San Diego State avoids early exit
SPOKANE, WASH. >> Jaedon 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.
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 on the strength of their star 6-foot-9 forward to avoid a March Madness surprise in the East Region.
Quiet for most of the second half, LeDee scored on three straight possessions for the Aztecs (25-10) after UAB took a 5653 lead. Butler hit a difficult fallaway, and LeDee climbed for an offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:01 left. LeDee hit both free throws to give SDSU a 66-63 lead, and he added two more foul shots with 20 seconds left.
UAB's Efrem Johnson had a contested look at a tying 3-pointer with 8 seconds left, but it rimmed off, and Reese Waters' free throw with 3 seconds remaining allowed the Aztecs a chance to exhale.
LeDee made 11 of 18 shots, was 9 of 10 at the free throw line and had eight rebounds. He topped 30 points for the fourth time this season and finished two short of his career high.
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.
The top-ranked Huskies (323) will face ninth-seeded Northwestern on Sunday in the second round of the East Region at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
MARQUETTE 87, WESTERN KENTUCKY 69 >> Kam Jones scored 28 points and Tyler Kolek made a successful return from an oblique injury, helping No. 2 seed Marquette rally for a victory over No. 15 seed Western Kentucky.
The Golden Eagles (26-9) trailed 43-36 at halftime, but they overwhelmed the Hilltoppers in the second half. They used a 15-2 run to open an 87-67 cushion on the way to their second consecutive first-round NCAA victory.
BAYLOR 92, COLGATE 67 >> Jalen Bridges scored 23 points, Ja'Kobe Walter added 19 and third-seeded Baylor coasted past 14th-seeded Colgate.
Jayden Nunn added 15 points, going 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and RayJ Davis finished with 10 points and nine assists for coach Scott Drew's Bears (24-10), who have won their past six first-round games in March Madness.
NORTHWESTERN 77, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 65, OT >> Ryan Langborg scored 12 of his career-high 27 points in overtime, and ninthseeded Northwestern finally put away No. 8 seed Florida Atlantic.
The injury-depleted Wildcats recovered after squandering a nine-point lead late in the second half. Brooks Barnhizer's driving layup tied it with nine seconds left.