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BAYLOR BEARS
NSAN
Lomers, Dunn help keep Baylor alive
By Noah Trister
Associated Press — Saturday, March 20
NEW ORLEANS — With its first NCAA tournament victory in 60 years out of the way, Baylor has now earned an extended stay.
LaceDarius Dunn scored 26 points and the third-seeded Bears outlasted No.11 Old Dominion 76-68 on Saturday in the second round of the South Regional. Baylor squandered a 14-point first-half lead but went on a late 8-1 run to pull away.
Now, the Bears head back to their home state to play 10th-seeded Saint Mary's in Houston in the round of 16.
Baylor struggled to beat Sam Houston State in the first round for its first NCAA tournament win since 1950, but the Bears arrived loose and confident against Old Dominion, taking a doubledigit lead amid a barrage of early three-pointers and alley-oops.
After the Monarchs rallied to take the lead in the second half, Baylor received a big lift from 7-footer Josh
Lomers, who tied his career-high with 14 points, 12 in the second half.
Old Dominion, which edged No. 6 seed Notre Dame 51-50 in the first round, was trying to become the first team from the Colonial Athletic Association to reach the round of 16 since George Mason's Final Four run in 2006. The Bears would have none of it, scoring the most points of any Monarch opponent all season.
Down 38-28. Old Dominion scored nine straight points to start the second half. Frank Hassell dunked to make it a one-point game, then shot the Old Dominion cheering section a quick glance before heading back on defense.
A little while later, Kent Bazemore's two free throws put Old Dominion ahead 49-47 — its first lead since 1-0.
The Monarchs could never shake the Bears, though, and they couldn't contain Lomers, the lumbering senior who always seemed to be around the basket with the ball. With Baylor ahead 62-61, Old Dominion lost track of Lomers, and his three-point play started the
Bears' final big run.
Dunn's three-pointer made it 68-62, and a reverse layup by Tweet Carter put Baylor ahead by eight.
Hassell had 15 points and eight rebounds for Old Dominion.
The Bears made their first four shots of the game — including three-pointers by Dunn and Carter and an alley-oop from Carter to Dunn — to take a 10-1 lead. Bazemore answered with an alley-oop dunk of his own at the other end, but that did little to stem the tide. Dunn made a three and sneaked behind the defense for another alley-oop from Carter for a 15-1 lead.
Baylor led by as many as 14, and yet another alley-oop — again Carter to Dunn made it 31-18. Carter capped the first half with a floater that beat the buzzer to make it 38-28.
Baylor guard LaceDarius Dunn reaches for the ball as Old Dominion forward Frank Hassell looks to pass during the first half of their game in New Orleans on Saturday. Dunn led Baylor with 26 points and the Bears defeated Old Dominion 76-68.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Late-game free throws put away Cowboys
Georgia Tech's Glen Rice, Jr., tries to block a lay-up by Oklahoma State's Marshall Moses in the first half of their first-round game in Milwaukee on Friday. The Cowboys lost 64-59 to the Yellow Jackets and were eliminated from the tournament.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Nancy Armour Associated Press — Saturday, March 20
MILWAUKEE - The Georgia Tech players earned themselves some extra credit the next time coach Paul Hewitt holds one of his little free throw games.
Gani Lawal scored 14 points, Derrick Favors came within a rebound of a double double and the free throw-challenged Yellow Jackets scored their last 13 points at the line Friday night to hold off seventh-seeded Oklahoma State 64-59 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The Yellow Jackets didn't make a field goal during the last 8:19 of the game. But they finished 24 of 25 from the line — good numbers for a team that came in shooting less than 65 percent.
"We've had some tough nights this year, but we had a good night tonight," Lawal said "When we're in the NCAA Tournament, it's huge. It's huge. We're practicing all the time. We want to keep playing."
The 10th-seeded Yellow Jackets were the eighth double-digit seed to win a game.
and the third to do it Friday. They'll now play Ohio State on Sunday.The Buckeyes may be the No.2 seed in the Midwest, but the Yellow Jackets have to like their chances. With Friday's victory, Georgia Tech improved to 5-0 in NCAA tournament games at the Bradley Center.
Anderson, the nation's third-leading scorer, was just 3 of 12 for 11 points, only the fifth time this season he's failed to score at least 15 points. Obi Muonelo, Oklahoma State's second-best scorer, wasn't any better with 10 points on 4-off-11 shooting.
James Anderson and Oklahoma State, meanwhile, head home knowing the timing couldn't have been worse for one of their poorest games.
And the three-pointers that have carried the Cowboys all season disappeared. They were just 6 of 22 from long range, including 0 of 6 for Anderson.
"They were a much more physical team than I had seen on tape," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "They were able to take us out of some of our offensive things being aggressive."
THE WAVE MARCH 24,2010
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