Houston wins thriller over San Diego State
Gray scores 39 points to help Cougars move on
WICHITA, Kan. — So many thoughts were running through Rob Gray’s head as he dribbled near midcourt, time winding down in a tied NCAA Tournament game, that Houston’s star guard nearly ran out of time.
“I was thinking to myself, I’m a senior, I’ve never been in March Madness. This is what I live for,” Gray said later. “A small thought ran through my head: I thought about Cincinnati, how I had a chance to win that game for us and I didn’t, and I just wanted to come through for us.”
Finally deciding it was time to go, Gray drove for a wind-milling layup that trickled over the rim with 1.1 seconds left. And when San Diego State’s
Trey Kell missed a tough 3-pointer at the buzzer, the No. 6 seed Cougars had a heart-stopping 67-65 firstround win Thursday night.
Gray had come through where he failed in the American Athletic Conference title game. Houston will play third-seeded Michigan in the West Region on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of ways you have to win games, a lot of times you just have to do it from the seat of your pants,” said Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, in the tournament with his fourth different team. “The difference in the game tonight is that we had Rob Gray and they didn’t.”
Devin Watson had just tied the game for the Aztecs with a turnaround 3-pointer, his second in a matter of seconds, when Gray dribbled up floor with 29 ticks left. He allowed the clock to melt down to six seconds before crossing over, scooting beneath two defenders and scooping up his shot.
The layup gave him 39 points and the Cougars (27-7) their first NCAA Tournament win since 1984, when coach Guy Lewis took Hakeem Olajuwon and several members of Phi Slamma Jamma to their third consecutive Final Four.
Jalen Mcdaniels had 18 points to lead No. 11 seed San Diego State (22-11), the tournament champions of the Mountain West. Kell finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, though it’s the three points he missed at the end that will stand out.
“It means a lot to our program, especially sitting next to Coach Sampson. He’s a big part of why I’m here. Rob’s a big part, too,” the Cougars’ Devin Davis said. “We survived to play another day.”
At Boise, Idaho, Zach Norvell Jr. hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 20.8 seconds left to help the Bulldogs escape a major scare in the West Region over UNC Greensboro. Last season’s national runners-up trailed 64-62 with 1:48 left after squandering a 12-point lead they took early in the second half. Josh Perkins tied the game at 64 with a long jumper, and after Greensboro’s Francis Alonso forced up a miss, Gonzaga (31-4) got the rebound and worked the ball to Norvell, who spotted up from the right elbow and made the 3 for the lead. The Bulldogs advanced to play Ohio State on Saturday.
No. 4 Gonzaga 68, No. 13 UNC Greensboro 64 — No. 5 Ohio State 81, No. 12 South Dakota St. 73
—At Boise, Idaho, Kam Williams helped push Ohio State into the round of 32. Williams made a tiebreaking four-point play with 1:36 left, then added a trio of free throws after being fouled on another 3 attempt to lift Ohio State. The Buckeyes (25-8) traded 3-point attempts with South Dakota State — 71 combined in all — before reeling off 16 straight points to build a 13-point second-half lead.keita Bates-diop had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Buckeyes, who will face Gonzaga in the round of 32 on Saturday. South Dakota State (28-7) hit 13 of 31 from 3-point range and Mike Daum scored 27 points.
At Wichita, Kan., Charles Matthews had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Michigan locked down on defense and the Wolverines beat Montana. Michigan (29-7) trailed by 10 in the opening minutes, struggled to get into rhythm until late in the first half, and never really went on a big run to seize control of the game.
No. 3 Michigan 61, No. 14 Montana 47 —