Late basket helps Penn State shock Ohio State
Tony Carr found Josh Reaves for a game-winning layup with 3.1 seconds to play and Penn State may have punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 69-68 victory over second-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Carr had 25 points for the second straight night and the seventh-seeded Nittany Lions scored the final five points in beating the 13th-ranked Buckeyes for the third time this season.
Penn State (21-12) will face the winner of the quarterfinal between third-seeded and No. 8 Purdue and 14th-seeded Rutgers in the semifinals Saturday.
Lamar Stevens added 15 points and Shep Garner had 13 and a crucial steal from Big Ten Conference player of the year Keita Bates-Diop with 21 seconds to play.
The Nittany Lions did not call time out after the steal and Carr made a pass from the foul line to a wide-open Reaves underneath.
Ohio State (24-8) had a chance to win after calling a timeout, but a last-second shot by C.J. Jackson was not close.
Michigan 77, Nebraska 58: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 21 points and Moe Wagner had 20 as the Wolverines dealt a significant blow to the Cornhusker’s NCAA hopes.
The fifth-seeded Wolverines (26-7) face top-seed Michigan State on Saturday in the first semifinal at Madison Square Garden.
Wagner and Abdur-Rahkman were both limited by foul trouble in Michigan’s opening tournament victory against Iowa. The Wolverines’ stars fouled out in the overtime game against the Hawkeyes, but Michigan survived without them.
Against the fourth-seeded Huskers (22-10), Wagner and Abdur-Rahkman were full-go and Nebraska could not do much to stop them.
HORIZON LEAGUE
UW-Green Bay 93, Detroit 81: Kameron Hankerson poured in 36 points with 7 three-pointers, both career highs, and the visiting Phoenix rolled past the host Titans in a first round game.
Green Bay (13-19), which has scored 90 points or better in its last three games, will meet second-seeded Wright State (22-9) in Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
Cleveland State 72, Youngstown
State 71: Kenny Carpenter scored 22 points as the Vikings advanced.
The Vikings (10-22) advance to play top-seeded Northern Kentucky – which had a bye – in a quarterfinal game Saturday.
STATE
UW-Platteville 91, Monmouth 76: Robert Duax scored 20 points and Matt Oestreich added 19 as the Pioneers dispatched the visiting Fighting Scots in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
Platteville (22-4) will host St. Olaf (20-7) in the second round at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
UW-Stevens Point 72, North Central
College 55: Drew Fredrickson had 15 points and the Pointers downed the Cardinals in a first round game in Collegeville, Minn.
The Pointers (20-8) advance to the second round against Bethany Lutheran or Saint John’s at 7 p.m. Saturday.
UW Oshkosh 74, Marietta 67: Adam Fravert and Charlie Noone scored 14 points apiece to lead the Titans (21-7) past the Pioneers (21-7) in a first round game in Springfield, Ohio.
Oshkosh will play Wittenberg University or Misericordia University (Pa.) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
UW-Whitewater women 81, UW-Superior 46: Brooke Trewyn scored 18 points as the host Warhawks drubbed the Yellowjackets in a first round game.
The Warhawks (25-3) will host Gustavus Adolphus (22-6) in the second round at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Chicago 70, Wisconsin Lutheran women 46: Miranda Burt’s 18 points carried the Maroons (24-2) past the Warriors (24-3) in the first round in St. Paul, Minn.