East Region – First Round: No. 1 North Carolina built a 27-point lead in the first half before letting No. 16 Eastern Kentucky claw its way back into the game. But sophomore Tyler Hansbrough and senior Reyshawn Terry repelled the Colonels for an 86-65 victory. Hansbrough looked more comfortable in his new, tight-fitting mask. He was 9-of-11 from the field for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Terry added 18 points for the Tar Heels, who shot nearly 65 percent from the field. But North Carolina’s defense allowed Eastern Kentucky to keep pace for part of the game, shooting 50 percent. Junior Darnell Dialls led the Colonels with 17 points in the loss.
No. 2 Georgetown weathered an early storm against No. 15 Belmont, quickly erasing an 11-4 deficit and rolling to an 80-55 victory to move into the second round. The Hoyas will play No. 7 Boston College Saturday. Jessie Sapp was 8-of-10 from the field en route to 20 points to lead the Hoyas. Georgetown’s superior height wore down the Bruins, who couldn’t keep pace and shot only 35.7 percent from the field.
No. 3 Washington State made nine of their first 11 shots to begin the second half and used an 18-4 run to turn a two-point first-half deficit into a resounding 70-54 victory vs. No. 14 Oral Roberts Thursday in the East Regionals. The Cougars, who were led by senior reserve Ivory Clark with 19 points, shot a blistering 59 percent from the field after halftime and committed only one turnover. The Golden Eagles, who shot only 36 percent from the field for the game, led at the end of the first period but trailed 44-32 with 13:41 left after the Cougars’ second-half outburst. Washington State controlled the pace thereafter. They will face No. 6 Vanderbilt in the next round.
No. 6 Vanderbilt got 18 points from junior forward Shan Foster and held No. 11 George Washington to 27 percent shooting from the field en route to an easy 77-44 victory Thursday in the East Regionals. The Commodores got off to a surprisingly fast start and led 45-20 by halftime behind a strong defensive effort. SEC player of the year Derrick Byars scored 12 points for Vanderbilt but shot only 5-of-14 from the field. No Colonial registered more than nine points for the game.
No. 7 Boston College got 26 points from sophomore Tyrese Rice and 21 from senior Sean Marshall to lead the Eagles past No. 10 Texas Tech 84-75. The Eagles shut down the Red Raiders’ Jarrius Jackson, holding him to only 10 points. Martin Zeno led Texas Tech with 21 points.
No. 9 Michigan State took care of No. 8 Marquette 61-49 as the Spartans opened the game on an 11-0 run. The Golden Eagles never found their shooting touch, hitting less than 32 percent of their shots. Freshman Raymar Morgan led Michigan State’s balanced offense with 14 points, and junior Drew Neitzel scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished five assists. The Spartans shot better than 50 percent for the game. [3/15/07]
