The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Seventh-seeded Nevada rallies, tops Texas 87-83 in OT
NASHVILLE, TENN. » Nevada’s Caleb Martin had just missed a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer and didn’t feel all that disappointed. The junior forward just knew his team would finish the job in overtime.
And then he helped make it happen.
Martin shot 3 of 3 from 3-point range in overtime and finished with 18 points Friday as Nevada rallied to beat Texas 87-83 for its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2007.
“We were comfortable,” Martin said. “It’s one of those things where you could tell the other team didn’t want to go into overtime with us. You could kind of feel the energy on the floor when we walked back out there. You kind of knew it was kind of in our favor.”
The Wolf Pack, seeded seventh in the South Region, advanced to a Sunday matchup with No. 2 seed Cincinnati (31-4). The Bearcats beat Georgia State 68-53.
Nevada (28-7) erased a 14-point, second-half deficit and rallied again after trailing Texas by four early in an overtime session that featured combined 34 points. Nevada made all six of its field-goal attempts in overtime after Texas forward Mohamed Bamba fouled out with 3.8 seconds left in regulation.
These two teams with contrasting styles provided the kind of thriller that had excitable Nevada coach Bill Musselman particularly amped up. Musselman opened his postgame press conference with an apology after television cameras caught him shouting obscenities during a lockerroom celebration.
“What an unbelievable game,” Musselman said.
Martin’s 3-pointer with 2:26 left in overtime gave Nevada its first lead since opening the game on a 5-0 run. Texas’ Matt Coleman took a jumper that went around and out, and Martin hit another 3 that extended Nevada’s lead to 8177 with 1:36 left.
After Coleman cut Nevada’s margin to 81-79, Martin passed to twin brother Cody for a layup that made it 83-79 with 53 seconds remaining. Tenth-seeded Texas later got within two on a 3-pointer by Kerwin Roach II with 15.5 seconds left, but that’s as close as the Longhorns got.
Caleb Martin also had 10 rebounds and five assists. Cody Martin had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Nevada’s Kendall Stephens had a team-high 22 points.
(2) Cincinnati 68, (15) Georgia State 53
NASHVILLE, TENN. » Jarron Cumberland had 27 points and 11 rebounds to set career highs in both categories as Cincinnati recovered after blowing a 10-point lead in the second half to beat pesky Georgia State in the NCAA Tournament.
Cincinnati, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, won its eighth game in a row and advanced to a Sunday matchup against seventhseeded Nevada.
After trailing 42-32 early in the second half, Georgia State (24-11) rallied to take a pair of one-point leads, its last one coming on a driving bank shot from D’Marcus Simonds with 9:30 left.
Cincinnati (31-4) answered by reeling off 10 straight points.
Gary Clark, the American Athletic Conference player of the year, put Cincinnati back in front by sinking a 3-pointer with 9:02 left. Kyle Washington added two straights baskets before Jacob Evans III provided the exclamation point by sinking a baseline 3-pointer that gave the Bearcats a 56-47 edge with 6:19 remaining.
(7) Texas A&M 73, (10) Providence 69
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Admon Gilder scored 18 points to help Texas A&M hold off Providence in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Robert Williams and Tyler Davis both had doubledoubles for the Aggies (2112), the No. 7 seed in the West Region. The teams were tied at 50 with about 9 minutes left but Texas A&M responded with a 12-2 run to finally wrestle control away from the Friars.
Gilder hit a straightaway 3 with 2:49 left to cap that flurry for a 62-52 lead.
Davis had 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Williams added 13 points and 14 boards — including a highlight-reel windmill dunk with 39.2 seconds left as the Aggies did just enough to put it away.
Rodney Bullock scored 22 points with three 3-pointers for 10th-seeded Providence (21-14), which shot 44 percent but never recovered from A&M’s critical-moment burst.
(2) North Carolina 84, (15) Lipscomb 66
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Kenny Williams scored 18 points and defending national champion North Carolina took its time before opening up, beating Lipscomb in the first round of the NCA A Tournament.
Theo Pinson had 15 points and flirted with a triple-double for the Tar Heels (26-10), the No. 2 seed in the West Region.
Playing for the first time in the NCAA tourney, the 15th-seeded Bisons (23-10) shot well at the start and held an early six-point edge. They led 33-31 with under four minutes left in the first half before North Carolina went on a 12-1 run to take control by the break.
UNC won its 12th NCAA game in 13 tries going back to the 2016 tournament that ended with a title-game loss to Villanova.