NCAA tournament off to a flying start

Dayton players celebrate (above) on the floor after a 60-59 victory over Ohio State on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region in Buffalo, N.Y. The Flyers survived a last-second shot by the Buckeyes for the victory. Dayton advances to meet Syracuse on Saturday.
Dayton players celebrate (above) on the floor after a 60-59 victory over Ohio State on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament’s South Region in Buffalo, N.Y. The Flyers survived a last-second shot by the Buckeyes for the victory. Dayton advances to meet Syracuse on Saturday.

SOUTH REGION DAYTON 60, OHIO STATE 59 Vee Sanford scored on a layup with 3.8 seconds left to lift 11th-seeded Dayton to a 60-59 victory over sixth-seeded Ohio State in the second round Thursday in Buffalo, N.Y. The Buckeyes (25-10) had one last chance to pull out the victory, but Aaron Craft’s driving 10-footer hit off the backboard and rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded. 4C

SOUTH REGION 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 on Thursday in Orlando, Fla. Coach Billy Donovan’s team sleepwalked through the first half, swapping the lead back and forth with the Great Danes, but Florida’s bench provided a much-needed spark. 4C

EAST REGION HARVARD 61, CINCINNATI 57 Siyani Chambers scored 11 points, including five consecutive in the final two minutes, and 12th-seeded Harvard won its second NCAA Tournament game in history, upsetting Cincinnati on Thursday in Spokane, Wash. The Crimson became the first Ivy League school with NCAA Tournament victories in consecutive years since Princeton in 1983-84. 4C

WEST REGION NORTH DAKOTA STATE 80, OKLAHOMA 75, OT Lawrence Alexander hit a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to force overtime and freshman Carlin Dupree scored four points in the final 75 seconds as No. 12 seed North Dakota State knocked off Oklahoma on Thursday night in Spokane, Wash. 4C

Thursday’s results

EAST REGIONAL UConn 89, Saint Joseph’s 81, OT Villanova 73, Milwaukee 53 Harvard 61, Cincinnati 57 Michigan State 93, Delaware 78

SOUTH REGIONAL Dayton 60, Ohio State 59 Syracuse 77, Western Michigan 53 Pittsburgh 77, Colorado 48 Florida 67, Albany (N.Y.) 55

MIDWEST REGIONAL Saint Louis 83, N.C. State 80, OT Louisville 71, Manhattan 64 Michigan 57, Wofford 40 Texas 87, Arizona State 85

WEST REGIONAL Wisconsin 75, American 35 Oregon 87, BYU 68 North Dakota State 80, Oklahoma 75, OT San Diego State 73, New Mexico 69, OT

Sports, Pages 19 on 03/21/2014

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