Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Vermont routs UMBC for America East title
BURLINGTON, Vt. — Anthony Lamb scored 28 points, and Vermont beat Maryland-Baltimore County 66-49 on Saturday to win the America East Tournament championship and earn an NCAA Tournament bid.
It was the seventh conference title overall and second in three years for the Catamounts (27-6), who lost to UMBC in last year’s championship game.
They got their revenge on the anniversary of 16th-seeded UMBC’s shocking upset of top-seeded Virginia in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Lamb, the America East player of the year, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
He went 8 for 16 from the field and had nine rebounds, and he led a strong defensive effort from the Catamounts, who held the Retrievers to 34-percent shooting.
Stef Smith added 17 points for Vermont and Ben Shungu scored nine, all in the second half. K.J. Jackson led UMBC (21-13) with 15 points, and Arkel Lamar had eight points and 11 rebounds.
NO. 18 BUFFALO 87, BOWLING GREEN 73
CLEVELAND — Jeremy Harris scored 31 points, C.J. Massinburg added 17 and No. 18 Buffalo won its fourth Mid-American Conference title in five years — and further stamped itself as a team to fear in the NCAA Tournament — by beating Bowling Green.
Bowling Green made three free throws to get within 74-71, but Jayvon Graves hit a three-pointer for the Bulls and Harris soon followed with one that hit the back of the rim and bounced high in the air before dropping through, sending Buffalo’s fans into a wild celebration.
N. CAROLINA CENTRAL 50, NORFOLK STATE 47
NORFOLK, Va. — Zacarry Douglas scored all 10 of his points during a 25-6 second-half run and North Carolina Central won its third consecutive MEAC Tournament.
The Eagles (18-15) earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament despite missing nine of their last 10 shots and not scoring for the final 4:03.
UTAH STATE 64, SAN DIEGO STATE 57
LAS VEGAS — Sam Merrill scored 24 points, going 11 of 12 from the free throw line and earning tournament MVP honors, as Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference championship with a 64-57 victory over San Diego State.
Utah State (28-6) scored the first 13 points of the second half to pull away after leading 34-32 at halftime.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 92, TEXAS SOUTHERN 86
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Gary Blackston and Dennis Jones scored 17 points apiece to lead six Prairie View A&M players in double figures and the Panthers beat Texas Southern in the championship game.
Gerard Andrus had 12 points, Taishaun Johnson and Darius Williams scored 11 apiece and Devonte Patterson added 10 for the top-seeded Panthers (22-12), who have won 11 games in a row.
ST. BONAVENTURE 68, RHODE ISLAND 51
NEW YORK — Kyle Lofton scored 23 points to lead St. Bonaventure to a rout of Rhode Island.
Dominick Welch and LaDarien Griffin each added 13 for the Bonnies (18-15).
NCAA Men’s Tournament automatic bids
Bradley (Missouri Valley Conference) Buffalo (Mid-American Conference) Colgate (Patriot League) Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast Conference)
Gardner-Webb (Big South Conference) Iona (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Iowa State (Big 12 Conference) Liberty (Atlantic Sun Conference) Murray State (Ohio Valley Conference) N.C. Central (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
North Dakota State (Summit League) Northeastern (Colonial Athletic Association
Northern Kentucky (Horizon League) Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Saint Mary’s (West Coast Conference) Utah State (Mountain West Conference) Vermont (America East Conference) Villanova (Big East Conference) Wofford (Southern Conference)
Osun Osunniyi added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Cyril Langevine led the Rams (19-15) with 15 points, and Jeff Downtin finished with 12.
SAINT LOUIS 67, DAVIDSON 44
Tramaine Isabell Jr. had 19 points and eight assists to spark sixth-seeded Saint Louis to a rout of second-seed Davidson.
Jon Axel Gudmundsson, who was named the Atlantic 10’s Player of the Year on Tuesday, led the Wildcats (249), who hope for a bid to the NIT, with 15 points and Luka Brajkovic added 12.
NO. 11 HOUSTON 61, MEMPHIS 58
MEMPHIS — Corey Davis Jr. scored 17 points and No. 11 Houston weathered a late rally by Memphis.
Memphis (21-13), which struggled offensively throughout the contest, crafted a 10-1 run to pull within 61-58 with a minute left. On the final Memphis possession, Tyler Harris missed a three-pointer, then he attempted a final one that was blocked by Fabian White as time expired.
NO. 24 CINCINNATI 66, WICHITA STATE 63
Nysier Brooks scored 13 points and Cane Broome hit the go-ahead layup with 23.5 seconds left to give No. 24 Cincinnati a victory over Wichita State.
Tre Scott had 12 points and 8 rebounds, and Jarron Cumberland, the conference player of the year, was limited to 11 points going 3 of 16 from the field.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 67, NO. 19 WISCONSIN 55
CHICAGO — Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Kenny Goins keyed Michigan State’s fast start, helping the sixthranked Spartans beat No. 19 Wisconsin.
Goins, Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman also led a dominant rebounding effort for Michigan State. Goins finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, and Henry grabbed a career-high 11 boards to power the Spartans to a 44-30 advantage on the glass.
NO. 10 MICHIGAN 76, MINNESOTA 49
Isaiah Livers scored a career-high 21 points, and No. 10 Michigan closed in on a record third consecutive tournament championship with a romp over Minnesota.
The third-seeded Wolverines (28-5) took control with a big run in the first half and put the game away in the second. Livers matched a personal best by nailing four three-pointers. Zavier Simpson added 15 points and nine assists.
HARVARD 66, PENNSYLVANIA 58
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Bryce Aiken had 19 points as Harvard beat Penn in the tournament semifinals.
Noah Kirkwood had 12 points for Harvard (18-10). Kale Catchings added nine rebounds.
YALE 83, PRINCETON 77
Miye Oni had 23 points as Yale topped Princeton 83-77.
Alex Copeland had 16 points for Yale (21-7). Blake Reynolds added 16 points. Jordan Bruner had 10 points and seven rebounds for the hosts.