Not really a Shocker
Wichita State tops Dayton in 1st round
Wichita State’s highflying offense didn’t get off the ground until the closing minutes, when the Shockers played like the more tournament-experienced team and pulled away to a 64-58 victory over Dayton last night in a NCAA South Regional firstround game in Indianapolis.
The 10th-seeded Shockers
(31-4) won their 16th in a row, the second-longest streak in school history, by clamping down on defense and swatting away shots down the stretch. Wichita State blocked eight shots and held the seventh-seeded Flyers (24-8) to a season-low 31 percent from the field.
Zach Brown’s 3-pointer put Wichita State up 51-45 with 5:38 left, the biggest lead by either team up to that point, and Dayton never threatened again.
Point guard Scoochie Smith had 25 points for Dayton.
Kentucky 79, Northern Kentucky 70 — In Indianapolis, Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 18 rebounds as the second-seeded Wildcats (30-5) gritted out the victory over the stubborn No. 15 Norse (24-11).
The Wildcats won their 12th straight and got their first-game jitters out of the way. The Norse, reaching the tourney in their first year of eligibility, closed within 75-68 on Drew McDonald’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left. Malik Monk made four free throws to close it out.
Guard Lavone Holland II had 22 points for Northern Kentucky.
Cincinnati 75, Kansas State 61 — In Sacramento, Calif., Troy Caupain scored 23 points, Kyle Washington added 16 and the defensiveminded Bearcats (30-5) shot past the Wildcats (21-14).
Cincinnati was knocked out in the first round a year ago and No. 6 seeds were 0-3 before the Bearcats took the floor. But they took care of business by shooting 62 percent from the floor.
Wesley Iwundu led Kansas State with 19 points.
UCLA 97, Kent St. 80 — In Sacramento, Calif., TJ Leaf scored 23 points, Thomas Welsh added 16 and the third-seeded Bruins (30-4) pulled away late from the scrappy No. 14 Golden Flashes (22-14).
Lonzo Ball and Aaron Holiday each had 15 points for UCLA, which will face No. 6 Cincinnati tomorrow.
Jaylin Walker had 23 points and Jimmy Hall Jr. added 20 for Kent State.
North Carolina 103, Texas Southern 64 — In Greenville, S.C., Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help the topseeded Tar Heels (28-7) roll past the No. 16 Tigers (23-12).
Kevin Scott scored 19 points to lead the Tigers, the champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. But SWAC player of the year Zach Lofton struggled, finishing with nine points on 2-for-11 shooting.
Arkansas 77, Seton Hall 71 — In Greensville, S.C., Jaylen Barford hit the go-ahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help the No. 8 Razorbacks (26-9) hold off the No. 9 Pirates (21-12).
Barford had 12 of his 20 points after halftime, including his layup off Khadeen Carrington’s turnover at the other end, pushing Arkansas ahead for good as the Razorbacks scored the game’s final seven points.
Moses Kingsley added 23 points for the Razorbacks. Carrington had 22 points to lead the Pirates.