WAC First Round Recap

(8) SMU 79, (9) Tulsa 60
Bryan Hopkins scored 30 points on 10-13 shooting to lead SMU to a 79-60 win over Tulsa on Tuesday night. The sophomore guard was 6-8 on three-pointers along the way to lead a 56% shooting effort by the Mustangs, including 68% in the second half, while they held the Golden Hurricane to 36.4% from the field.

Patrick Simpson supported Hopkins with 20 points, as the Mustangs (12-17) advanced to take on Nevada in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Tulsa (9-20) was led by Jarius Glenn’s 17 points, while Guilherme Teichmann and Jason Parker each added 14 points. It ended the first 20-loss season for the Golden Hurricane since 1988.

(7) Louisiana Tech 57, (10) San Jose State 51
Louisiana Tech opened the second half with a 13-2 run to break open a three-point halftime lead, then scored eight unanswered points to break a 49-49 tie en route to a 57-51 win over San Jose State.

The Spartans (6-23) made a valiant comeback bid, using six three-pointers in the second half to eventually tie the game at 49 with 1:33 left. But the Bulldogs, who took the halftime lead with the last eight points of the half, scored eight in a row again to take the lead for good. Six of the final points came on free throws.

San Jose State looked to be in dire straights when leading scorer Eric Walton fouled out with 14:44 left, but Marquin Chandler picked up the slack en route to 21 points to lead their rally.

Louisiana Tech (15-14) got 16 points and 18 rebounds from Paul Millsap, the nation’s leading rebounder, and 18 points from Donell Allick. They advance to take on Texas-El Paso in the quarterfinals on Thursday.