No. 15 Lehigh 75, No. 2 Duke 70

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — C.J. McCollum scored 30 points and Lehigh upset Duke 75-70 on Friday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Lehigh became the sixth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and the first since Norfolk State pulled off the trick earlier in the day.

Duke dropped its first tournament game for only the second time in the past 16 years, and this one occurred just 55 miles from its campus.

The Blue Devils had no answer for McCollum, a speedy guard who’s a two-time Patriot League player of the year and the nation’s fifth-leading scorer.

It didn’t help that the Blue Devils hit just 6 of 26 shots from 3-point range.

Lehigh (27-7) led most of the game, drawing support from North Carolina fans who borrowed brown signs from Mountain Hawks supporters that read “Go Lehigh” to root against their rivals.

No. 15 Norfolk State 86, No. 2 Missouri 84

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kyle O’Quinn had 26 points and 14 rebounds, making several key plays in the closing minutes, and No. 15 seed Norfolk State held on to stun second-seeded Missouri 86-84 on Friday in the West Regional.

Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin each added 20 points for the MEAC champion Spartans (26-9), who made their first trip to the NCAA tournament a memorable one. They became the fifth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and the first since fellow conference member Hampton in 2001.

O’Quinn had a chance to take some of the drama out of the finish when he went to the free throw line with 3.8 seconds to go, but the 70-percent foul shooter missed both tries.

Missouri coach Frank Haith called a timeout with 2.9 seconds left to set up a final play, and the ball wound up in the hands of Phil Pressey. He took a couple of hard dribbles and let loose a 3-pointer from the wing that clanked off the back iron as the buzzer sounded.

Norfolk State advanced to play No. 7 seed Florida in the third round Sunday.

Michael Dixon led Big 12 tournament champion Missouri (30-5) with 22 points, and Pressey and fellow guard Marcus Denmon finished with 20 points each. Pressey also had eight assists.

No. 7 Florida 71, No. 10 Virginia 45

Bradley Beal had 14 points and 11 rebounds, reserve Casey Prather scored a career-high 14 and Florida pulled away in the second half to beat Virginia 71-45.

The Gators (24-10) finished the first half on a 17-4 run to shake off a slow start and get out to a 30-22 lead. They shot 70 percent in the second half, pushing their lead to more than 20 points.

Florida made it to the regional finals last season. The Cavaliers were in the tournament for the first time since 2007.

Mike Scott had 15 points for Virginia (22-10).

Florida, averaging a nation-leading 9.9 3-pointers a game, was 4 of 23 from long range but made 24 of 30 from inside the arc.

No. 3 Florida State 66, No. 14 St. Bonaventure 63

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Bernard James scored 19 points and Florida State barely avoided a big upset, rallying to beat St. Bonaventure.

The Seminoles (25-9) shook off a slow start and won their sixth straight game, including their run to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship last week. They will play sixth-seeded Cincinnati on Sunday in the third round.

Andrew Nicholson scored 20 points and Demetrius Conger had 14 for St. Bonaventure (20-12), which was trying to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 1970.

Florida State used a 16-2 run to take its first lead with 5:15 left on a 3-pointer by Ian Miller. The Seminoles led as much as 60-52 on a dunk by Okaro White with 2:47 left, but had to hold on at the end. 


Read more: The Courier - Your Messenger for the River Valley - NCAA Tournament roundup March 17 2012 
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