Broncos earn NCAA bid in wild title game
Reggie Larry scored 31 points and Boise State ended a l4-year NCAA drought, outlasting New Mexico State 107-102 for the WAC tournament title in a triple-overtime thriller Saturday night at Las Cruces, N.M.
Former Eastern Washington University player Matt Nelson added 26 points and Tyler Tiedeman had 17 to help the Broncos (25-8) return to the NCAAs for the first time since 1994, when they won the Big Sky tourney but lost to Louisville in the first round.
It was a real marathon, tied at 71 at the end of regulation, at 80 after the first overtime and at 92 after two OTs.
But Boise State finally built up enough cushion, with Larry scoring twice in a 6-0 burst to start the final overtime.
Anthony Thomas provided the insurance, slashing for a layup and foul that he turned into a three-point play and 102-97 lead with 42.6 seconds to go. Seconds later, he forced NMSU’s Jonathan Gibson into a backcourt violation.
Freshman Herb Pope led the Aggies (21-14) with 20 points.
The Broncos survived in a hostile environment driven by noisy and passionate New Mexico State fans, then cut down the nets in a largely vacant arena.
Larry added 16 rebounds and was named tournament MVP.
Temple 69, Saint Joseph’s 64: At Atlantic City, N.J., Dionte Christmas scored 22 points and the Owls (21-12) got the victory over the Hawks (21-12) in the championship of the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
Kent State 74, Akron 55: At Cleveland, Haminn Quaintance scored 16 points and the Golden Flashes (28-6) got the victory over the Zips (23-10) in the Mid-American tournament championship.
CS Fullerton 81, UC Irvine 66: At Anaheim, Calif., former Washington State player Josh Akignon scored 23 points to lead the Titans (24-8) to victory over the Anteaters (18-16) in the Big West tournament championship and their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1978.
UMBC 82, Hartford 65: At Catonsville, Md., Darryl Proctor scored 23 points to help Maryland-Baltimore County earn its first trip to the NCAA tournament as the Retrievers (24-8) beat the Hawks (17-16) in the America East championship game.
Coppin State 62, Morgan State 60: At Raleigh, N.C., Tywain McKee’s driving layup with 2 seconds left helped the Eagles (16-20) upset the top-seeded Bears (22-10) in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship.
Mississippi Valley State 59, Jackson State 58: At Birmingham, Ala., Carl Lucas made two free throws with 0.4 seconds left and the Delta Devils (19-15) defeated the Tigers (13-20) to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.