Fairleigh Dickinson rallies to advance
DAYTON— Senior guard Darnell Edge scored a careerhigh 33 points, and Jahlil Jenkins had 20 of his 22 points in the second half as the Knights capped a furious comeback by taking down Prairie View A&M 82-76 in a First Four game on Tuesday.
"It's overwhelming," said Herenda, in his sixth season at the Hackensack, New Jersey, school. "When you coach for 35 years and you take a team to an NCAA Tournament and a team that, when I got here six years ago, we had nothing. And to build it, and then it's here, and it's so sad that every coach can't experience this."
Fairleigh Dickinson (21-13), which got the automatic tournament bid by winning the Northeast Conference Tournament, won its first NCAA tourney game in six tries. The Knights move on to play Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed in West Region, on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
Prairie View (22-13), also seeking its first tournament win, built 13-point leads in both halves, but Fairleigh Dickinson took control in the second half behind the shooting of Edge and Jenkins.
A 3-pointer by Gary Blackson pulled Prairie View back to within two points, 78-76, but a layup from Mike Holloway Jr. and a pair of free throws by Edge with 17 seconds left sealed it for Fairleigh Dickinson.
Blackson led the Panthers with 26 points and Devonte Patterson had 17.
BELMONT 81, TEMPLE 70: Kevin Mcclain scored 29 points, and Nick Muszynski of St. Charles added 16 to lead Belmont (27-5) over Temple (23-10) in a First Four game in Dayton.
NIT
INDIANA 89, ST. FRANCIS 72: Juwan Morgan shot 10-of-13 from the floor and scored 28 14 and Cole Gentry 13.
Person pleads guilty
Former Auburn assistant coach and 13-year NBA veteran Chuck Person pleaded guilty to a bribery conspiracy charge in the widespread college basketball bribery scandal, ensuring that none of the four coaches charged in the probe will go to trial.
Person, 54, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court, averting a June trial. Prosecutors said Person accepted $91,500 in bribes to steer players with NBA potential to a Pittsburghbased financial adviser. As part of the plea, he agreed to forfeit that amount.
The plea deal has a recommended sentencing guideline range of two years in prison. The sentencing is scheduled for July 9.
Tony Bland, a former Southern California assistant coach; ex-arizona assistant coach Emanuel "Book" Richardson; and former Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans are awaiting sentencing.
Their prison terms are likely to be measured in months rather than years.
Martelli out
Saint Joseph's fired coach Phil Martelli after 24 seasons following a third-straight losing season and with the Hawks making only three NCAA Tournament appearances since 2004.