Stanford’s Backcourt Duo Too Much For Sooners

West/Midwest men

Brevin Knight’s playmaking and Kris Weems’ precision shooting led Stanford to an 80-67 victory over Oklahoma in the last of four opening-round games of the NCAA West Regional played Friday at the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz.

Knight’s penetrating drives and ballhandling skills kept the Sooners off-balance defensively. Weems found his way free through a maze of picks, often taking passes from Knight to hit long shots.

Knight found his own lanes to the basket to score 18 points, 14 in the second half.

That backcourt dominance, plus the work of Tim Young underneath, allowed sixth-seeded Stanford (21-7) to break out of a 33-33 halftime tie.

Eleventh-seeded Oklahoma (19-11) was led by Nate Erdmann with 22 points, 17 in the second half. Lou Moore added 18.

N.C. Charlotte 79, Georgetown 67

Sean Colson had 17 of his 24 points in the second half and handled Georgetown’s press with ease as the 49ers defeated the Hoyas.

The 49ers (22-8), who reached the Final Four in 1977, hadn’t made it past the first round in three subsequent appearances.

Victor Page scored 20 points for the Hoyas (20-10), but hit only 7 of 23 shots.

Wake Forest 68, St. Mary’s 46

Tim Duncan, the Demon Deacons’ All-America center, had 22 points and 22 rebounds, winning his personal battle against 7-foot-3, 345-pound Brad Millard.

The Gaels tied it 34-34 early in the second half before Duncan’s talent and the outside shooting of Tony Rutland helped Wake Forest (24-6) pull away.

Millard, nicknamed “Big Continent,” had 16 points and six rebounds for the Gaels (23-8).

Utah 75, Navy 61

The Utes (27-3) won their 12th straight game as All-America forward Keith Van Horn scored 16 points.

Navy (20-9) had won its last nine games, but carried the baggage of representing the Patriot League, which never has won an NCAA Tournament game in six tries.

Midwest

Clemson 68, Miami of Ohio 56

Greg Buckner scored 22 points as the fourth-seeded Tigers put the brakes to a regular-season-ending skid and defeated the 13th-seeded Redskins in the first of four games at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo.

Clemson (22-9) had lost five of its previous seven games coming into the contest against Miami, which was riding an eight-game winning streak. But the Tigers capitalized when Miami (21-9) made only two field goals in the first half and shot only 35 percent from the field.

Temple 62, Mississippi 40

Mark Jackson scored 24 points and Rasheed Brokenborough added 20, leading the eighth-seeded Owls (20-10) past the ninth-seeded Rebels (20-9), who had the lowest-ever point total in the Midwest Region. The Rebels committed 18 turnovers and were 16 for 44 from the field.

Tulsa 81, Boston U. 52

Shea Seals became Tulsa’s leading career scorer, and the fifth-seeded Golden Hurricane (24-9) cruised past the No. 12 Terriers (25-5), who made their fourth straight first-round exit.

Minnesota 78, SW Texas 46

Charles Thomas led five players in double figures and the top-seeded Golden Gophers (28-3) scored 23 of the game’s first 28 points against the Bobcats (16-13).