Houston tops Oregon State

Cougars blow 17-point advantage but hold off No. 12-seeded Beavers

Houston overcame a blown 17-point lead to hold off Oregon State 67-61 on Monday night in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Final Four for the first time in 37 years.

Quentin Grimes hit a 3-pointer with 3:21 left to break a 55-all tie. The second-seeded Cougars (28-3) spent the first half building a big lead behind a dominant defense, but they spent the second half hanging on as the 12thseeded Beavers tried to add one more surprising result to a Midwest Region bracket beset by upsets.

Grimes’ 3 from near the top of the arc finally steadied the Cougars, and Houston knocked down enough free throws down the stretch while holding Oregon State without a basket during a critical 3 1⁄2 minutes.

That sent the Cougars on to the national semifinals to face the Arkansas-baylor winner.

It wasn’t always pretty, with Houston shooting 29 percent after halftime and 32 percent for the game. Yet it also exemplified the program’s rugged defensefirst identity under Kelvin Sampson, who has led Houston to accomplishments it hadn’t matched since the famed “Phi Slama Jama” days of the 1980s.

Marcus Sasser scored 20 points to lead Houston while Grimes added 18.

Tennessee: Guard Jaden Springer says he’s signing with an agent and declaring for the 2021 NBA draft after his freshman season. Springer announced his decision Monday with a social media post.

Kentucky: The school added former Davidson guard Kellan Grady to its roster. The graduate transfer scored 2,002 career points with the Wildcats.

Fordham: The Rams are finalizing a deal to hire Villanova assistant Kyle Neptune to be their new men’s basketball coach. A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday that the Atlantic 10 school was close to an agreement and Neptune was likely to be introduced Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school was not ready to make an official announcement.

Denver: The school hired Jeff Wulbrun as its men’s basketball coach. It will be Wulbrun’s first head coaching job in the college ranks. The Stanford associate head coach takes over for Rodney Billups, who was let go earlier this month after finishing 48-94 with the Pioneers.