Rarely played pair lifts ’Dogs

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State’s role play- ers have become stars and the stars are often role players. Bulldogs’ Coach Vic Schaefer saw a 29-victory team that was struggling on offense go into the NCAA Tournament and blow up the playing rotation in mid-March.

The results, at least so far, have been fantastic.

Blair Schaefer scored 18 points, Jazzmun Holmes added 14 and Mississippi State pushed past DePaul 92-71 on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Schaefer and Holmes were two who rarely played at times during January and February. Now they’re the two main reasons Mississippi State is going to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season.

Dominique Dillingham, who had started 19 consecutive games before the NCAA Tournament and is now coming off the bench, said no one is questioning their coach’s logic. Dillingham added 10 points and two steals on Sunday.

“He’s not crazy,” Dillingham said. “I think we have 10 starters. Anyone could start. We’re really deep.”

Second-seeded Mississippi State used a 14-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to turn a tight game into a 61-43 advantage.

DePaul, the seven seed, scored the next seven points to cut the lead to 61-50 by the end of the third quarter, but Mississippi State responded with the first eight points of the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Six Mississippi State players scored in double figures. Victoria Vivians, Chinwe Okorie and Breanna Richardson all scored 12 points.

“We executed some really good stuff today,” Vic Schaefer

MISSISSIPPI STATE 92, DEPAUL 71

said. “I mean really good stuff. Our kids really did a good job of attacking and doing some things offensively that we haven’t done all year.”

“Hopefully we’re getting hot at the right time. That’s what this time of year is all about.”

OHIO STATE 82, KENTUCKY 68

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tori McCoy scored six consecutive points midway through the fourth quarter to help Ohio State withstand Kentucky’s furious rally from a 19-point second-half deficit and escape with a second-round NCAA Tournament victory.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats trailed 50-31 early in third but closed to 65-64 with 6:04 remaining. The fifth-seeded Buckeyes answered with eight consecutive points behind McCoy.

Ohio State (28-6) held on from there to earn its second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance in the Lexington Regional next week.

TEXAS 84, NORTH CAROLINA STATE 80

AUSTIN, Texas — Brooke McCarty scored 23 points and No. 3-seed Texas got a put-back basket from Joyner Holmes with 4 seconds left to the send the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 for the third year in a row with a victory over No. 6-seed North Carolina State.

Lashann Higgs had given Texas a two-point lead when she made one free throw with 8 seconds left but missed the second. Holmes grabbed the rebound, missed her first shot, grabbed the rebound then made the second to seal the victory. Holmes finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.

MARYLAND 83, WEST VIRGINIA 56

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Destiny Slocum nailed a 70-foot shot to cap a pivotal second quarter for Maryland, and the Terrapins went on to defeat West Virginia to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Brionna Jones had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Slocum scored 21 and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough added 19 for No. 3-seed Maryland (32-3), which will next face the winner of today’s game between No. 2-seed Duke and Oregon.