Panthers fend off Bulldogs to take opening game

PITTSBURGH 60, MISSISSIPPI ST. 59

Jamarius Burton made a goahead jumper with 10 seconds left and Pittsburgh edged Mississippi State, 60-59, in a back-and-forth First Four game Tuesday night in

Dayton, Ohio, that featured 21 lead changes — the most in an NCAA tournament game in five years.

Mississippi State had a great chance to win at the end at University of Dayton Arena, but Shakeel Moore missed a wideopen three-pointer from the corner with two seconds remaining and D. J. Jeffries’s tip-in attempt was off target just before the buzzer.

Nelly Cummings led Pittsburgh with 15 points. Greg Elliott scored 13 and Blake Hinson added 12 as the Panthers (23-11) won an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 2014.

They slotted into the Midwest Region as the 11th seed and advance to face No. 6 Iowa State on Friday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C.

A layup by Tolu Smith gave Mississippi State a 59-58 advantage with 32 seconds left, but Pitt — after a three-minute scoring drought — grabbed the lead back on Burton’s short jumper. TEXAS A&M CORPUS

l CHRISTI 75, SOUTHEAST

MISSOURI STATE 71: Isaac Mushila had 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Islanders held off the Redhawks to earn the first

NCAA tournament win in program history.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi went 3 for 4 at the free throw line in the final 15 seconds to ice the game and advance to play topseeded Alabama in a South Region game in Birmingham, Ala.

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 10-point deficit in the opening game of this year’s NCAA tournament and tied the game 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&M Corpus 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 three-pointer with 1.5 seconds to go.

Mushila grabbed the rebound and sank 1 of 2 free throws for the final margin.