NCAA March Madness afternoon roundup

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog
photo Dayton's Vee Sanford (43) hits the game-winning shot against Ohio State 3.8 seconds remaining in the second half in a second-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday, March 20, 2014.

EAST REGIONAL

HARVARD 61, CINCINNATI

SPOKANE, Wash. - Siyani Chambers scored 11 points, including five straight in the final 2 minutes, and 12th-seeded Harvard won its second NCAA tournament game in history, upsetting fifth-seeded Cincinnati 61-57 on Thursday in the East Regional.

Wesley Saunders led the Crimson (27-4) with 12 points as Harvard pulled off an upset for the second straight year. Last year, Harvard upset New Mexico as a 14 seed.

The Crimson became the first Ivy League school with NCAA tournament wins in consecutive years since Princeton in 1983-84.

Harvard never trailed after the opening moments. They played with confidence and scrap against the Bearcats, who shared the American Athletic Conference regular season title.

Sean Kilpatrick led Cincinnati (27-7) with 18 points, but the Bearcats failed to win a tournament game for the second straight year.

SOUTH REGIONAL

DAYTON 60, OHIO ST. 59

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Vee Sanford scored on a layup with 3.8 seconds left to lift 11th-seeded Dayton.

Sanford finished with 10 points, while Dyshawn Pierre led the Flyers (24-10) with 12 points in a matchup of Ohio schools separated by about 75 miles.

The sixth-seeded Buckeyes (25-10) had one last chance to pull out the victory, but Aaron Craft's driving 10-footer hit off the backboard and rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Sam Thompson scored 18 points and Craft added 16 for Ohio State, which was eliminated after one game for only the third time in its 26 tournament appearances.

SYRACUSE 77, W. MICHIGAN 53

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The zone is purring again for Syracuse - and so is Trevor Cooney.

Cooney scored 18 points, breaking out of a long slump, fellow guard Tyler Ennis had 16, and the Orange defense clamped down in a 77-53 victory over Western Michigan on Thursday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Syracuse (28-5), the third seed in the South Regional, will play 11th-seeded Dayton (24-10) on Saturday. Dayton beat Ohio State 60-59 on Thursday.

Western Michigan (23-10), the Mid-American Conference champion, had won 14 of 16 games and was in the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade.

PITTSBURGH 77, COLORADO 48

ORLANDO, Fla. - Talib Zanna scored 16 of his 18 points in the opening half, helping ninth-seeded Pittsburgh build a 28-point lead.

The Panthers (26-9) shot 51 percent and played stifling defense.

Colorado (23-12) was eager to make amends for an early exit from the tournament a year ago, but had no answers for the 6-foot-9 Zanna. The Pitt center made six of seven shots in the first half, and the Panthers didn't have any difficulty finishing off the overwhelmed Buffaloes.

Josh Scott led the eighth-seeded Buffaloes with 14 points, however Colorado couldn't overcome a subpar performance from Askia Booker.

WEST REGIONAL

OREGON 87, BYU 68

MILWAUKEE - This was one sweet homecoming for Elgin Cook. The rest of the Oregon Ducks made themselves at home, too.

Cook scored a career-high 23 points and the seventh-seeded Ducks pulled away for an 87-68 victory over No. 10 seed BYU in the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

Joseph Young had 19 points for the Ducks (24-9), who had to stage a big comeback to beat the Cougars 100-96 in overtime in December. There was no comeback needed this time, with Oregon turning away every charge by BYU in the second half.

Led by Cook, a Milwaukee native who starred at nearby Hamilton High School, the Ducks advanced to a third-round game against No. 2 seed Wisconsin on Saturday. Wisconsin beat American 75-35.

WISCONSIN 75, AMERICAN 35

MILWAUKEE - Ben Brust scored 17 points and second-seeded Wisconsin devastated American with a 22-5 run to close the first half.

The second-seeded Badgers (27-7) recovered from a brief first-half rut and seven-point deficit to extinguish the dreams of the 15th-seeded Eagles (20-13).

After Wisconsin was ousted in the first round last year as a No. 5 seed, Brust made sure his senior season didn't end the same way. He attacked the glass for baskets on consecutive possessions, ending with a three-point play with 3:33 left in the first half to give Wisconsin a 23-20 lead.

The Badgers shot 57 percent from the field in the second half.

John Schoof had 11 points for American.

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