SAN DIEGO - Weber State jumped on Arizona early and fought back when the top seed in the West Regional tried to run away.
The Wildcats couldn’t finish it off, but it should serve as a nice foundation for the future.
Weber State held Arizona without a field goal for the opening 5 minutes and rallied most of the way back from a 21-point deficit before falling to the Wildcats 69-59 on Friday.
“We came in expecting to win, trying to win,” Weber State coach Randy Rahe said. “The guys did a tremendous job. I thought we could have pulled in the tents and our guys got a little more tough and showed resilience like they have all year.”
The first full day of the NCAA tournament was a wild one filled with upsets, and the bracket-busting trend continued early Friday, when Mercer, a No. 14 seed, knocked off mighty Duke.
Arizona (31-4) appeared to be next in line, falling into an 8-point deficit in the opening 6 minutes.
Arizona closed in around Weber State (19-12), shutting down the Wildcats during two big first-half runs, seemingly putting the fairy tale to bed.
Instead of running away, the Wildcats backed off, allowing Weber State to trim a 21-point lead down to nine in the closing minutes.
Arizona pulled out the victory, but it was merely solid, not great, particularly since the next game - against eighth-seeded Gonzaga on Sunday - is the spot the Wildcats have been picked to go down.
Nick Johnson had 18 points, Aaron Gordon added 16 and Arizona blocked 11 shots while holding Weber State to 30 percent from the field.
“We won and have to get ready for the next game,” said guard Gabe York, who hit two three-pointers to jump-start Arizona out of its first-half funk. “The thrill of winning, moving on to the next round is what we play for.”
Weber State put up a fight in its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2007, clearly not intimidated by Arizona and its cast of future NBA players.
The Wildcats jumped on Arizona early and clawed back when they could have folded, at least making the Wildcats uncomfortable before losing steam.
Davion Berry scored 24 points, Joel Bolomboy had 11 points and 16 rebounds, and Richaud Gittens added 12 points while triggering Weber State’s second-half comeback.
“We had some tears in our locker room, but we fought hard,” Weber State senior guard Jordan Richardson said. “We were right there until the end.”
Arizona had been in this spot before, facing a quick-trigger three-point shooting team in the opening round.
A year ago, Belmont was a popular bracket-buster pick against the Wildcats because of its ability to shoot three-pointers, but Arizona turned the slight into motivation and ran over the Bruins.
“We know we’ll need to play better in the next round,” Arizona Coach Sean Miller said.
GONZAGA 85, OKLAHOMA STATE 77
Kevin Pangos scored 26 points and Gary Bell Jr. added 17 for eighth-seeded Gonzaga, which beat Marcus Smart and the ninth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys.
The Bulldogs (29-6), in their 16th consecutive NCAA tournament, will play top-seeded Arizona on Sunday.
The refs called 61 fouls, and five players fouled out. Pangos made 12 of 14 free throws, most of them in the closing minutes.
Smart had 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals for Oklahoma State (21-13). He is projected to be a high NBA draft pick. He passed up the NBA draft last year. The Cowboys won five of seven games coming in, a run that coincided with Smart’s returning from a three-game suspension for shoving a Texas Tech fan.
BAYLOR 74, NEBRASKA 60
SAN ANTONIO - Cory Jefferson scored 16 points and No. 6 seed Baylor kept 11th-seeded Nebraska winless in its NCAA tournament history with a second-round victory.
The Bears (25-11) kept up a two-month tear and will play No. 3 seed Creighton on Sunday. Baylor has won 11 of 13 after a dismal start in the Big 12, recapturing the kind of momentum that vaulted the Bears to the Elite Eight in 2010 and 2012.
Terran Petteway scored 18 points for Nebraska (19-13), which fell to 0-7 in tournament history.
The Cornhuskers hadn’t played on this stage since 1998 and often looked like it. Frustration boiled over for Big Ten coach of the year Tim Miles, who was ejected with 11 minutes left.
CREIGHTON 76, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 66
Doug McDermott scored 30 points and third-seeded Creighton got three huge three-pointers in the second half from Ethan Wragge to beat No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette.
McDermott had a double-double by halftime but went scoreless for nearly 14 minutes of the second half, leaving it to Wragge’s long shots to bail out the Bluejays from a potential upset by Ragin’ Cajuns, who attacked Creighton (27-7) with fearless defense and rebounding.
Sun Belt tournament champion Louisiana-Lafayette (23-12) led 50-48 before Wragge struck from long range to turn momentum.
The victory means the Creighton family keeps marching on its final days together. McDermott, the nation’s leading scorer, opted against going to the NBA after last season to play one more year with his father, Creighton coach Greg McDermott.
THURSDAY’S LATE GAME SAN DIEGO ST. 73, NEW MEXICO ST. 69, OT
SPOKANE, Wash. - In the fourth and final overtime game on Day 1 of March Madness, San Diego State outlasted New Mexico State for a victory.
New Mexico State’s Kevin Arnois made a three-pointer with 6 seconds left in regulation Thursday night to push the game to overtime.
The four extra periods were the most in a single day in NCAA tournament history.
Xavier Thames scored the first basket of the extra session and the fourth-seeded Aztecs (30-4) never trailed. Thames finished with 23 points for San Diego State, which will play 12th-seeded North Dakota State - an overtime winner itself over Oklahoma earlier in the day.
Seven-foot-5 Sim Bhullar had 14 points and seven boards for the 13th-seeded Aggies (26-10) before fouling out in the OT. Daniel Mullings led the Aggies with 18.
Sports, Pages 22 on 03/22/2014