NO. 14 DUKE 79, CLEMSON 72
NEW YORK -- Luke Kennard made two clutch jumpers in the final 2:04 to help No. 14 Duke thwart a rally by Clemson and advance to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament with a 79-72 victory Wednesday.
The fifth-seeded Blue Devils (24-8) play fourth-seeded and No. 8 Louisville today at Barclays Center.
Kennard took a while to find his shot but finished with 20 points. Freshmen Jayson Tatum and Frank Jackson each scored 20 and picked up the slack while Kennard was cold.
Jaron Blossomgame led Clemson (17-15) with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Duke built a 13-point lead midway through the second half but could not put away Clemson. Marcquise Reed converted a three-point play with 2:51 left in the game to cut Duke's lead to 69-68 and get the small contingent of Tigers fans in Barclays, plus any Duke haters in the crowd, pumped up.
In another game involving ACC men's teams Wednesday, Kamari Murphy had 16 points and 10 rebounds in his return home to Brooklyn, and Miami held off Syracuse 62-57 in the second round of the conference tournament. The ninth-seeded Hurricanes (21-10) advanced to play top-seeded and sixth-ranked North Carolina in the first quarterfinal this afternoon, seemingly solidifying their spot in the NCAA Tournament. No. 8 seed Syracuse (18-14) fell to 0-3 in the ACC Tournament and 2-11 this season away from home, a mark that might not go over very well with the committee that sets the 68-team field for the NCAAs.
BIG TEN
PENN STATE 76, NEBRASKA 67, OT
WASHINGTON -- With his cousin rapper Flavor Flav cheering loudly from the third row, Shep Garner scored seven of Penn State's 16 points in overtime, leading the Nittany Lions to a victory over Nebraska in the opening game of the first Big Ten Tournament to be held in the nation's capital.
Penn State (15-17) never trailed and ended a five-game losing streak.
The 13th-seeded Nittany Lions advanced to face Michigan State in the second round.
Garner finished with 16 points, and freshman Mike Watkins had 18 points, 11 rebounds and a Big Ten Tournament-record eight blocked shots.
Evan Taylor led 12th-seeded Nebraska (12-19) with 15 points. But the Cornhuskers' top scorer, senior guard Tai Webster, shot 4 for 16 and fouled out in OT with 12 points, only two after halftime.
In another game involving Big Ten men's teams Wednesday, Nigel Johnson scored 21 points and made all eight free throws to lead Rutgers to a 66-57 victory over Ohio State in the first round of the conference tournament. Rutgers (15-17) now has won back-to-back games after a six-game skid. Jae'Sean Tate scored 18 points for 11th-seed Ohio State (17-15).
BIG EAST
ST. JOHN'S 74, GEORGETOWN 73
NEW YORK -- Shamorie Ponds scored 17 points and St. John's snapped a six-year losing streak in the Big East Tournament with a victory over Georgetown in the opening round.
The Red Storm (14-18) led for most of the second half but they didn't have the victory in hand until Georgetown's L.J. Peak and Marcus Derrickson both missed shots in close and the buzzer sounded.
St. John's will face top-seeded and second-ranked Villanova in today's quarterfinals.
Peak led the Hoyas (14-18) with 24 points, 22 in the second half. Rodney Pryor added 17 points.
In another game in the Big East Tournament on Wednesday, Trevon Bluiett scored all 17 of his points in the second half and Xavier kept its hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid alive with a 75-64 victory over DePaul. JP Macura had 13 points and six assists and Quentin Goodin added 13 points for Xavier (20-12). Billy Garrett Jr. had 16 points to lead No. 10 seeded DePaul (9-23).
BIG 12
TCU 82, OKLAHOMA 63
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Vladimir Brodziansky had 20 points, Kenrich Williams added 19 and eighth-seeded TCU rolled to a victory over No. 9 seed Oklahoma in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament.
Alex Robinson added 17 points and Jaylen Fisher had 11 for the Horned Frogs (18-14), who used a 15-2 run to close the first half and assume control, then punched the Sooners (11-20) again with a big run in the second half to put the game away.
The Horned Frogs will play top-ranked Kansas in the quarterfinals today.
Khadeem Lattin had 18 points and Kristian Doolittle scored 11 for the rebuilding Sooners, who had won their opening game of the conference tournament the past two years.
In another game in the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday, Andrew Jones scored 15 points, Kerwin Roach Jr. had all 13 of his in the second half and No. 10 seed Texas rallied for a 61-52 victory over No. 7 seed Texas Tech. Jarrett Allen also finished with 10 points for the Longhorns (11-21). Keenan Evans had 11 points and Anthony Livingston and Matthew Temple scored 10 apiece for the Red Raiders (18-14).
PACIFIC-12
ARIZONA STATE 98, STANFORD 88, OT
LAS VEGAS -- Obinna Oleka had 27 points and 13 rebounds, and Arizona State dominated in overtime to beat Stanford in the opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Arizona State (15-17) shot 56 percent and made 10 of 22 from three-point range, yet couldn't shake the Cardinal (14-17) in regulation.
Stanford's Michael Humphrey hit a jumper with 3.3 seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 81-81. Once overtime started, the Sun Devils pulled away to win in the Pac-12 Tournament for the third time in 16 seasons.
Arizona State moves on to play No. 5 Oregon in the quarterfinals today.
Reid Travis led Stanford with 23 points and Humphrey finished with 18.
In another game involving Pac-12 men's teams Wednesday, Jabari Bird scored 20 points and converted a key three-point play with 54 seconds left, helping California grind out a 67-62 victory over Oregon State in the first round of the conference tournament. Cal (20-11) labored for most of the game offensively and had a hard time containing Oregon State's Stephen Thompson Jr. The fifth-seeded Bears pulled it out behind Bird and a strong second half by Ivan Rabb, who finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Thompson had 25 points and hit 5 of 6 from three-point range to keep Oregon State (5-27) in the game until late.
CONFERENCE USA
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO 56, WESTERN KENTUCKY 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Jeff Beverly scored 14 points, Byron Frohnen had 11 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, and No. 9 seed Texas-San Antonio beat eighth-seeded Western Kentucky for the Roadrunners' first Conference USA Tournament victory since joining in 2012.
UTSA went on a 10-1 run -- with six points from Beverly -- midway through the second half to take control.
Beverly missed two free throws with 14 seconds left but WKU wasn't able to secure the rebound. Giovanni De Nicolao was fouled with 10.7 left and went 1 of 2 at the line for a 56-52 lead. Junior Lomomba had his layup blocked by Frohnen and the putback attempt didn't hit the rim.
Lucas O'Brien added 10 points and six boards for UTSA (14-18), which will face No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee today in the quarterfinals.
Justin Johnson led Western Kentucky (15-17) with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Pancake Thomas added 12 points and Lomomba finished with 10.
In other games involving C-USA men's teams Wednesday, Marcus Evans made five three-pointers and scored 26 points, Marcus Jackson added 20 points, and No. 5 seed Rice beat 12th-seeded Southern Mississippi 86-75 in the first round of the conference tournament. Rice (22-10), which has won nine of 11, will face No. 4 seed Texas-El Paso today in the quarterfinals. Quinton Campbell led Southern Miss (9-22) with 23 points and eight rebounds. ... William "HaHa" Lee dunked a teammate's airball with six seconds remaining to give seventh-seeded Alabama-Birmingham a 74-73 victory over No. 10 seed Charlotte (13-17) in the first round of the conference tournament. Lee finished with 19 points, Chris Cokley 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Dirk Williams 16 points for the Blazers (17-15).
MOUNTAIN WEST
AIR FORCE 83, WYOMING 68
LAS VEGAS -- Jacob Van and Hayden Graham combined for 33 points, 21 in a dominant first half, and 10th-seeded Air Force defeated seventh-seeded Wyoming in the opening round of the Mountain West Tournament.
Air Force scored the first 25 points of the game, making 10 of 14 shots, including four three-pointers. Wyoming ended the drought at the 11:25 mark after missing its first eight shots with seven turnovers.
Graham had 11 of his 15 points and Van 10 of his 18 in the first half as the Falcons (12-20) took a 48-27 lead. The final score was as close as it got in the second half.
The Falcons, who face second-seeded Colorado State in the quarterfinals today, shot 53 percent with six three-pointers in the first half and had 12 turnovers.
Justin James had 20 points and Hayden Dalton 15 with 12 rebounds for Wyoming (18-14).
In another game involving Mountain West men's teams Wednesday, Koby McEwen made five three-pointers without a miss in scoring 27 points and eighth-seeded Utah State beat No. 9 seed San Jose State 90-64 in the first round of the conference tournament. Jalen Moore scored 19 points and Quinn Taylor and Sam Merrill 11 each with Merrill adding eight assists for the Aggies (14-16). Ryan Welage scored 14 points and Isaac Thornton 10 for the Spartans (14-16).
Sports on 03/09/2017