Tourney Central 3/8/2008 (Day 5)Bullet Points
Brackets Atlantic Sun
Jacksonville took a 16-3 lead and never looked back against the No. 6 Runnin' Bulldogs, ending a season that began with a historic upset at Kentucky. Belmont had to come from behind with a 16-2 run to finish off ETSU.
[2] Jacksonville 89, [6] Gardner-Webb 80 | GameFlo Ohio Valley
Drake Reed's free throw with 2.2 seconds left to overcome OVC POY Lester Hudson and his 22 second-half points. Bruce Price scored 20 points to lead the Tigers to their first league title game since 1998.
[1] Austin Peay 78, [4] Tennessee-Martin 77 | GameFlo Horizon League
Jarryd Loyd nailed four freebies in the last 12 seconds to lead Valpo to their second win over Wright State in under a week, and the Crusaders would be only the second team in league history to win the league in its first try if they survive two more rounds. Josh Mayo of UIC scored 12 points in the second half and outrebounded Loyola 36-20, as the Flames burned their crosstown rivals for the third and final time this season.
[6] Valparaiso 72, [3] Wright State 67 | GameFlo Missouri Valley
Drake rolled over sleepy Indiana State, as MVC POY Adam Emmenecker double-doubled with 13 and 10. Creighton's Cavel Witter, the star of that 111-110 BU-CU thriller last week, scored the last six for the Bluejays to eliminate the Braves. Four Redbirds scored in double figures in Illinois State's win, and Eric Coleman's 22-and-10 dub-dub sank the Saluki season.
[1] Drake 68, [8] Indiana State 46 | GameFlo America East
Ricky Lucas was the star for Stony Brook with 18 points in an overtime winner in the first round of the A-East action.
[8] Stony Brook 73, [9] Maine 65 (OT) | GameFlo Colonial
A 3-pointer by W&M's David Schneider with 1.5 seconds left averted a Georgia State upset. A combined 42 points from Towson's Josh Thornton and Tony Durant helped Towson to a 9-over-8 win. Delaware and Northeastern advanced with easy wins.
[9] Towson 81, [8] Hofstra 66 | GameFlo Metro Atlantic
Devon Austin of Manhattan scored 26 points to help the Jaspers pass their first-round test; Frank Turner (12 points, 6 assists) was the star for last-place Canisius in the late game.
[8] Manhattan 73, [9] Saint Peter`s 59 | GameFlo Southern
All three higher seeds rolled in the SoCon's first round.
[8] Wofford 58, [9] Western Carolina 49 | GameFlo West Coast
Dior Lowhorn of [name redacted] was the WCC's leading scorer this season, and he scored 26 in the team's first-round win. Pepperdone needed five extra minutes to put away Portland.
[5] (name redacted) 79, [8] Loyola Marymount 60 | GameFlo On Tap Tonight Big South
Winthrop and UNCA will meet for the second time in a week, after their battle for the regular-season title last Saturday. That 13-point win for the Bulldogs is the reason this game is where it is. The No. 2 seed hasn't won this tournament since 2001, but Winthrop has won eight of these in the past decade.
11:30 am ET - [2] Winthrop 21-11 (10-4) at [1] North Carolina-Asheville 23-8 (10-4) | Preview Ohio Valley This matchup isn't as cut and dry as you'd think: APSU just nipped TSU at the buzzer in their first meeting, and the Tigers used a second-half burst to drop the Govs last month. The venue for this game is also less than a mile from the Tennessee State campus.
5:00 pm ET - [1] Austin Peay 23-10 (16-4) vs. [6] Tennessee State 15-16 (10-10) | Preview Atlantic Sun Belmont swept the two meetings with Jacksonville this year, but hasn't looked on their form in the two tourney wins.
7:00 pm ET - [2] Jacksonville 18-12 (12-4) vs. [1] Belmont 24-8 (14-2) | Preview Horizon League The semifinal round plays out today with two well-rested top seeds in their white uniforms, and the final will be held at the top remaining seed.
4:30 pm ET - [6] Valparaiso 21-12 (9-9) at [2] Cleveland State 20-11 (12-6) | Preview Missouri Valley No. 6 UNI was one of the teams that contributed to Illinois State's short mid-season tailspin; Drake will try to do the previously implausible, beat Creighton three times in a season.
2:35 pm ET - [4] Creighton 21-9 (10-8) vs. [1] Drake 26-4 (15-3) | Preview America East The quarterfinals get under way in Binghamton, with UMBC the only team with an RPI better than 170. Should the Retrievers fall today or tomorrow, the league champion will likely be headed to the Dayton play-in game.
12:00 pm ET - [8] Stony Brook 7-22 (3-13) vs. [1] Maryland-Baltimore County 21-8 (13-3) | Preview Colonial While the records would indicate that this round would end up chalky, the league has featured much less of a division between rich and poor this year. Expect at least one surprise out of these quarterfinals.
12:00 pm ET - [1] Virginia Commonwealth 23-6 (15-3) vs. [9] Towson 13-17 (7-11) | Preview Metro Atlantic Fairfield is a dangerous No. 5, winning seven of its final eight regular season games. But whatever happens today, tomorrow's semifinals will likely be the most thrilling day of the one-bid portion of Championship Week.
2:15 pm ET - [5] Fairfield 14-15 (11-7) at [4] Loyola (Md.) 18-13 (12-6) | Preview Southern Charleston, S.C. is the site of today's quarters, as Davidson begins its push to the autobid with questionable margin for error.
2:00 pm ET - [8] Wofford 16-15 (8-12) vs. [1] Davidson 23-6 (20-0) | Preview West Coast Two more games on tap in the WCC, as the top two seeds await the winners.
9:00 pm ET - [4] Santa Clara 14-15 (6-8) at [5] San Francisco 10-20 (5-9) | Preview Big Sky
It's a six-team tournament in a nine-team league, so Northern Colorado, Sacramento State and Eastern Washington didn't make the party. The bottom four survivors fight it out tonight in Utah and Idaho, the winners moving on to Portland State, which will host the next rounds by virtue of its regular-season title.
9:00 pm ET - [6] Montana State 15-14 (7-9) at [3] Weber State 15-13 (10-6) | Preview Summit League
The Badlands Conference also holds an exclusive bash; North Dakota State and South Dakota State didn't show up due to their D-I transitional status. Two of the quarterfinal matches occur tonight; the other two go tomorrow.
7:00 pm ET - [8] Centenary 10-20 (4-14) vs. [1] Oral Roberts 21-8 (16-2) | Preview |
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