More tourney tickets punched

C.J. Bryce scored 24 points and UNC Wilmington clinched its second straight NCAA tournament berth with a 78-69 victory over College of Charleston in the Colonial Athletic Association championship Monday night in Charleston, S.C.

The Seahawks (29-5) grabbed control with an 18-5 run in the second half. College of Charleston closed to 76-69 with 17 seconds left, but ran out of time for a comeback.

The Cougars (25-9) dropped to 0-6 in conference tournament finals since it last went to the NCAAs in 1999.

Bucs book trip: T.J. Cromer scored 23 points and East Tennessee won the Southern Conference championship with a 79-74 win over UNC Greensboro in Asheville, N.C.

The Buccaneers (27-7) will make their first tournament appearance since 2010 and their 10th overall.

Francis Alonso scored a game-high 28 points for the Spartans (25-9). Anderson out at Mizzou: Kim Anderson was told more than a week ago this would be his final season leading Missouri. The school announced Sunday that Anderson was asked to step down following this week’s SEC tournament.

“It’s a performancebased business, and production, and we just didn’t win enough games,” Anderson said Monday in his first comments since the announcement. “One thing I would never wish on anybody is to try to coach a basketball team after you knew you weren’t going to be coming back.

“It’s hard to concentrate on what you’re doing, but I actually think we did a good job. I think my staff did a good job. And certainly Missouri is a special place to me.”

Ex-KU star dies: Kansas standout Bill Hougland, who led the Jayhawks to the 1952 national title before becoming the first player to win two Olympic basketball gold medals, died Monday in Lawrence, the school announced. He was 86. No cause was given.

Hougland helped the Jayhawks win Big Seven titles in 1950 and 1952 and helped the U.S. win gold in 1952 and 1956.