Gaels Are Tournament Bound
Men’s college basketball
Brad Millard scored a career-high 22 points and tiny St. Mary’s held off San Francisco 66-59 Monday night at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles to win the West Coast Conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
The Gaels (23-7) extended their winning streak to a school-record-tying nine games and won the conference tournament in their second time playing in the title game.
St. Mary’s, a 4,000-student school located near the Bay Area, advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history. The Gaels’ last trip in 1989 ended with a first-round loss to Clemson.
Millard, a 7-foot-3, 345-pound sophomore who towered over everyone in the paint, was named tournament MVP.
Fairfield 75, Canisius 72
The Stags (11-18) became just the 12th team to earn an NCAA Tournament berth with a losing record, beating the Golden Griffins in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game in Buffalo, N.Y., despite coming in as the last seed.
Illinois St. 75, SW Missouri 72
At St. Louis, Rico Hill had 31 points as the Redbirds (25-5) became the first Missouri Valley Conference school to win the regular season and conference tournament in six years.
Old Dominion 62, J. Madison 58 (OT)
At Richmond, Va., Odell Hodge scored on a layup with 21 seconds left in overtime and the Monarchs (22-10) beat the Dukes (16-13) in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game.
xxxx AUTOMATIC BIDS Charleston Southern, Big South College of Charleston, Trans America Athletic Fairfield, Metro Atlantic Athletic Illinois St., Missouri Valley Minnesota, Big Ten Murray State, Ohio Valley Old Dominion, Colonial Athletic Princeton, Ivy League St. Mary’s, Cal., West Coast Tennessee-Chattanooga, Southern Conference UCLA, Pacific-10