NCAA East: NC State falls to Wyatt, Temple

Associated Press

North Carolina State forward C.J. Leslie (5) dunks against Temple forward Anthony Lee (3) Friday in Dayton, Ohio.

Associated Press

Indiana guard Victor Oladipo (4) dunks past James Madison guard Devon Moore on Friday in Dayton, Ohio.

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Associated Press

Friday, March 22, 2013

DAYTON, Ohio - No raucous celebration to end this season. North Carolina State finished it with a dud.

The Wolfpack couldn't stop injured Khalif Wyatt, who scored 31 points despite a sore thumb and made six decisive free throws in the final 32 seconds Friday, leading Temple to a 76-72 victory in the second round of the East Regional.

The Wolfpack (24-11) returned four starters from a team that went to the round of 16 last season, but couldn't get past the opener this year. They never were able to get over slow starts - a slow start to their season, slow starts in their March games.

"The whole year became this struggle to reach higher than we were, and we just kept reaching and couldn't get there," coach Mark Gottfried said. "You just seem to always be falling short. And today's disappointing, no question."

Richard Howell had 14 points and 15 rebounds for N.C. State, which failed to fully take advantage of its advantage inside.

The Wolfpack are commemorating the 30-year anniversary of their national title under coach Jim Valvano.

Given the expectations for this season, the ending was a huge disappointment.

"I wouldn't say it weighed on us, but when you come in the season with a target on your back like we had, people are going to give you their best shot," Howell said. "There were times when we came out and didn't give other teams our best shot."

The Owls (24-9) are trying to shed their reputation as an easy-out team. They'd made the tournament each of the last five years, losing their opening game all but once. They haven't been to the round of 16 since 2001, when they reached the regional final.

They were having one of their best games of the season, holding a 17-point lead, before Wyatt got hurt, giving them a huge fright. The Atlantic 10's player of the year and top scorer got his thumb caught in a defender's jersey and had it twisted backward.

He took himself out of the game - a sign something was badly wrong - got it taped and returned to finish it off.

Every shot was an adventure, but he made enough to keep Temple around for more than one game. He hit his last two with 2.2 seconds to go, finishing 12 of 14 from the line overall.

No 1. Indiana 83, No. 16 JMU 62

DAYTON, Ohio - Freshman Yogi Ferrell scored 14 points in the first six minutes as top-seeded Indiana slam dunked its way over James Madison in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.

Not taking any chances with a No. 16 seed, the Hoosiers (28-6) started fast and built a 33-point lead in the second half over the Dukes (21-15) and opened the tourney with a statement they intend to be around for a while.

Looking every bit like a team capable of cutting down the nets in Atlanta next month, Indiana will play Temple in the second round on Sunday.

Ferrell finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Cody Zeller had four dunks for Indiana.

Freshman Andre Nation led James Madison with 24 points.

No. 7 Illinois 57, No. 10 Colorado 49

AUSTIN, Texas - Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson made consecutive 3-pointers to give Illinois the lead with 6 minutes left and the seventh-seeded Illini pulled out a tough win over Colorado in a game of wild momentum swings.

Illinois led by 16 at halftime only to watch Colorado rip off a 21-2 run in the second to grab the lead. The Illini looked desperate until Paul and Richardson coolly knocked down their shots to put Illinois ahead 48-44.

Four free throws by Paul eventually put the game away for the Illini (23-12), who will play No. 2 seed Miami on Sunday.

Paul led Illinois with 17 points. Askia Booker scored14 points for Colorado (21-12).

LATE THURSDAY

No. 4 Syracuse 81, No. 13 Montana 34

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Brandon Triche scored 20 points, C.J. Fair added 13 and fourth-seeded Syracuse shut down No. 13 seed Montana with its zone defense.

Michael Carter-Williams chipped in four points, eight rebounds and nine assists as the Orange (27-9) raced out to an early lead that grew as big as 50 points and coasted past the Grizzlies (25-7) to their most lopsided tournament win since beating Brown 101-52 in the first round in
1986.

Syracuse advanced to play 12th-seeded and local favorite California (21-11) on Saturday for a spot in the East regional in Washington, D.C. next week. The Golden Bears beat UNLV 64-61.

Monday, August 12, 2013