College basketball: NDSU stuns Oklahoma in NCAA tourney

SPOKANE, Wash. - North Dakota State needed overtime and an unexpected hero to earn its first-ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament victory, knocking out fifth-seeded Oklahoma 80-75 Thursday in a second-round West Regional game.
North Dakota State guard Carlin Dupree entered the game for the first time midway through OT and calmly delivered two clutch free throws - never mind his 58.3 free-throw percentage this season - to put the Bison up 74-72. After an Oklahoma turnover, Dupree gave the Bison a four-point lead with a double-clutch layup over two defenders that skimmed over the side of the rim.
Bison guard Lawrence Alexander led North Dakota State with a
career-high 28 points. North Dakota State made 20 of 22 free throws.
Twelfth-seeded North Dakota State (26-6) advances to face either fourth-seeded San Diego State or 13th-seeded New Mexico State on Saturday.
Every time it appeared Oklahoma was on the ropes, senior forward Cameron Clark pulled the Sooners back up, tying the game at 70 with a 3-pointer two minutes into overtime and knotting the game again with 1:18 remaining in OT with two free throws following Bison guard Taylor Braun’s fifth foul. Clark paced Oklahoma with 25 points and Isaiah Cousins added 17 points.
Midwest region
Michigan 57, Wofford 40
Guard Nik Stauskas scored 15 points to lead No. 2-seeded Michigan over No. 15 seed Wofford in Milwaukee.
Forward Glenn Robinson III added 14 points and forward Jordan Morgan had 10 for the Wolverines.
Guard Karl Cochran scored 17 points for Wofford.
Saint Louis 83,
North Carolina State 80 (OT)
Rob Loe scored six of his 22 points in overtime and grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds as the Billikens overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to stun the Wolfpack in Orlando.
Jordair Jett added 18 points for fifth-seeded Saint Louis (27-6).
T.J. Warren scored 28 points for 12th-seeded North Carolina State (22-14).
South Region
Dayton 60, Ohio State 59
Senior guard Vee Sanford’s layup with 3.8 seconds remaining lifted the No. 11 Flyers over the No. 6 Buckeyes in Buffalo, N.Y.
Dayton (24-10) emerges from the Battle of Ohio second round victory to face No. 3 seed Syracuse in the third round Saturday in Buffalo.
Dyshawn Pierre led a balanced Flyers attack with 12 points and added eight rebounds, while Sam Thompson paced Ohio State (25-10) with 18 points and Aaron Craft added 16.
Syracuse 77,
Western Michigan 53
Guard Trevor Cooney scored 18 points and made 4 of 8 shots from 3-point range as third-seeded Syracuse pummeled 14th-seeded Western Michigan in Buffalo, N.Y.
The Orange (28-5) advance to a third-round game on Saturday against 11th-seeded Dayton, which upset sixth-seeded Ohio State 60-59 in the thrilling opening game.
Forward C.J. Fair had a double-double for Syracuse with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore center Jerami Grant scored 16 points and freshman point guard Tyler Ennis added 16 points and six assists.
Western Michigan (23-10) was led by forward Tucker Haymond’s 11 points. Senior guard David Brown, the Broncos’ leading scorer, managed nine points - 10 below his scoring average.
Syracuse outrebounded Western Michigan 39-25.
Pittsburgh 77, Colorado 48
Talib Zanna scored 18 points and Cameron Wright added 11 as Pittsburgh coasted over Colorado in Orlando, Fla.
The ninth-seeded Panthers (26-9) got 11 points from Cameron Wright and 10 from Lamar Patterson to advance to Saturday’s third round.
James Robinson added eight assists and six rebounds for the Panthers, who led, 46-18, at halftime and never allowed the lead to get under 28 the second half.
Josh Scott led No. 8-seed Colorado (23-12) with 14 points and six rebounds, while Xavier Johnson had 11 points.
Florida 67, Albany 55
Casey Prather and Dorian Finney-Smith each tallied 16 points as the Gators pulled away from the pesky Great Danes in the second half in Orlando, Fla.
Patric Young posted 10 points and 10 rebounds for top-seeded Florida (33-2), which will put its 27-game winning streak on the line Saturday when it meets No. 9 seed Pittsburgh in the third round of the South Region. Kasey Hill and Scottie Wilbekin finished with 10 points apiece as the Gators’ bench outscored the Great Danes’ reserves 26-2.
DJ Evans overcame a pair of inadvertent blows to the head in the second half to finish with 21 points and seven rebounds for Albany (19-15), which saw its season-high four-game winning streak snapped. Gary Johnson had 13 points while John Puk added 10.
East REGION
Connecticut 89,
Saint Joseph’s 81 (OT)
Shabazz Napier had 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists and theHuskies survived an upset bid by the Hawks in Buffalo, N.Y.
DeAndre Daniels added 18 points for No. 7 seed Connecticut (27-8). Ryan Boatright made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points to help the Huskies post their first NCAA tournament victory since winning the national title in 2011.
Langston Galloway led No. 10 seed Saint Joseph’s (24-10) with 25 points, including four 3-pointers, while DeAndre Bembry added 16 points. Ronald Roberts, Jr. collected 15 points and 10 rebounds and Chris Wilson chipped in 13 points for the Hawks.
Harvard 61, Cincinnati 57
Junior swingman Wesley Saunders led a balanced Harvard offense with 12 points in the Crimson’s upset of 13th-ranked Cincinnati in Spokane, Wash.
The Crimson (27-4), seeded 12th in the East Regional, led most of the way against the fifth-seeded Bearcats (27-7) in a tight defensive struggle between two of the national leaders in points allowed.
Harvard sophomore guard Siyani Chambers finished with 11 points and backcourt partner Laurent Rivard also scored 11 points.
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati’s standout senior guard, led the Bearcats with 18 points. Forward Justin Jackson added 13 points, 11 rebounds and four steals.
Michigan State 93,
Delaware 78
Senior forward Adreian Payne poured in a career-high 41 points to lead fourth-seeded Michigan State over 13th-seeded Delaware in Spokane, Wash.
Payne sank 10 of 15 shots from the field, including four of five from 3-point range, and went 17-for-17 at the free-throw line. He received a standing ovation from the Spokane Arena crowd of 10,862 when coach Tom Izzo removed him from the game in the final minute.
A second-team All-Big Ten Conference player, Payne came into the game averaging 15.8 points. He set his previous career high of 33 points Dec. 21 in a 92-78 win at Texas.
The Spartans (27-8) face 12th-seeded Harvard (27-4) on Saturday. Michigan State is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th consecutive year and the 28th time overall. Delaware, making its first NCAA appearance since 1999, fell to 0-5 all-time in the tourney.
Senior guard Devon Saddler, Delaware’s all-time leading scorer, paced the Blue Hens (25-10) with 21 points. Backcourt partners Davon Usher (20) and Jarvis Threatt (14) also scored in double figures for Delaware.
Michigan State guard Travis Trice came off bench to hit seven of eight shots and score 19 points.
West region
Oregon 87, Brigham Young 68
Elgin Cook scored a season-high 23 points and the Ducks ran away from the Cougars in the final 12 minutes of the game in Milwaukee.
Seventh-seeded Oregon (24-9), which will try to reach its second straight Sweet 16 when it meets No. 2 seed Wisconsin in a third-round matchup on Saturday. Joseph Young scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half and Jason Calliste added another 14 points off the bench for the Ducks.
Tyler Haws, who finished sixth in scoring in Division I at 23.4 points during the regular season, led the way with 19 points for No. 10 seed Brigham Young. Matt Carlino and Eric Mika contributed 15 points apiece for the Cougars, who shot 32.8 percent to avoid their worst shooting percentage of the season (31).