UMass-Lowell stuns UMBC
BU ousted in tourney
Before boarding a bus with broken movie monitors for a long trip back to Lowell from Baltimore on Saturday, a smiling Pat Duquette acknowledged that the ride would definitely feel a little shorter and a lot happier.
The UMass-Lowell men’s basketball coach and his squad knew they could spend that 400-plus mile journey replaying the history they had just made in their minds. And looking ahead to the new territory they’re crossing into.
The River Hawks very well may be the best story in all of college basketball right now.
For the first time ever, UMass-Lowell is headed to the America East Conference championship game. The sixth-seeded River Hawks punched their ticket by rallying from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat top-seeded and host UMBC, 79-77, in a semifinal.
UML (11-11), in only Year 8 as a Division 1 program, will travel to fourth-seeded Hartford next Saturday for the AE championship, with the winner of that earning an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis. Hartford defeated No. 2 Vermont in Saturday’s other semifinal.
Not bad for a squad that had never won a single AE tournament game entering this season, and has now won three — all on the road — during this postseason.
— MATT LANGONE
No. 4 Illinois 73, No. 7 Ohio St. 68 — Ayo Dosunmu returned after missing three games with a concussion and facial injuries to score 19 points as Illinois got its second straight road win over a top 10 team after routing No. 2 Michigan on Tuesday. The Illini have won 11 of 12 and enter next week’s Big Ten Tournament with a double-bye. E.J. Liddell led the Buckeyes with 19 points.
No. 17 Oklahoma St. 85, No. 6 West Virginia 80 — Sophomore Avery Anderson III scored a career-high 31 points for the Cowboys (18-7, 11-7 Big 12), who was without star freshman Cade Cunningham. Taz Sherman led West Virginia (18-8, 11-6 Big 12) with 20 points.
No. 8 Alabama 89, Georgia 79— Herbert Jones had two baskets in a 9-0 run to open the second half that gave Alabama the lead. Alabama (21-6, 16-2) matched its school record for Southeastern Conference wins in the 1986-87 season. Georgia (1411, 7-11) led by 14 in the first half.
Providence 54, No. 10 Villanova 52 — David Duke made a tiebreaking tip-in with 2.8 seconds left and Providence held on after blowing a 20-point lead. Duke and Nate Watson scored 20 points apiece for Providence (13-12, 9-10 Big East). The Wildcats (16-5, 11-4) led 50-49 with less than three minutes left.
Notre Dame 83, No. 11 Florida St. 73 — Prentiss Hubb scored 22 points for the Fighting Irish (10-14, 7-11 ACC), who had five players score in double figures. They also went 28 for 34 at the free-throw line, compared to 15 for 20 for the Seminoles (15-5, 11-4).
No. 12 Arkansas 87, Texas A&M 80 — Moses Moody scored 28 points and the Hogs matched the program’s longest Southeastern Conference winning streak at 11 games. Arkansas (21-5, 13-4) trailed by two until Moody sank a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left. Texas A&M (8-9, 2-8) played only its second game since Jan. 30 as postponements prompted by COVID-19 protocols sank half the Aggies’ season.
No. 21 Virginia 68, Louisville 58— Sam Hauser scored 24 points, Trey Murphy III added 17 and Virginia (17-6, 13-4) won the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship. David Johnson had 14 points and Jae’Lyn Withers 12 for Louisville(13-6, 8-5).
No. 22 Loyola Chicago 65, Indiana St. 49 — Cameron Krutwig had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Loyola Chicago (23-4) advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final. Indiana State (15-10) shot 38.5%.
No. 23 Purdue 67, Indiana 58 — Zach Edey scored 20 points and Jaden Ivey added 17 for Purdue’s ninth straight win in the in-state rivalry, the Boilermakers’ best run in the series since John Wooden played for them. The Boilermakers beat Indiana nine in a row from 1929-35 boosted by Wooden, a star player who went on to coaching fame. Purdue (18-8, 13-6 Big Ten) heads into next week’s Big Ten Tournament with five consecutive wins overall. Indiana (12-14, 7-12) finished conference play for the fifth consecutive season without a winning record — the first time that has happened since 1911-19.
Colgate 77, Boston U. 69 — Tucker Richardson, Jack Ferguson and Jordan Burns scored 16 points apiece for Colgate (12-1) in the Patriot League Conference tournament quarterfinals. Javante McCoy scored a season-high 27 points for the Terriers (7-11). Sukhmail Mathon added 14 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. Walter Whyte had 12 points.
UConn 98, Georgetown 82 —
James Bouknight had 21 points and Jalen Gaffney added 15 points for UConn (14-6, 11-6 Big East Conference), which won its fourth consecutive game. UConn dominated the first half and led 51-24 at the break. Jahvon Blair had 22 points for the Hoyas (9-12, 7-9).
Clemson 77, Pitt 62 — AlAmir Dawes scored a season-high 21 points for Clemson. The Tigers (16-6, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) pulled away early in the second half. Justin Champagnie led Pitt (10-11, 6-10) with 13 points, scoring 10 in the last 9:31.
Women
No. 1 UConn 77, St. John’s 41 — Freshman Paige Bueckers scored 17 points in the Big East quarterfinals on Saturday. Christyn Williams added 14 points for the Huskies (22-1). The Red Storm, who lost to UConn 94-62 and 7732 during the regular season, finish their campaign at 8-15.
No. 3 N.C. State 66, Georgia Tech 61 — Elissa Cunane had 23 points and nine rebounds, and third-ranked North Carolina State stormed back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship. Kayla Jones added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Wolfpack (19-2).
Georgia Tech (15-8) closed the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room.