Kennesaw State edges Liberty to claim Atlantic Sun trophy
Terrell Burden scored 19 points and made a free throw with less than a second left to rally Kennesaw State to a 67-66 victory over Liberty in Georgia, earning the Bulldogs their first Atlantic Sun Conference championship and their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
It is a remarkable turnaround for Kennesaw State under fourthyear coach Amir Abdur-Rahim. The Bulldogs finished with a 1-28 record in 2019-20 — Burden’s freshman season and the first under Abdur-Rahim. They went 5-19 in Abdur-Rahim’s second season and 13-18 last year. Now the Bulldogs will bring a school-record 26-8 mark to their first Big Dance. The Flames are an NIT candidate.
BIG SOUTH UNC Asheville 77, Campbell 73:
Drew Pember had 29 points, Tajion Jones scored 16 in the final 7:35 and No. 1 seed UNC Asheville stormed back from a 66-52 deficit to beat seventh-seeded Campbell in Charlotte, North Carolina, winning the Big South Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time.
SUN BELT South Alabama 75, James Madison 66:
The eighth-seeded Jaguars (19-15) never trailed and got 18 points from Isaiah Moore and 17 from Owen White as they ousted the fourth-seeded Dukes in a semifinal in Pensacola, Florida. Mezie Offurum scored 20 for JMU (22-11).
PATRIOT LEAGUE Colgate 91, Army 74:
Oliver Lynch-Daniels had 21 points for the top-seeded Raiders (25-8), who will host the championship game Wednesday night in Hamilton, New York, against Lafayette, which outlasted American 84-76 in double overtime.
REGULAR SEASON No. 1 Houston 67, Memphis 65:
Jamal Shead scored 16 points, including the winning basket as time ran out, and Houston escaped a second-half rally by the host Tigers. Shead’s basket from inside the foul lane — about 18 feet from the key — came as the horn sounded.
No. 5 Purdue 76, Illinois 71:
Brandon Newman scored 19 points, Zach Edey added 17 and Purdue held on to beat Illinois and become the first team to win the Big Ten title by three or more games since 2014.
Braden Smith added 15 points for the Boilermakers (26-5, 15-5), who led by 24 early in the second half. Matthew Mayer led the Illini (20-11, 11-9) with 16 points.
No. 15 Indiana 75, Michigan 73 (OT):
Trayce Jackson-Davis had 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists in his final home game for the Hoosiers, who sealed the victory with a steal on Michigan’s final possession.
Penn State 65, No. 21 Maryland 64:
Camren Wynter made a layup with less than a second remaining to lift Penn State at home. Jalen Pickett scored 16 points for the Nittany Lions (19-12, 10-10 Big Ten), who trailed by 16 late in the first half. Jahmir Young scored 26 for the Terps (20-11, 11-9),
Late Saturday
NCAA DIVISION III Randolph-Macon 63, Scranton 41: Miles Mallory recorded his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Daniel Mbangue led all scorers with 16 points as top-ranked Randolph-Macon extended its winning streak to 27 games with an NCAA second-round triumph in Ashland. The Yellow Jackets led 61-31 and held the Royals to 32.6% shooting.
R-MC has won 64 straight home games, the longest streak in all NCAA divisions.
SUN BELT Texas State 71, Marshall 68:
Mason Harrell fed Tyrel Morgan for the go-ahead layup with a minute left and sank a jumper with seven seconds remaining to help the Bobcats upend the Thundering Herd in a quarterfinal.
REGULAR SEASON Duke 62, North Carolina 57:
Freshman Kyle Filipowski had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Duke in Chapel Hill. The Blue Devils (23-8, 14-6) won their sixth straight game and clinched a double bye in the ACC Tournament, which begins Tuesday at Greensboro Coliseum. UNC (19-12, 11-9) very well could need to win the ACC Tournament to make the NCAA field of 68.
No. 16 Miami 78, No. 25 Pittsburgh 76:
Wooga Poplar made a career-best six 3-pointers for 18 points, and Miami captured the No. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament with a home victory. Miami shares the regular-season title with Virginia.
Syracuse 72, Wake Forest 63: Jesse Edwards celebrated his Senior Night with 27 points and 20 rebounds for the Orange (17-14, 10-10).
Clemson 87, Notre Dame 64: Hunter Tyson scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as host Clemson (22-9, 14-6) earned a bye to the quarterfinals. It was also the last regular-season game for Notre Dame coach Mike Brey.
Auburn 79, No. 12 Tennessee 70:
Wendell Green Jr. scored 24 points to help Auburn boost its NCAA Tournament prospects with a home victory. The Tigers reached 20 wins and rebounded from an overtime loss at No. 2 Alabama.