Play-in Recap – Syracuse Region
Oakland became just the fifth team with a losing record to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, breaking open a close game in the second half en route to a 79-69 win over Alabama A&M in the play-in game.
The Golden Grizzlies (13-18) have now won six games in a row and will play North Carolina in Charlotte in the first round. Their victory marks the fourth year in a row that a team with a losing record has won the play-in game.
Rawle Marshall scored 29 points and Cortney Scott added 21 to lead the way. Back-to-back layups by Scott started a run of 13 unanswered points early in the second half that turned a 41-37 lead into a 54-37 edge. Later, Marshall scored four points in a 9-0 run that built the lead to 70-47 with 5:34 left.
The Bulldogs (18-14) made several mini-runs to try to cut into the lead, but it wasn’t enough. They wound up scoring the last eight points of the game to account for the final margin. Obie Trotter had 24 points and five assists in the losing effort.
