No. 2 Portland State junior forward Julius Thomas dunked the winning basket with three seconds to go in the game to give the Vikings a 79-77 Big Sky championship against No. 6 Montana State.
Month: March 2009
Big West: Akognon Goes Off for 37 Points
No. 7 Cal State Fullerton got 37 points from senior guard Josh Akognon and beat No. 6 UC Riverside 59-46. No. 8 UC Davis sophomore guard Mark Payne sank two free throws in the final 10 seconds to give the Aggiesa 69-68 win against No. 5 UC Irvine.
Conference USA: Tulane to Take on Memphis
The No. 10 Owls made 9-of-13 free throws in the final minutes to hold off No. 7 Marshall’s comeback attempt for a 60-59 win. Four out of five of No. 11 Southern Miss’ starters scored at least 16 points to pace the Golden Eagles to a 77-53 win against No. 6 Central Florida. No. 8 Tulane ended the first half on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead and played to a near draw in the second half for a 69-59 win against No. 9 East Carolina. Junior guard Aubrey Coleman was dominant in No. 5 Houston’s 85-76 win against No. 12 SMU.
MEAC: Morgan State Obliterates Rattlers in Quarterfinals
No. 1 Morgan State shredded No. 8 Florida A&M 71-41 to advance to the semifinals. In the last opening-round game, No. 6 Bethune-Cookman freshman guard C.J. Reed was about the only player from either team to shoot well in the Wildcats’ 52-47 win against No. 11 Maryland-Eastern Shore. Both teams failed to score in the final two minutes, and No. 2 South Carolina State survived for a 57-56 win against No. 7 Hampton.
Mountain West: Air Force Picks Up First Conference Win
No. 9 Air Force won its first Mountain West game of the season by beating No. 8 Colorado STate 71-67.
NEC: Robert Morris Wins First Championship in 17 Years
No. 1 Robert Morris junior forward Dallas Green hit a 10-foot jumper along the baseline after a loose ball fortuitously bounced to him with six seconds remaining to give the Colonials a 48-46 win against No. 2 Mount St. Mary’s.
Pac-10: Cougars and Cardinal Move Into Quarterfinals
No. 9 Stanford had a big second half to come back to beat No. 8 Oregon State 62-54. No. 7 Washington State ended No. 10 Oregon’s miserable season with a 62-40 win.
ACC: 3 Bubble Teams Have Work to Do
ACC Tournament Preview: North Carolina and Duke have historically dominated the ACC Tournament. But the most compelling stories in this year’s tourney might involve Maryland, Virginia Tech and Miami, which have significant work to do to join the top six ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament.
SWAC: Conference’s Top 2 Seeds Advance
Junior forward Grant Maxey, senior guard Darrion Griffin and junior forward Garrison Johnson scored all but 10 of the Tigers’ points in a 72-65 win. SWAC favorite No. 1 Alabama State took care of business in the quarterfinals, beating No. 8 Alabama A&M 70-58.
Big East: Underdogs Prevail in Early Sessions
The Big East Tournament afternoon sessions saw upsets with DePaul stopping Cincinnati and Georgetown dropping a decision to St.John’s. The evening held to form as Notre Dame eliminated Rutgers and Seton Hall defeated South Florida.
