Shockers ground veteran Flyers, win 16th in row

indianapolis» Wichita State’s high-flying offense didn’t get off the ground until the closing minutes, when the Shockers played like the more tournamentexperienced team and pulled away to a 64-58 victory over Dayton on Friday night.

The 10th-seeded Shockers (31-4) won their 16th in a row — the second-longest streak in school history — by clamping down on defense and swatting away shots down the stretch. Wichita State blocked eight shots and held the seventhseeded Flyers (24-8) to a seasonlow 31 percent from the field.

Zach Brown’s 3-pointer put Wichita State up 51-45 with 5:38 left, the biggest lead by either team up to that point, and Dayton never threatened again. Landry Shamet had 13 points.

Dayton had the experienced lineup, playing in its fourth straight NCAA Tournament with three senior starters. Point guard Scoochie Smith had 25 points.

The Shockers haven’t lost a game since Jan. 14.

(8) Arkansas 77, (9) Seton Hall 71 B Jaylen

greenville, s.c.» Barford hit the go-ahead layup with 57.8 seconds left to help the Rezorbacks hold off Seton Hall.

Barford had 12 of his 20 points after halftime for the Razorbacks (26-9). That included his layup off Khadeen Carrington’s turnover at the other end, pushing Arkansas ahead for good as the Razorbacks scored the game’s final seven points.

The 6-foot-3 junior also came through with a pair of free throws with 18.3 seconds left following a whistle in which officials reviewed Desi Rodriguez’s foul to stop the clock and changed it to a flagrant foul.

(2) Kentucky 79, (15) Western Kentucky 70 B

indianapolis» Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 18 rebounds as the Wildcats (30-5) won their 12th straight and got their first-game jitters out of the way. They also wound up with a surprisingly close finish after pulling ahead by 18 points in the second half.

The Norse (24-11) closed within 75-68 on Drew McDonald’s 3pointer with 35 seconds left. Malik Monk made four free throws to close it out.

(3) UCLA 97, (14) Kent State 80

B sacramento, calif.» TJ Leaf scored 23 points, Thomas Welsh added 16 and the Bruins (30-4) pulled away late.

Jaylin Walker had 23 points and Jimmy Hall Jr. added 20 for Kent State (22-14).

(1) North Carolina 103, (16) Texas Southern 64 B

greenville, s.c.» Justin Jackson broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points to help the Tar Heels (28-7) cruise.

The Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year had made just 20-of-60 shots (33 percent) and 7of-31 3-pointers (23 percent) in his last four games. But he had 19 points by halftime.

Kevin Scott scored 19 points to lead the Tigers (23-12).

(6) Cincinnati 75, State 61 B (11) Kansas

sacramento, calif.» Troy Caupain scored 23 points, Kyle Washington added 16 and the defensive-minded Bearcats shot their way past the Wildcats.