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Drexel Rocks Memphis 75-63

Associated Press

West Region

Bill Herrion doesn’t take offense when people with puzzled looks on their faces ask, “Drexel who?”

“Heck, I didn’t know who Drexel was until I took the job,” said the fifth-year coach, who Thursday guided the Philadelphia school to the first major upset of the tournament.

Malik Rose had 21 points and 15 rebounds as the 12th-seeded Dragons stunned fifth-seeded Memphis 75-63 in the first round.

Drexel extended the nation’s second-longest winning streak to 15 games, and will play fourth-seeded Syracuse on Saturday. “We’re a game away from the Sweet Sixteen, and for a school like us, it’s a dream come true,” Herrion said.

Drexel and its 4,073 students get little attention in Philadelphia, where Big Five members Villanova, Penn, Temple, La Salle and St. Joseph’s dominate headlines and recruiting.

“Maybe this will help push us to the level of the Big Five,” forward Jeff Myers said.

Drexel 75, Memphis 63

Drexel (27-3) - Myers 4-9 4-7 15, Guittar 4-7 0-0 10, Rose 8-12 5-6 21, DeRocckis 4-8 3-4 14, Overby 1-8 8-9 10, Gaffney 0-0 0-0 0, Neisler 0-0 0-0 0, Frey 2-2 0-0 5, Hudgins 0-0 0-0 0, Riley 0-0 0-0 0, Fischer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-46 20-26 75.

Memphis (22-8) - Wilson 5-8 0-0 10, Henderson 4-8 0-0 9, Wright 8-17 0-0 16, Garner 2-11 0-0 5, Johnson 2-9 0-0 5, Gales 3-5 2-3 10, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Hopson 2-3 1-2 5, Newman 0-2 0-0 0, Newsom 1-3 1-2 3, Finch 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 27-68 4-7.

Halftime-Drexel 40, Memphis 30. 3-Point goals-Drexel 9-18 (DeRocckis 3-5, Myers 3-7, Guittar 2-3, Frey 1-1, Overby 0-2), Memphis 5-19 (Gales 2-2, Garner 1-6, Johnson 1-5, Henderson 1-2, Newsom 0-2, Finch 0-2). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Drexel 35 (Rose 15), Memphis 34 (Wright 10). Assists-Drexel 18 (Myers 5), Memphis 14 (Wright, Garner, Johnson 3). Total fouls-Drexel 13, Memphis 21. A-NA.

Syracuse 88, Montana State 55

John Wallace scored 18 points in 28 minutes and Todd Burgan had 17 for the fourth-seeded Orangemen.

Wallace and Burgan offset a record-setting effort by Montana State’s Quadre Lollis. Lollis, who led the nation in field-goal percentage this season at 65.5, hit 12 of 13 shots and finished with 26 points.

His percentage of 92.3 Thursday broke the West Regional mark of 88.2 by Santa Clara’s Dennis Awtrey (1970).

But the offensive firepower of Wallace and Burgan and Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense proved too tough for Montana State, which is now 0-3 in the tournament since 1951. Not counting Lollis, the Bobcats were 11 of 46 from the field and hit only 4 of 20 3-point shots.

“In the first half we were impatient, and Montana State did a good job of pressing us,” said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim. “We switched to zone in the second half. We extended it out beyond the 3-point line and they didn’t make anything.”

Montana State (21-9) - Harrison 2-6 0-0 4, Leachman 0-5 1-2 1, Lollis 12-13 2-2 26, Hatler 0-5 0-0 0, Sprinkle 2-8 2-2 7, Henry 0-2 0-0 0, Fay 0-2 0-0 0, Elliott 2-3 0-0 4, Harry 1-5 0-0 3, Sullivan 1-4 0-0 3, Holmstadt 3-6 0-0 7. Totals 23-59 5-6 55.

Syracuse (25-8) - Burgan 5-12 4-4 17, Wallace 7-11 3-3 18, Hill 7-9 1-1 15, Sims 2-4 0-0 4, Cipolla 5-10 0-0 12, McNabb 1-2 0-0 2, Patrick 1-1 0-0 2, Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Reafsnyder 2-4 0-0 4, Lazor 1-2 0-0 2, Ovcina 1-1 0-0 2, Janulis 2-3 4-4 10, Hayes 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 12-12 88.

Halftime-Syracuse 38, Montana State 34. 3-Point goals- Montana State 4-20 (Holmstadt 1-1, Harry 1-1, Sprinkle 1-3, Sullivan 1-4, Henry 0-1, Elliott 0-1, Fay 0-2, Harrison 0-2, Leachman 0-2, Hatler 0-3), Syracuse 8-13 (Burgan 3-6, Janulis 2-2, Cipolla 2-3, Wallace 1-1, Sims 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Montana State 25 (Lollis 7), Syracuse 36 (Burgan 10). Assists-Montana State 12 (Hatler 5), Syracuse 26 (Sims 9). Total fouls-Montana State 14, Syracuse 11. A-NA.

Purdue 73, Western Carolina 71

The Boilermakers got an offensive rebound layup from Brandon Brantley with 1:29 left for the game-winner.

Western Carolina, making its first trip to the tournament, had two chances to tie or win in the final seconds after Purdue’s Brad Miller missed the front end of a one-and-one with 11.6 seconds left.

Western Carolina point guard Joel Fleming nearly walked at the top of the key, then put up a high-arching 3-pointer that missed. But the rebound came out long and Catamount Joe Stafford grabbed it and fired up a running 15-footer that also missed as the buzzer sounded.

“When it left my hand, I thought it was good,” Fleming said of his shot. “We felt we could play with them from the start. We didn’t come here to keep it close.”

Western Carolina (17-13) - Stafford 3-8 0-0 9, Scholtz 3-5 2-4 8, Wright 1-1 0-0 2 Fleming 2-3 0-0 5, McCollum 8-21 2-5 21, Kullum 3-5 4-6 10, Mayo 1-3 0-0 2, Graham 7-10 0-0 14. Totals 28-56 8-15 71.

Purdue (26-5) - Dove 3-5 0-0 6, Hairston 3-6 2-2 8, Brantley 6-6 5-5 17, Austin 6-15 2-4 18, Roberts 1-3 0-0 2, Eldridge 0-0 0-0 0, Foster 2-4 0-0 6, Jennings 5-9 2-4 12, Miller 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 28-52 11-16 73.

Halftime-Purdue 36, Western Carolina 35. 3-Point goals- Western Carolina 7-18 (Stafford 3-6, McCollum 3-9, Fleming 1-2, Kullum 0-1), Purdue 6-17 (Austin 4-12, Foster 2-4, Roberts 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Western Carolina 30 (Kullum 10), Purdue 30 (Hairston 7). Assists-Western Carolina 14 (Fleming 9), Purdue 19 (Hairston 7). Total fouls-Western Carolina 16, Purdue 14. A-N/A.

Georgia 81, Clemson 74

The Bulldogs won their first NCAA tournament game in 11 years, holding the Tigers scoreless for 3:41 during an 11-0 run in the closing minutes. Georgia’s lineup has five seniors, while Clemson’s has four freshmen and a sophomore.

Carlos Strong had four of Georgia’s points in the decisive run as the Bulldogs led 67-59 with 1:55 to play.

Clemson (18-11) - Jurkunas 7-11 0-0 19, Christie 1-4 1-2 3, Wideman 3-5 2-3 8, McIntyre 4-8 1-1 10, Buckner 9-17 2-2 20, Johnson 2-3 0-0 6, Harder 1-3 0-0 3, Jamison 2-4 1-3 5. Totals 29-55 7-11 74.

Georgia (20-9) - Strong 7-12 4-4 18, Anderson 8-14 2-2 18, Bell 2-3 3-4 7, Davis 5-17 1-2 13, Harrison 2-5 2-2 8, Smith 3-6 3-4 12, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Chadwick 1-2 0-2 3, Nordin 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-60 15-20 81.

Halftime-Georgia 26, Clemson 25. 3-Point goals-Clemson 9-16 (Jurkunas 5-8, Johnson 2-3, McIntyre 1-1, Harder 1-2, Christie 0-1, Buckner 0-1), Georgia 8-26 (Smith 3-5, Davis 2-11, Harrison 2-4, Chadwick 1-2, Strong 0-1, Anderson 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Clemson 30 (Jurkunas, Jamison 7), Georgia 32 (Strong, Bell 7). Assists-Clemson 15 (Buckner 7), Georgia 15 (Davis 6). Total fouls-Clemson 16, Georgia 13. A-14,762.