Nunge’s block secures victory
Xavier overcomes 13-point deficit in first-round match
Jack Nunge blocked Terrell Burden’s driving attempt at a go-ahead layup in the final seconds, and Xavier dug out of a 13-point hole against surprising Kennesaw State to escape with a 72-67 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Souley Boum hit four clinching free throws in the final 2.6 seconds for the third-seeded Musketeers (26-9), who ran off 15 unanswered points as part of a game-ending 24-6 run. That was enough to turn away the 14th-seeded Owls (26-9) in the program’s first-ever March Madness game.
Xavier moves on to face either Iowa State or Pittsburgh on Sunday in the Midwest Region.
Xavier led 68-67 when Burden — who’d been successful all day with dribble penetration — turned into the paint past Jerome Hunter and appeared to have a path to the rim. The 7-foot Nunge moved over and swatted the ball into the backboard.
Jerome Hunter scored 24 points to lead the Musketeers, while Boum had 17. Nunge had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Burden and Chris Youngblood each scored 14 points to lead Kennesaw State.
Pittsburgh 59, Iowa State 41:
Nelly Cummings scored 13 points and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh held sixth-seeded Iowa State to 23 percent shooting. Jamarius Burton added 11 points and Greg Elliott had 10 for coach Jeff Capel’s Panthers, who stormed to a 22-2 lead after Iowa State missed its first 11 shots. Pitt (24-11), which edged Mississippi State in the First Four, moves on to play third-seeded Xavier on Sunday.
Michigan State 72, Southern California 62:
Joey Hauser scored 17 points and No. 7 seed Michigan State clamped down defensively on No. 10 seed Southern California in the second half. Coach Tom Izzo’s Spartans (20-12) will face the winner of the Vermontmarquette matchup on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
Marquette 78, Vermont 61:
Kam Jones scored 18 straight points for Marquette in the second half, and the secondseeded Golden Eagles beat No. 15 seed Vermont for their first NCAA Tournament victory in a decade. Jones finished with 19 points. Oso Ighodaro scored 14 points and David Joplin added 12 as Marquette (29-6) pulled away in the last 10 minutes. Marquette won its first NCAA Tournament game in a decade and advanced to face Michigan State on Sunday.
Baylor 74, UC Santa Barbara 56:
Caleb Lohner scored a season-best 13 points in just 18 minutes, and No. 3 seed Baylor beat UC Santa Barbara. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 18 points, and LJ Cryer scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. Baylor (23-10) overcame a one-point halftime deficit to advance.
Creighton 72, North Carolina State 63:
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points and sixth-seeded Creighton overcame an abysmal 3-point shooting day to fend off No. 11 seed North Carolina State. The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner did a little bit of everything for the Bluejays, which included hitting a big 3-pointer on a day the team finished 3 of 20 from long range. Kalkbrenner had six dunks and seven rebounds, and N.C. State big men D.J. Burns Jr. and Ebenezer Dowuona were hampered by foul trouble. Next up for the Bluejays (22-12) is third-seeded Baylor in the second round.