COLONIAL - #3 William & Mary upset #2 Towson, 75-71, largely behind 11-of-22 shooting on threes. Marcus Thornton scored 21 and made 3 steals, one of them with 5 seconds left while the Tigers were working for the game-tying shot. He was fouled and sank a pair from the line to ice it. Thornton had also scored W&M's previous points, hitting a jumper with 2:24 left to put them up 73-30. Brandon Britt hit 4 of 6 from deep for the Tribe, who get #1 Delaware in the title game.
HORIZON - #5 Milwaukee upset top seed Green Bay, 73-66 in OT. The Panthers led at halftime 28-19, but the favored Phoenix stormed back with an 18-7 run to start the 2nd. Milwaukee trailed by 4 with :57 left, but Aaron Jordan hit a pair from the line, and then scored on a layup to tie it with :15 on the clock. Kyle Kelm blocked a jumper by UWGB's Grey Mays to save the game. In the extra session, Green Bay hit on just 1 of 8 shots (a Mays dunk was the only make). Jordan scored 28 while Matt Tiby and Steve McWhorter each grabbed 10 boards for the Panthers, who meet #3 Wright St for the championship.
MAAC - #1 Iona knocked off #4 Canisius, 75-72, behind Sean Armand's 21 pts and a dozen boards from David Laury. Guards Tre Bowman & Isaiah Williams added 16 pts apiece. The Gaels held Griffs' guard Billy Baron scoreless until the game's 9th minute. Canisius trailed by as many as 12 in the 2nd, but battled back to tie it with less than a minute to play. A Laury put-back and an Armand FT put the Gaels up 3 with :28 left, but the Griffs' Chris Manhertz dunked a Baron alley-oop to get them back within a point. Bowman was fouled and hit both his FTs with :05 on the clock, and Canisius couldn't get a final shot off. Baron ultimately led the Griffs with 23 and made some clutch steals and passes down the stretch, but he was just 2-of-9 on threes including two big misses in the final minutes.
#2 Manhattan broke away from #3 Quinnipiac after a deadlocked 40-40 first half, going up by 8 three minutes into the 2nd half and by a dozen with 12:00 to play. It was cruise control the rest of the way for the Jaspers in an 87-68 final, led by George Beaman's 25 pts & 4 steals, Emmy Andujar's 21 pts & 6 reb, and Rhamel Brown's 16 pts, 9 reb & 4 blocks. The Bobcats were led by Ike Azotam's 18 pts & 10 reb. The top two seeds will meet for the crown, while both QU (20-11) and CC (21-12) are both decent bets for the NIT, CIT and/or CBI.
SOUTHERN - Following #5 Western Carolina's upset of #1 Davidson, #3 Wofford stormed out to a 23-8 lead over #7 Georgia Southern and never looked back in a 71-57 win. All 5 Terrier starters scored in double-figures and shot 54% from the floor, and Wofford won the battles inside (39-33 reb, 5-0 blocks). Lee Skinner led the way with 15 pts, 12 reb & 5 assists. They'll meet the Catamounts for the SoCon title.
SUMMIT - It took some work but #4 Denver finally wriggled free of #5 South Dakota in a 71-55 2nd-round win. It was a 30-30 game with 3:30 left in the 1st half, but the Pioneers went into the break on an 8-2 run. They then held the Coyotes without a FG for the first 4:30 of the 2nd half. SD was still within 5 pts with 9:00 to play, but Brett Olson, who scored a game-high 20, hit a jumper and a pair of threes to lead a decisive 15-5 run. The Pioneers get top seed North Dakota St in a semifinal.
#3 S. Dakota State fared better than their intrastate rivals, dispatching #6 Western Illinois 71-50. It was just a 3-pt Jackrabbit lead at halftime, but tight D limited the Leathernecks to just two FGs (both layups) in the first 9:36 of the 2nd half, by which time SDSU led by 20 on 7-of-11 shooting including 4 of 6 on threes. They'll face #2 IPFW in the semis.
WEST COAST - The top 4 seeds all advanced in the quarters, with #2 BYU ending the dream for #10 Loyola-Marymount, 85-74, behind 23 pts, 16 reb & 3 steals by Kyle Collinsworth. The Cougars were never threatened despite being ice cold from deep (0-for-12 on threes). The'll face #3 San Francisco, 69-60 winners over #6 San Diego.
In the other half of the bracket, top seed Gonzaga escaped #9 Santa Clara by just a pair, 77-75. The Broncs were up 6 at the break, and they continued to lead until Sam Dower hit a pair of FTs to give the Zags a 66-65 edge with 3:24 to play. After the teams traded buckets, Dower forced a turnover, got fouled, and hit 2 more at the line with 1:46 on the clock. Seconds later, Dower grabbed a huge offensive board, was fouled again, and drilled both shots to put Gonzaga up 5. FWIW, Dower was 15-for-15 from the line on the way to a 23-pt night.
Still down a nickel with :33 left, Santa Clara got a huge rebound and put-back by Evan Roquemore, who was fouled on the play (by David Stockton, aka John's kid) and nailed the FT to get the Broncos to within 2. Then a critical Zags turnover by Gary Bell Jr. led to a tying Jared Brownridge jumper with :10 to play. Stockton then redeemed himself as follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paTcwliakYM
The Zags move on to the semis against #4 Saint Mary's, 80-69 victors over #5 Pepperdine. The Gaels trailed early 12-8, but led by 13 at the half and were never ahead by fewer than 7 thereafter. Brad Waldow led the charge with 21 pts & 8 boards.
