Vols pull away in overtime

DAYTON, Ohio – With Jarnell Stokes using all of his 280 pounds to get an advantage inside, Tennessee pulled off the first last-minute comeback of the NCAA tournament.

Stokes dominated inside as the Volunteers finally caught up in the closing minutes of regulation, then opened overtime with a three-point play that set up a 78-65 victory over Iowa on Wednesday night, finishing off the First Four.

The Volunteers (22-12) head to Raleigh, N.C., where they’ll play sixth-seeded Massachusetts on Friday in the Midwest Regional.

Stokes’ three-point play was the key moment in his 18-point, 13-rebound performance, putting the Volunteers ahead to stay. Tennessee’s highly regarded defense took it from there, holding Iowa (21-13) to one free throw. The Hawkeyes missed all eight of their shots from the field in overtime.

It was a tough ending to a long and stressful day for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. He started the day in Iowa with his teenage son, Patrick, who had surgery to remove a thyroid tumor. His assistant coaches led the Hawkeyes through a meeting and their final practice, and McCaffery was back by game time.

McRae led the Volunteers with 20 points and Josh Richardson added 17.

Cal Poly 81, Texas Southern 69: Chris Eversley scored 19 points and the Mustangs avoided its 20th loss of the season and won its first NCAA tournament game with a victory over the Tigers.

Cal Poly (14-19) was 0-3 and 4-9 early before losing 9 of 11 heading into the Big West Conference tournament – which they won to earn the program’s first NCAA bid.

The team with the worst record in the tournament now moves on to face the one with the best – top-seeded Wichita State (34-0) – in the second round in St. Louis on Friday.

Aaric Murray closed out his career with 38 points for Texas Southern (19-15).