NCAA roundup: Dayton rallies for win over Boise State on home court

DAYTON, Ohio – Kendall Pollard scored 17 points, and Dayton used every bit of its home-court advantage on Wednesday night, rallying for a 56-55 win over Boise State in the final first-round game of the NCAA tournament.

The Flyers (26-8) will play sixth-seeded Providence on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

It was the first time since 1987 that a school has played an NCAA tournament game on its home court, an anomaly resulting from Dayton hosting the opening games. The Flyers went 16-0 at home during the regular season and have won 22 straight at UD Arena, the seventh longest active streak in Division I.

The Flyers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and by seven with 3:43 to go. With the crowd of 12,592, Dayton closed with a 10-2 run.

Derrick Marks’ leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer was far off the mark for the Broncos (25-9). Marks had 23 points on 10-of-21 shooting.

The Broncos had already snapped San Diego State’s 29-game home-court streak this season, and came up just short of another big road win. The Broncos missed seven of their last eight shots.

Jordan Sibert’s two free throws tied it at 53-53 with 1:02 left, and his long 3-pointer gave the Flyers a 56-55 lead with 34 seconds to go.

After Montigo Alford missed a driving bank shot, and Pollard got the rebound, was fouled and missed both free throws with 14 seconds left, giving the Broncos a final shot. Marks leaned into Kyle Davis on the final attempt, which missed everything.

Marks, the Mountain West Player of the Year, was coming off one of his worst shooting games during a 71-66 overtime loss to Wyoming in the conference tournament. He kept the Broncos ahead most of the way.

Robert Morris 81, North Florida 77: Lucky Jones scored 21 points, including a key free throw, Rodney Pryor added 20 points and Marcquise Reed scored 19 to lead the Colonials (20-14) back from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Ospreys (23-12) in the first first-round game of the day.

The Colonials, who won the Northeast Conference tournament to get into the field as a 16 seed, now meet top-seeded Duke in the second round on Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina.

As the final seconds ticked off, jubilant fans chanted, “We want Duke! We want Duke!”

Elijah Minnie added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonials, who scored 21 points off North Florida’s 19 turnovers.

Beau Beech finished with 28 points for the Ospreys, champs of the Atlantic Sun tourney.