TOP SEEDS KENTUCKY & CAROLINA WIN
Baylor and Kansas also move on to NCAA Elite 8
ATLANTA — Baylor’s powerful 6-8, 235-pound forward Quincy Acy, who is easily distinguishable by his full-grown beard, receding hairline and the body of a 10-year NBA veteran, is only 21 years old, but he looks like the oldest senior in college basketball. Still, no one is about to question his age or his ability.
Acy scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, grabbed 15 rebounds, had three assists and was a thundering force ins ide Fr iday night, slamming home three dunks and adding an unexpected 17-foot jumper as the thirdseeded Bears held off Xavier, 75-70, here at the Georgia Dome to advance to the NCAASOUTH Region final.
The Bears (30-7) will face top-seeded Kentucky, which ousted No. 4 Indiana Friday night, in Sunday’s regional final.
The Big 12Bears raced to a 22-4 lead, then watched it almost evaporate completely when Xavier rallied to pull within 71-69 on a three-pointer by preseason All-american guard Tu Holloway from Hempstead, L.I. with 27 seconds remaining before guard Brady Heslip, a Boston College transfer, made four free throws in the final 17.6 seconds to end the suspense
“You don’t like the look?” Acy said. “I think it looks nice myself. My mother likes it. I think it might be my hairline. Prematurely bald. I’ve accepted it. I get a lot of ragging from my teammates. It’s cool.
“I skipped a grade when I was younger. I’m supposed to be a junior, y’all. I’m not old.”
Acy was around for Baylor’s last trip to the Elite Eight two years ago when the Bears lost to duke in2010 in themidwest Region final in Houston. He is a career 1,000-point scorer and a second-team all-big 12 selection who has developed a reputation as a ferocious dunker, throwing down 244 during his career and once powering his way to 10 dunks in a game against Texas two years ago. That awesome accomplishment was not lost on his coach Scott Drew, who was asked if he’d ever seen more.
“Maybe a Harlem globe trotter,” Drew said.
Acy punctuated his performance with a spectacular highlight-reel dunk off an alley-oop inbounds pass this time that left the crowd speechless.
“Quincy got dunked on earlier in the game, so he redeemed himself,” teammate Pierre Jackson said. “I gave him a hard time about it.
“That’s got to beno. 1 on ‘Sportscenter.’ I approve of that dunk. It was Blake Griffin-ish.”
Acy has helped give the lengthy Bears the strength and power they need to contend for a spot in their first Final Four. He put on a show for Drew’s parents, who were attending their first game of the season. Former Valparaiso coach Homer Drew was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September. Three days later, Janet, hiswife of 44 years, was found to have advanced stage bladder cancer.
“We have a very close family, and normally my parents make it to a game or two during the course of the year,” Scott Drew said. “This year they planned to make a lot more since my dad retired. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to. My mom finished chemo and she just finished radiation. So this is her first road trip, per se.
“They were going to take it easy and drive halfway and then come here. So it will be good to see her.
“Anytime you can have your parents with you to celebrate big moments, it’s exciting. The great thing is not only are they here but you get more words of wisdom, because my dad’s still a coach. So I’m sure he’ll be critiquing practice.’’
Homer Drew likely will have some words with his son about not taking his team’s foot off the accelerator. This game shouldn’t have been that close. Baylor, which got 16 points from Jackson, shot 51% and had 21 assists. The Bears seemed ready to shut the door when Acy
slammed home a dunk to put Baylor up, 33-16, with 5:08 left in the half. But, less than a minute later, Acy slammed Xavier’s 7-foot, 275-pound center Kenny Frease to the floor as he tried to power his way inside for a layup and was called for a flagrant foul 1, sending Frease to the line to shoot two free throws and giving the Musketeers the ball. If officials had added excessive force, Acy would have been thrown out of the game and suspended for the regional final.
As it was, Frease made two free throws with 4:20 to play and scored six more points as the musketeers went on a 13-0 run, cutting the lead to 33-29 when Mark Lyons made a free throw with 29 seconds left in the half. Xavier (23-13), the Atlantic 10 tournament runnerup, had won 10 games this season after trailing at the half, but even though Holloway scored 22 points in his final college game and Frease added 18, it just wasn’t enough.
“Coming into the game, we talked about not falling behind early, which is what plagued us against Notre Dame and Lehigh (in the second and third rounds),’’ said Xavier coach Chrismack. “It’s easier said than done.’’