Thames does it all as Aztecs move on

SPOKANE, Wash. - Xavier Thames sent San Diego State home.

As in, back to the sunshine of California and a spot in the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history

Whether he was making three-pointers, finessing floaters in the lane or leading the Aztecs’ suffocating defense, Thames would not let North Dakota State become this year’s version of Florida Gulf Coast.

Thames scored 30 points as fourth-seeded San Diego State ended the run of No. 12 seed North Dakota State 63-44 on Saturday.

The Aztecs (31-4) now get to make the short drive up the interstate to Anaheim where they will face No. 1 seed Arizona or eighth-seeded Gonzaga in the West Regional semifinals on Thursday.

Getting to Anaheim became the unspoken goal the second the brackets were released last Sunday.

“It was a two-game tournament, and we wanted to get two wins,” Thames said. “That’s what we did.”

Thames, who was 9 of 19 from the field, had 5 assists and ended the comeback hopes of the Bison with a six point spurt late in the second half that pushed the Aztecs’ lead to 12.

He finished one shy of his career high in points.

Dwayne Polee II added 15 points for San Diego State, but the Aztecs didn’t need a ton of scoring with Thames carrying the load and another defensive performance that suffocated the best shooting team in the country.

The only other time San Diego State reached the round of 16 came in 2011 when it lost to Connecticut.

“It was huge doing what we did in the regular season, to earn that four seed and now have the opportunity to play where we don’t have to worry about airplanes,” San Diego State Coach Steve Fisher said.

Kory Brown led the Bison (26-7) with 13 points, but it was the struggles of leading scorer Taylor Braun that had North Dakota State trying to play catch up. Braun missed nine consecutive shots during one stretch. Sometimes he was guarded by Thames. Other times it was J.J. O’Brien taking a turn on the Summit League Player of the Year.

The teary-eyed Bison weren’t ready to see this run come to an end.

“It’s only the greatest professional week of my life,” Bison Coach Saul Phillips said. “I got to watch a group of guys that deserved it, who wanted it so bad and made it a priority in their life and did everything I asked them to do.”

Braun finished 2-of-14 shooting with 7 points. North Dakota State shot 50.9 percent for the season to lead the country but made only 31.9 percent against the Aztecs. Braun finished the first half 1 of 10, and equally quiet was Lawrence Alexander. The guard who hit all the big shots against Oklahoma finished with three points after scoring 28 against the Sooners.

The 44 points were a season-low for the Bison, with the previous low being 56 in a victory over Western Illinois.

“I think it was a typical defensive game,” San Diego State’s Josh Davis said.

WISCONSIN 85, OREGON 77

MILWAUKEE - Ben Brust hit a three-pointer with 1:07 left and second-seeded Wisconsin overcame seventh-seeded Oregon for a thrilling victory to get into the Sweet 16.

Brust’s clutch three-pointer from the corner gave the Badgers (28-7) the lead for good in a heavyweight fight of an NCAA tournament game.

Traevon Jackson followed with three free throws, but missed one with 21 seconds left to give the Ducks (24-10) one more chance to tie trailing by three.

Oregon gave it to Joseph Young, who had made big shots all night and scored 29 points. But he missed a rushed three-pointer from the wing, and the Badgers sealed it at the foul line.