BUFFALO, N.Y. - Dayton is reconfiguring the college basketball map in Ohio.
INTERACTIVE
It no longer runs through Columbus after Vee Sanford’s layup with 3.8 seconds left secured 11th-seeded Dayton’s 60-59 victory over sixth-seeded Ohio State in the second round of the of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
“I guess they called us the little brother, or whatever,” Flyers guard Jordan Sibert said. “We can’t be called that anymore.”
Sibert has seen it from both sides after transferring to Dayton following two seasons at Ohio State.
“To be able to go out there and play with this group of guys, to be able to come up with this win, it’s unbelievable,” Sibert said.
Leave it to another transfer, Sanford, to secure the victory in a back-and-forth game that featured 15 lead changes between two schools separated by some 75 miles.
After Ohio State’s Aaron Craft hit a reverse layup with 15.5 seconds remaining, the Flyers set up a play during a timeout with 10.8 seconds left. Dayton inbounded the ball and worked it to Sanford on the right wing. Driving the lane without hesitation, he got a step on Craft and laid in a shot from about 4 feet away.
“No, I wasn’t nervous,” said Sanford, who transferred to Dayton from Georgetown. “We’ve drawn up a play like that and I messed it up previously. But [Coach Archie Miller] just kept his trust in me, and I’m just thankful that the shot went in.”
Sanford finished with 10 points, while Dyshawn Pierre led Dayton with 12 points. For Miller, in his third year, the victory came against his former mentor, Thad Matta.
The Flyers (24-10), of the Atlantic-10 Conference, who have won 11 of 13, advance to play Syracuse, the South Region’s third seed Saturday. The Orange routed Western Michigan 77-53 in their second-round game.
It’s one and done for the Big Ten Conference Buckeyes(25-10), who were eliminated in the first game for only the third time in 26th tournament appearances. This season, Ohio State got off to a 15-0 start and then stumbled down the stretch, splitting its final 20 games.
The loss marked the end for three seniors, including Craft, who were part of a team that had advanced past the third round in each of the previous three years.
SYRACUSE 77, WESTERN MICHIGAN 53
Syracuse’s back court of Trevor Cooney and Tyler Ennis combined for 34 points and the Orange defense clamped down in a victory over Western Michigan.
Syracuse (28-5), the third seed in the South Regional, will play 11th-seeded Dayton (24-10) on Saturday. Dayton beat Ohio State 60-59 on Thursday.
Western Michigan (23-10), the Mid-American Conference champion, had won 14 of 16 games and was in the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade.
The Orange forced 11 turnovers in the opening half and scored 13 points off them in running out to a double-digit lead before the midpoint of the period.
Cooney led the Orange with 18 points, hitting 4 of 8 from beyond the three point line, and Ennis had 16 points and 6 assists with 1 turnover.
The Orange used an 18-4 run over 10 minutes to take control and led 40-21 at halftime.
Shayne Whittington and Tucker Haymond led Western Michigan with 11 points apiece.
PITTSBURGH 77, COLORADO 48
ORLANDO, Fla. - Talib Zanna scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening half, helping Pittsburgh build a 28-point lead on the way to a rout of Colorado.
The Panthers (26-9), seeded ninth in the South Region, shot 51 percent and played stifling defense in advancing to a third-round matchup Saturday against No. 1 seed Florida.
Colorado (23-12) was eager to make amends for an early exit from the tournament a year ago, but had no answers for the 6-9 Zanna. The Pitt center made 6 of 7 shots in the first half, and the Panthers didn’t have any difficulty finishing off the overwhelmed Buffaloes.
Josh Scott led the eighth-seeded Buffaloes with 14 points, but Colorado couldn’t overcome a subpar performance from Askia Booker.
FLORIDA 67, ALBANY 55
Dorian Finney-Smith scored 16 points, most of them on dunks, and top-seeded Florida used a second-half surge to beat No. 16 seed Albany.
The Gators (33-2) showed some vulnerability, though, while extending their school-record winning streak to 27 games.
Coach Billy Donovan’s team sleepwalked through the first half, swapping the lead back and forth with the pesky Great Danes, but Florida’s bench provided a much-needed spark.
Finney-Smith, the SEC’s sixth man of the year, was 6 of 10 shooting. Freshman guard Kasey Hill, who wasn’t sure he would be able to play because of turf toe, chipped in 10 points.
Patric Young finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Casey Prather (16 points) and Scottie Wilbekin (10) also reached double figures for Florida, which will play ninth-seeded Pittsburgh in the South Region on Saturday.
Sports, Pages 22 on 03/21/2014