W. Virginia undone by 3 technical fouls
Simas Lukosius hit seven 3pointers and scored 31 points, Day Day Thomas also had seven 3s and 29 points, and No. 11 seed Cincinnati was helped by three technical fouls called against No. 14 seed West Virginia in the second half as it rallied from a 16point hole for a 90-85 victory in the Big 12 tournament Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.
The Bearcats (19-13) were trailing 84-83 with 1:33 left when Dan Skillings Jr.’s basket gave them the lead. And when the Mountaineers’ RaeQuan Battle turned the ball over, Lukosius added a pair of free throws for some breathing room. Thomas provided the dagger with the Bearcats leading 87-85 and 15 seconds to go, hitting one last 3-pointer to send the Big 12 newcomer into a second-round game against No. 16 Kansas — the tournament’s No. 6 seed — on Wednesday night.
Jesse Edwards had 17 points, Quinn Slazinski scored 15, and Battle had 14 for the Mountaineers (9-23), who set a school record for losses while finishing with their fewest wins since the 2001-02 team went 820 in Gale Catlett’s final season.
While the Bearcats romped to a 92-56 victory against West Virginia on Saturday, there was nothing easy about the rematch three days later. The Mountaineers instead seemed to rally behind Josh Eilert, who took over as interim coach when Bob Huggins resigned before the season, stretching a 38-36 halftime lead to a 62-46 advantage early in the second half.
That’s when Kobe Johnson was called for the first of the technicals, and the Bearcats comeback began. Lukosius not only made both foul shots but also followed with a 3-pointer. Moments later, it was Edwards who was called for a technical foul, and Lukosius again made both free throws.
Then it was Battle’s turn to get a technical, and Lukosius added two more foul shots to tighten up the game. When the Lithuanian drilled a 3-pointer moments later, the Bearcats had a 71-70 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to go.
Other men’s tournaments
ACC: Freshmen Braeden Shrewsberry (23) and Markus Burton (21) combined for 44 points and 12th-seeded Notre Dame (13-19) opened its tournament with an 840-80 win against Georgia Tech. The Fighting Irish move on to play Wake Forest, with the winner playing Pitt Thursday. ... Casey Morsell scored 25 points to lead No. 10 N.C. State to a 94-85 win against Louisville. The Cardinals lost despite gettting 36 points from Skyy Clark.
Atlantic 10: Gibson Jimerson had 26 points and Saint Louis ( 13- 19) beat Rhode Island 74-71 in a first -round game. Jimerson also had five assists for the Billikens, who face Duquesne in the second round.
Coastal Athletic: The College of Charleston (27-7) won its second straight tournament title, defeating Stony Brook, 82-79 in overtime, to grab the automatic NCAA bid.
Horizon League: Jack Gohlke hit five 3-pointers for Oakland (23-11), and the top seed fought its way through sixth-seeded Milwaukee, 8376, for the tournament title and an automatic bid.
Northeast Conference: No. 6 seed Wagner (16-15) held off a late push from No. 2 Merrimack to win the tournament title, 5447, and clinch an NCAA berth for the first time since 2003.
Women’s tournaments
Horizon League: Natalie McNeal scored 32 points and No. 2 seed Green Bay (27-6) took down No. 1 seed Cleveland State, 64-40, to earn its first NCAA tournament bid since 2018.
Summit League: Paige Meyer had 18 points, and South Dakota State (27-5) earned its 12th trip to the NCAA tournament with a 67-54 win vs. North Dakota State in the league final.
West Coast: Kennedy Dickie scored 16 points and Portland shocked No. 14 Gonzaga (30-3) in the title game for a second year in a row, this time ending the Bulldogs’ school-record 24game winning streak, 67-66.