Grand Canyon pulls another 12-5 upset
Tyon Grant-Foster scored 22 points and Grand Canyon joined the list of schools to win an NCAA Tournament game as the 12th-seeded Antelopes knocked off No. 5 West Region seed Saint Mary’s 75-66 on Friday night in Spokane, Washington.
Grand Canyon (30-4) slashed and shot its way to victory against the second-best scoring defense in the country and became the second No. 12 seed of the night with purple as its primary color to advance, following James Madison.
Grant-Foster scored 13 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer and a thunderous lob dunk during the Antelopes’ decisive 15-1 run that gave them a 50-35 lead with less than 12 minutes remaining. Gabe McGlothan matched the physical post players for Saint Mary’s (26-8) and added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The Antelopes will face fourthseeded Alabama at 7 tonight.
Alabama 109, College of Charleston 96:
Mark Sears led the highest-scoring offense in the country with 30 points, and fourth-seeded Alabama had no problem making shots in Spokane, Washington.
After two other teams from the state of Alabama, UAB and Auburn, got bounced earlier Friday in Spokane, the Crimson Tide (22-11) avoided the same fate by beating the Coastal Athletic Association champs.
Sears made 9 of 13 shots and was 9 of 11 on free throws.
South Region
Duke 64, Vermont 47: Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell each had 15 points for No. 4 seed Duke, which endured an uneven performance before finally pulling away from 13th-seeded Vermont.
Jeremy Roach scored 14 for the Blue Devils (25-8), but star center Kyle Filipowski took only one shot and scored a career-low three points, though he did grab 12 rebounds.
Shamir Bogues had 18 points and Aaron Deloney 14 for Vermont (28-7).
Texas A&M 98, Nebraska 83:
Wade Taylor IV scored 25 points and No. 9 seed Texas A&M (21-14) sent eighth-seeded Nebraska (23-11) home still looking for its first NCAA Tournament victory.
The Aggies added insult to injury by beating Nebraska after unexpectedly hiring athletic director Trev Alberts away from his alma mater for the same job last week.
Texas A&M will play Houston at 8:30 tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Midwest Region Purdue 78, Grambling State 50:
Zach Edey had the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in the NCAA Tournament since 1995, delivering on his promise to end the discussion about first-round exits by leading the top-seeded Boilermakers (30-4) past 16th-seeded Grambling State in Indianapolis.
The greatest scorer and rebounder in school history finished with 30 points and 21 rebounds in 30 minutes, going 11 of 17 from the field.
The last player with a 30-20 game in the tournament was Norfolk native Joe Smith of Maryland on March 18, 1995.
Purdue had a 48-23 rebounding advantage.
Isaac Johnson scored 19 points, including 12 straight early in the second half, and Utah State (28-6) shot 55% to pull away from No. 9 seed TCU (21-13) and end a 10-game NCAA Tournament losing streak.
The Aggies hadn’t earned a March Madness victory since beating Ohio State 77-68 in overtime in 2001 and had endured opening-game losses four of the past six seasons.
Ian Martinez scored 21 points to lead the Aggies.