Texas A&M-Corpus Christi advances to start tourney
DAYTON, Ohio — Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi held off Southeast Missouri State 75-71 on Tuesday night to earn the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi went 4 of 4 at the free-throw line in the final 15 seconds to ice the game and help the Islanders advance to play top-seeded Alabama in the South Region.
The 16th-seeded Islanders (24-10), winners of the Southland Conference, returned to the First Four for a second straight season and led for all but 23 seconds.
Southeast Missouri State (19-17) erased a 10point deficit and tied it at 64 when Chris Harris made both free throws with 3:07 left.
Trevian Tennyson scooped in a layup off the glass to give Texas A&MCorpus Christi a 72-69 lead with 22 seconds left, but Phillip Russell drove for a layup on the other end to bring the Redhawks within one.
Jalen Jackson made two foul shots with 14 seconds remaining to extend the lead to 74-71, and Russell came up short on a good look at a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go.
Mushila grabbed the rebound and sank one of two free throws for the final margin.
Jackson led the Islanders with 22 points, going 14 of 18 at the free-throw line. Ross Williams added 13 points, Tennyson scored 12 and De'Lazarus Keys pulled down 10 rebounds.
Harris scored 23 points before foiling out for No. 16 seed Southeast Missouri State, the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champion. The Redhawks went 9 of 20 at the freethrow line and shot 47% from the field.
Edey headlines All-America team
Purdue's Zach Edey and Indiana's Trayce JacksonDavis have given the Big Ten Conference a third straight year with multiple first-team Associated Press All-America picks, while Kansas had a second straight first-teamer in Jalen Wilson.
The 7-4, 305-pound Edey appeared on all 58 ballots as a first-team selection from AP Top 25 voters as the lone unanimous pick.
Houston's Marcus Sasser and Alabama's Brandon Miller joined Edey and Wilson on the first team in representing each of the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 seeds.
Beard won’t talk about incident
Mississippi introduced new basketball coach Chris Beard, who repeatedly declined to discuss specifics regarding his December domestic violence arrest that led to his eventual firing at Texas.
“Respectfully, Randi (Trew) and I have agreed not to talk about the details of what happened, not only that night, but in the nights we went through during this process,” Beard said. “But what I can tell you is that much of what was reported is not accurate, and that has been proven with the case being dismissed and the charges being dropped, and also Randi's statement on December 23. I think that statement speaks for itself.”
Beard's two-year tenure at alma mater Texas ended abruptly in January, though felony domestic charges were ultimately dismissed on Feb. 15.
Texas suspended Beard after his Dec. 12 arrest and fired him three weeks later. Beard was arrested when his fiancée, Randi Trew, called 911 and told officers that Beard strangled, bit and hit her during a confrontation in his home.
Trew later said that Beard didn't choke her, and was defending himself, and that she never intended for Beard to be arrested and prosecuted.