInnis 5-8 0-0 13, D.Williams 4-10 0-0 10, Calabria 1-5 2-2 5, P.Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Neal 0-0 0-0 0, S.Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Landry 0-1 2-2 2, McNairy 0-0 0-0 0, Lynn 0-1 0-0 0, Zwikker 6-8 7-8 19. Totals 27-51 20-24 80.

Halftime-Murray St. 42, North Carolina 41. 3-Point goals- Murray St. 7-24 (Moore 4-10, Brown 2-7, Rainey 1-4, Walker 0-1, Howard 0-1, Taylor 0-1), N. Carolina 6-18 (McInnis 3-4, D.Williams 2-6, Calabria 1-4, Stackhouse 0-1, S.Williams 0-1, Landry 0-1, Lynn 0-1). Fouled out-Rainey. Rebounds-Murray St. 35 (Rainey 8), N. Carolina 38 (Stackhouse 11). Assists- Murray St. 6 (Moore 3), N. Carolina 12 (Stackhouse 5). Total fouls-Murray St. 22, N. Carolina 11. A-10,981.

Iowa State 64, Florida 61

Julius Michalik scored 12 of his 17 points in the final 7:00 as the Cyclones overcame a 59-51 deficit.

The 6-foot-10 Michalik’s scoring average had dropped from 20 points as a junior to 14.4 this season.

“Man, where have you been?” Fred Hoiberg, the Cyclones’ leading scorer during the regular season, mused during the postgame news conference.

FLORIDA (17-13)

Thompson 5-7 0-1 10, DeClercq 5-9 0-1 10, Hill 5-9 1-1 11, G.Williams 6-8 2-2 16, Cross 2-12 3-4 8, Anderson 2-3 0-0 4, D.Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Bates 0-0 0-0 0, L.Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Mickens 0-0 2-2 2, Griffiths 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-51 8-11 61.

IOWA STATE (23-10)

Hamilton 0-0 0-0 0, Beechum 3-6 2-2 9, Meyer 4-6 1-2 9, Kimbrough 3-6 0-0 6, Hoiberg 5-13 4-5 15, Hayes 0-1 0-0 0, Holloway 2-3 4-4 8, Michalik 6-10 2-2 17. Totals 23-45 13-15 64.

Halftime-Florida 36, Iowa State 33. 3-Point goals-Florida 3-7 (G.Williams 2-3, Cross 1-3, DeClercq 0-1), Iowa State 5-15 (Michalik 3-5, Hoiberg 1-6, Beechum 1-4). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Florida 23 (Thompson, DeClercq 5), Iowa State 24 (Meyer 10). Assists-Florida 8 (G.Williams, Cross 3), Iowa State 17 (Kimbrough, Michalik 4). Total fouls-Florida 18, Iowa State 17. A-NA.

Georgetown 68, Xavier 63

Allen Iverson and backup Eric Myles kept the Hoyas from getting buried in the first half before Georgetown’s size and depth wore down the Musketeers.

Xavier played without seniors Pete Sears and DeWaun Rose, who were suspended for their involvement in a bar fight last week. Coach Skip Prosser didn’t announce the suspensions until just before game time.

XAVIER (23-5)

Johnson 1-3 4-9 6, Brit 1-7 3-3 5, Sykes 2-8 1-2 5, Hawkins 5-14 8-10 20, Massey 9-19 1-4 21, Smith 3-3 0-0 6, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Harvey 0-0 0-0 0, Smydra 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 17-28 63.

GEORGETOWN (20-9)

Williams 6-12 1-3 13, Reid 2-3 0-0 4, Harrington 7-9 1-2 15, Iverson 6-16 2-6 16, Jacques 1-6 2-2 4, Myles 4-6 0-0 12, Church 1-2 0-0 2, Aw 0-2 0-0 0, Nichols 0-2 0-0 0, Millen 1-2 0-0 2, White 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-60 6-13 68.

Halftime-Georgetown 39, Xavier 36. 3-Point goals-Xavier 4-20 (Hawkins 2-9, Massey 2-10, Brit 0-1), Georgetown 6-20 (Myles 4-6, Iverson 2-7, Williams 0-1, Nichols 0-1, Millen 0-1, Church 0-1, Jacques 0-3). Fouled out-Reid, Harrington. Rebounds-Xavier 35 (Sykes 12), Georgetown 36 (Williams 13). Assists-Xavier 8 (Hawkins 4), Georgetown 8 (Iverson, Jacques, Myles 2). Total fouls-Xavier 17, Georgetown 23. A-7,875.

xxxx Friday’s games Iowa State 64, Florida 61 N. Carolina 80, Murray State 70 Weber St. 79, Michigan State 72 G’town 68, Xavier 63 Today’s games Ariz. St. (23-8) vs. Manhattan (26-4) Kentucky (26-4) vs. Tulane (23-9)