Defending champion UNC opens with victory
No. 2 North Carolina dominates Lipscomb; No. 13 Marshall shocks No. 4 Wichita State
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Kenny Williams scored 18 points and defending national champion North Carolina took its time before opening up, beating Lipscomb 84-66 Friday in the first round of the NCAA 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 15thseeded 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.
Williams had played only spot duty that season and missed last year’s title run due to an injury. He made 6 of 8 shots Friday and 4 of 5 3s, helping the Tar Heels shoot 52 percent while making nine 3s.
Kenny Cooper scored 14 points for the Bisons, who made just 7 of 28 3-pointers. Marshall 81, Wichita St. 75
SAN DIEGO » Jon Elmore scored 27 points and Jarrod West hit a huge 3-pointer with three minutes left to help No. 13 seed Marshall topple fourth-seeded Wichita State in the East Region.
The Thundering Herd (25-10) also got big shots down the stretch from Ajdin Penava and C.J. Burks to win in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1987.
Wichita State (25-8) got 27 points from Conner Frankamp and seemed to be in control midway through the second half, but the Thundering Herd refused to fade despite its lack of NCAA tourney experience.
After Frankamp’s long jumper gave the Shockers a 70-69 lead with just less than 5 minutes to go, Penava made a layup. The next time down the floor, West buried a long 3 and raised his right hand in celebration after giving the Thundering Herd a 7470 lead. Cincinnati 68, Georgia St. 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.
Cincinnati, the No. 2 seed in the South Region, won its eighth game in a row.
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. Purdue 78, CS-Fullerton 48
DETROIT » Carsen Edwards scored 15 points and second-seeded Purdue eventually shook off the rust from a long layoff and routed Cal State Fullerton.
Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks after losing to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament final, the Boilermakers (296) struggled to make shots down low and beyond the 3-point line and simply looked out of sync.
Edwards, looking healthy after being slowed by an ankle injury, scored 15 and P.J. Thompson added 11 points. W. Virginia 85, Murray St. 68
SAN DIEGO » Jevon Carter scored 21 points, had eight assists and six steals, Teddy Allen added 16 points and No. 5 seed West Virginia overwhelmed 12th-seeded Murray State.
The Mountaineers (2510) pulled away in the second half and advanced to the round of 32 for the third time in the past four seasons as four players finished in double figures.
Carter had 13 points in the second half and was the trigger of a second-half surge by the Mountaineers after Murray State had trimmed a 14-point lead down to five.
Butler 79, Arkansas 62
DETROIT » Kelan Martin scored 27 points and Kamar Baldwin added 24 to lift 10th-seeded Butler to victory over seventhseeded Arkansas.
The Bulldogs (21-13) raced to a 21-2 lead in the opening minutes. Although Arkansas wiped out that entire deficit before halftime, Butler took control again early in the second.
Jaylen Barford scored 15 points for Arkansas, but the Razorbacks (23-12) struggled in the paint — 6-foot-11 freshman Daniel Gafford managed only two field goals. Texas A&M 73, Providence 69
CHARLOTTE, N.C. » Admon Gilder scored 18 points to help Texas A&M hold off Providence.
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.
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. Nevada 87, Texas 83
NASHVILLE, TENN. » Caleb Martin scored 18 points and made two huge 3-pointers in overtime Friday as Nevada rallied to beat Texas for its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2007.