Lobos Punish San Jose State In Wac Opener
New Mexico saved the best for last on the opening day of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
The No. 14 Lobos got 22 points from Lamont Long and 19 from Royce Olney in opening the defense of their WAC tournament title Tuesday night at Las Vegas with a 103-70 rout of San Jose State.
Playing in the last of four opening-round games, New Mexico (23-6) spurted to a 10-2 lead and never looked back against the outmanned Spartans (13-14).
New Mexico shot 66 percent in the first half to take a 52-26 lead. The Lobos could do little wrong, making 7 of 12 3-pointers in the half, including three by Shields.
Butler 69, Illinois-Chicago 68
At Dayton, Ohio, Butler reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 35 years by surviving a last-second scare and winning the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament.
Jon Neuhouser, the conference’s player of the year, hit a bank shot with 35 seconds to play, sending Butler (23-9) to its second tournament berth. The 1961-62 team also made the NCAA Tournament and finished with 22 wins.
South Alabama 44, Louisiana Tech 43
At Little Rock, Ark., the Jaguars (23-6) didn’t score during the final 4:14 but beat the Bulldogs (15-14) to earn the Sun Belt Conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Valparaiso 63, Western Illinois 59
At Moline, Ill, the Crusaders (24-6) clinched their second consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, beating the Leathernecks (19-10) in the Mid-Continent Conference championship game.
Women: (1) UConn 86, (13) Notre Dame 77
At Storrs, Conn., Carla Berube matched a season-high with 21 points as the Huskies jumped ahead early and went on to win their fourth consecutive Big East championship.
Region 18 tournaments
Second-seeded North Idaho College plays No. 7 Salt Lake at 8 tonight in the first round of the Region 18 men’s basketball tournament at NIC’s Christianson Gym in Coeur d’Alene.
The Cardinals (24-4) shared the Scenic West Athletic Conference regular-season championship with Eastern Utah. The Scenic West comprises all of Region 18.
The women’s tournament opens Thursday, also at Christianson Gym. NIC is seeded third and plays No.6 Dixie at 8 p.m.
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