Sports update: Dayton, Harvard score NCAA tournament's first big upsets
The Associated Press
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.
MIDWEST REGIONAL
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
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.