Lofton delivers Vols an escape

Chris Lofton’s remarkable shot allowed Tennessee to avoid a major upset and sent the Volunteers into the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time in six years.

The sophomore guard took an inbound pass with 2.9 seconds left and rattled home a fall-away jumper from just inside the 3-point line to help the second-seeded Volunteers beat Winthrop 63-61 Thursday in the first round of the Washington Regional at Greensboro, N.C.

Craig Bradshaw missed a shot right before the buzzer that would have tied it for the Eagles (23-8), who remained winless in six trips to the tournament. They were trying to become the fifth 15th seed to record an upset in the first round, and the first since 2001. Instead the Volunteers (22-7) advance to face seventh-seeded Wichita State.

The frantic finish capped a heart-pounding game that featured nine ties and eight lead changes, the final one coming on Lofton’s shot. His were the only points in the final 2:42 as both teams squandered chances to advance to the second round.

ALSO AT GREENSBORO, N.C. (7) Wichita State (25-8)86

(10) Seton Hall (18-12)66

Score an early victory for the Missouri Valley Conference against its critics.

Sean Ogirri had 23 points and hit six 3-pointers to lead the Shockers past the Pirates of the vaunted Big East, giving the midmajor conference an impressive debut after hearing plenty about its haul of four NCAA tournament bids.

Paul Miller scored 15 points for seventh-seeded Wichita State, who were playing their first NCAA tournament game since an 83-62 first-round loss to DePaul in 1988.

Kelly Whitney scored 18 points to lead the Pirates, who battled through the rugged Big East to reach the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

AT SAN DIEGO (4) Illinois (26-6) 78

(13) Air Force (24-7) 69

The critics were probably half right. At times it looked like Air Force belonged in the NCAA tournament. Other times, the Falcons played like a dubious pick.

Illinois was just too big and too talented, and finally overpowered the Falcons.

Guard Jamar Smith had six 3-pointers among his 20 points for the fourth-seeded Fighting Illini, who were playing in their first NCAA tournament game since losing last year’s championship to North Carolina.

Dee Brown was held to eight points, the third time in the last five games that the star Illinois guard has been held to single digits. But he made up for it with nine assists and a career-high nine rebounds.

Brian Randle scored 15, Warren Carter 12 and James Augustine 10 for the Illini. Antoine Hood had 17 for Air Force, while Jacob Burtschi, Dan Nwaelele and Matt McCraw had 13 each.

ATLANTA REGIONAL

At Greensboro, N.C. (8) Geo. Washington (27-2)88

(9) UNC Wilm. (25-8)85 (OT)

Maureece Rice scored 20 points and had a key defensive play in overtime to help the Colonials rally from an 18-point deficit and beat the Seahawks.

Omar Williams had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Colonials. Carl Elliott added 15 points and hit two free throws with 11.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime, while Danilo Pinnock had all 11 of his points after halftime.

T.J. Carter scored 25 points to lead the Seahawks, who shot 59 percent and hit 11 3-pointers for the game but couldn’t hold onto a four-point lead with 2 minutes left in OT.

(1) Duke (31-3)70

(16) Southern (19-13)54

Duke’s dynamic duo of Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick combined for all but 12 of their team’s points to help the Blue Devils overcome a sluggish start in a victory over the Jaguars.

Williams finished with 29 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks, while Redick matched those 29 points and made five 3-pointers. The rest of the team was 2 for 12 from the field, with Josh McRoberts having those two baskets on his way to eight points.

Still, it was enough to help Duke advance.

Chris Alexander had 19 points for the Jaguars, who gave an inspired effort in trying to become the first No. 16 seed to win in the first round. They led twice in the first half and trailed only 40-37 with 16 1/2 minutes remaining in the game.

At Jacksonville, Fla. (4) LSU (24-8)80

(13) Iona (23-8)64

Glen Davis scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and the Southeastern Conference regular-season champion Tigers overcame a sluggish start to beat the Gaels.

Davis, a 6-foot-9, 310-pound sophomore nicknamed “Big Baby,” took over after missing eight of his first nine shots and being held to five points in the opening half. The SEC player of the year finished 7 of 15 from the field and had 13 rebounds – six of them after halftime.

Steve Burtt and Ricky Soliver, the highest-scoring guard tandem in Division I, did all they could to keep Iona in the game. Burtt had 23 points and Soliver 14 in their final college contests, but were a combined 2 for 14 on 3-point attempts.

(12) Texas A&M (22-8)66

(5) Syracuse (21-12)58

Acie Law scored 23 points, including a dozen in the final 2:25, and helped the Aggies upset the Orange.

It ended an improbable run for the Orange and senior Gerry McNamara. The star guard carried Syracuse through the Big East tournament last weekend and helped the team secure an automatic berth in the NCAA field. Before the conference tournament, the Orange seemed destined to be left out of the NCAAs.

The left-handed Law scored 14 points in the final 8 minutes, almost single-handily delivering Texas A&M into the second round. He finished 7 of 17 from the field and had seven rebounds and five assists.

Texas A&M was in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987.

McNamara was held to two points – tying his career low – and the Texas A&M section was chanting “overrated, overrated” at him on several occasions.

He was 0 for 6 from the field and missed all five shot from behind the 3-point line.

MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL

At Jacksonville, Fla. (11) Wis.-Milwaukee (22-8)82

(6) Oklahoma (20-9)74

Pulling off their third major upset in two years, the Horizon League champion Panthers got 24 points apiece from Joah Tucker and Boo Davis to eliminate the Sooners.

Tucker, one of the stars in Milwaukee’s stunning run to the round of 16 last season, scored nine during a 23-7 surge that carried the Panthers to a 60-46 lead with just more than 7 minutes to go.

Terrell Everett led the Sooners with 21 points, but most came after it was too late.

(3) Florida (28-6)76

(14) South Alabama (24-7)50

Lee Humphrey scored 20 points, including 12 on four 3-pointers in the second half, and the Gators beat the Jaguars in front of a partisan crowd at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Joakim Noah and Al Horford combined for 30 points and 21 rebounds and dominated inside.

South Alabama lost its fifth in a row in the NCAA tournament.At Salt Lake City (4) Boston College (27-7)88

(13) Pacific (24-8)76 (2OT)

The Eagles got the first NCAA thriller out of the way, a double-overtime victory that derailed the scrappy Tigers.

Craig Smith led the Eagles with 25 points and 13 rebounds and Jared Dudley had 23 points.

OAKLAND REGIONAL

At San Diego (10) Alabama (18-12)90

(7) Marquette (20-11)85

Jean Felix was nearly perfect, hitting 8 of 11 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws in scoring a season-high 31 points for the Crimson Tide in a victory over the Golden Eagles.

Marquette’s star forward, Steve Novak, had two chances late, and missed both. He finished with 17 points.

(2) UCLA (28-6)78

(15) Belmont (20-11)44

Freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored a career-high 17 points and UCLA routed the small Nashville school in a matchup of identically nicknamed teams.

Ryan Hollins added 10 points for UCLA, which won its seventh straight after holding Belmont to 21 second-half points. Belmont had averaged 81.8 ppg.