USC hits late 3-pointer, upsets 6th-seeded SMU
For the second straight NCAA Tournament game, Southern California overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to win.
Elijah Stewart hit a late 3-pointer for No. 11 seed USC as the Trojans upset sixth-seeded SMU 66-65 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
USC trailed SMU by 10 in the second half. The Trojans trailed Providence by 17 in the second half of their First Four game on Wednesday night before winning 75-71.
Apparently, they don’t know how to quit.
“We just had to keep fighting back,” Stewart said. “We’ve been in those positions before. So we’re kind of seasoned to it. And you just can’t stop. You just got to keep going.”
Stewart had 22 points for the Trojans (26-9), including the gamedeciding 3 with 37 seconds to play.
“We ran the play previously before, and I was open,” Stewart said. “And then we had the media timeout. We discussed it. We ran the same play again, and I was open, and I just let muscle memory take place.”
Bennie Boatright and Chimezie Metu each added 14 points for USC, which advanced to play third-seeded Baylor in the second round of the East region on Sunday.
SMU’s Shake Milton missed a floater at the buzzer that would have won it for the Mustangs.
“There used to be a show on TV when I was little talking about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich said. “I think it was Wide World of Sports. I can certainly relate to that show right now.”
Stewart noticed that SMU (30-5) wasn’t sure what it was going to do in the final sequence.
“I noticed that two players were arguing about who was going to take the last shot,” Stewart said. “Usually, when something like that happens, like whoever shoots it, it just messes with you. The floater was short, and I felt like if — like it could have went either way, honestly. I was just — I had my eyes closed.”
Al Freeman came off the bench to score 21 points, and No. 3 seed Baylor defeated No. 14 seed New Mexico State 91-73 in the first round of the NCAA’s East Regional. Jo Lual-Acuil scored 16 points and Johnathan Motley added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears (26-7), who were upset in the first round by Georgia State and Yale the previous two years. Ian Baker and Braxton Huggins each scored 19 points for New Mexico State (28-6).
Grayson Allen had 21 points off five 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and secondseeded Duke continued its perfect postseason with a victory over Troy. The Blue Devils (29-7) became the first team to win four games on the way to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament crown last week. They kept up that pace in blowing past the 15th-seeded Trojans (22-15).
Sindarius Thornwell had 29 points and 11 rebounds to help seventh-seeded South Carolina (23-10) win its first NCAA Tournament game in 44 years, a victory over Marquette (19-13) to close first-round play in the East Region. South Carolina last won a game in the NCAAs when it topped Southwestern Louisiana 90-85 in a regional consolation game on March 17, 1973.