San Diego State able to hold off UAB to avoid the early exit

Within the first 5 minutes, Jaedon LeDee scored at the rim, hit a midrange jumper, threw down a powerful dunk and knocked down a 3-pointer.

This was bound to be a big game for LeDee, and San Diego State needed everything the third-team AP All-American had to offer.

LeDee dominated inside on the way to 32 points, Lamont Butler added 15 and No. 5 seed San Diego State held off 12th-seeded UAB 69-65 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“He’s hard to guard,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said of his 6-foot9, 240-pound forward. “He puts a lot of fouls on people. We find him and to his credit, he plays unselfishly. He moves the ball easily, but when his time comes, he was ready for it.”

A year after marching to the national title game, also as a No. 5 seed, the Aztecs saw a 12-point second-half lead disappear before putting together a late surge behind LeDee to avoid a March Madness surprise in the East Region.

“They don’t give out those All-American accolades just on a whim. You have to earn those,” UAB coach Andy Kennedy said of LeDee. “Tremendous player.”

Northwestern 77, FAU 65 (OT):

Ryan Langborg was playing for Princeton last year when he caught the eye of Northwestern coach Chris Collins as both teams advanced at the NCAA Tournament site in Sacramento, California.

Now it’s the Wildcats benefiting from Langborg’s clutch shooting in March — and they couldn’t be more confident in their Ivy League transfer.

“I don’t know, something about that kid — you get to the dance and he’s ready to go,” Collins said.

Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and ninthseeded Northwestern finally put away No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic 77-65 in the first round Friday.

“I usually don’t celebrate a lot when I make shots, but I know I had my tongue out and things like that,” said Langborg, who set a Northwestern record for points in an NCAA Tournament game.

UConn 91, Stetson 52:

Donovan Clingan scored 19 points and Cam Spencer added 15 as top-seeded UConn began defense of its national championship by cruising past 16th-seeded Stetson 91-52 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The top-ranked Huskies (32-3) will face ninth-seeded Northwestern on Sunday in the second round of the East Region at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

West Region Clemson 77, New Mexico 56:

Chase Hunter scored 21 points and sixth-seeded Clemson ended No. 11 seed New Mexico’s hopes of repeating the Mountain West’s run in the NCAA Tournament, beating the Lobos 77-56 on Friday.

Baylor 92, Colgate 67:

Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja’Kobe Walter added 19 and thirdseeded Baylor coasted past 14th-seeded Colgate 92-67 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday. Jayden Nunn added 15 points, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range.