Manhattan Tops Sooners, Takes Program Uptown
The doubters were wrong. Manhattan belongs in the tournament.
The Jaspers got big contributions from their bench, including 14 second-half points from Jeronimo Bucero, and upset fourth-seeded Oklahoma 77-67 on Thursday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament’s Southeast Regional.
“Bob Frederick and the tournament selection committee are not quite as dumb as people think,” Manhattan coach Fran Fraschilla said, referring to the chairman of the committee who attended the game.
When the Jaspers (26-4) were chosen as an atlarge team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the decision raised more than a few eyebrows.
Manhattan, seeded 13th, was the first MAAC team to receive an at-large berth and has made a little more history. The victory was the Jaspers’ second in NCAA tournament play, and the 26 wins are the most in their 89-year history.
“It goes to show that these mid-conference teams can knock off anybody on any given day,” guard Ted Ellis said.
Ellis can thank some of the reserves. Bucero, a sophomore from Spain, had three 3-pointers in his second half scoring spree. Justin Phoenix scored nine off the bench, seven during a 10-0 run that gave the Jaspers control. Overall, Manhattan’s bench outscored Oklahoma’s 30-14.
“It’s easy to sit here and nitpick the game,” Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Manhattan just outplayed us.”
Manhattan 77, Oklahoma 67 MANHATTAN (26-4)
Hoover 0-2 4-6 4, Evans 5-11 1-3 11, Marshall 2-7 4-5 8, Ellis 3-9 5-6 11, Hyman 5-8 1-2 13, Thacker 1-4 5-8 7, Phoenix 4-5 1-1 9, Lyons 0-0 0-0 0, Bucero 4-8 3-4 14. Totals 24-54 24-35 77.
OKLAHOMA (23-9)
Minor 6-14 9-10 24, Abercrombie 6-12 2-2 14, Mayden 1-2 0-2 2, Ontjes 3-5 4-4 11, Barnes 1-4 0-0 2, Fowler 0-2 0-0 0, Yanish 2-3 0-0 4, Curry 4-8 0-0 10, Giles 0-0 0-0 0, McClain 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-50 15-18 67.
Halftime-Oklahoma 34, Manhattan 29. 3-Point goals-Manhattan 5-14 (Bucero 3-7, Hyman 2-3, Thacker 0-1, Ellis 0-3), Oklahoma 6-21 (Minor 3-7, Curry 2-6, Ontjes 1-3, Fowler 0-2, Barnes 0-3). Fouled out-Mayden, Ontjes, Barnes. Rebounds-Manhattan 27 (Marshall 6), Oklahoma 37 (Abercrombie 10). Assists-Manhattan 11 (Thacker 4), Oklahoma 15 (Ontjes 11). Total fouls- Manhattan 21, Oklahoma 24. Technical-Curry.
Arizona State 81, Ball State 66
The Sun Devils trailed only once in the early minutes and opened a 23-5 lead on a dunk by Mario Bennett with 11:48 left in the first half, coasting past the Cardinals.
ASU used its quickness and pressed Ball State, forcing the Cardinals to turn the ball over seven times over the first 7 minutes. Ball State also missed six of its first eight shots.
Ron Riley, playing with an aching back, led Arizona State with 24 points, and Bennett finished with 21. Isaac Burton had 13.
BALL ST. (19-11)
Payne 6-13 3-4 15, Wells 7-15 2-3 16, Gregory 4-5 2-4 10, Zachary 1-5 4-4 7, Norris 3-13 3-4 11, C.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 2-3 1-2 5, Reed 0-2 0-0 0, S.Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Rogers 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 24-57 15-21 66.
ARIZONA ST. (23-8)
Riley 10-16 0-0 24, Brewer 4-10 1-2 9, Bennett 9-14 2-6 21, Capers 0-3 0-0 0, Veal 3-7 0-0 9, Bacon 1-3 0-0 2, Burton 5-9 1-1 13, Zaletel 1-2 1-3 3, Hargrays 0-0 0-0 0, Lopez 0-0 0-0 0, Cunningham 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 5-12 81.
Halftime-Arizona St. 40, Ball St. 28. 3-Point goals-Ball St. 3-13 (Norris 2-6, Zachary 1-2, Thompson 0-1, Wells 0-4), Arizona St. 10-21 (Riley 4-7, Veal 3-6, Burton 2-5, Bennett 1-2, Capers 0-1). Fouled out-Gregory, Capers. Rebounds- Ball St. 35 (Payne, Wells 10), Arizona St. 34 (Brewer 9). Assists-Ball St. 16 (Zachary 4), Arizona St. 23 (Capers 9). Total fouls-Ball St. 16, Arizona St. 18.
Kentucky 113, Mount St. Mary’s 67
Scoring more points than in any of its 97 previous tournament games, the Wildcats spotted the Mountaineers a 5-2 lead before coming alive to eliminate coach Jim Phelan and Mount St. Mary’s.
MOUNT ST. MARY’S, MD. (17-13)
Brown 0-5 0-1 0, Cheunge 0-6 3-4 3, Edney 3-10 3-8 9, McGuthrie 6-17 3-5 20, Inge 5-8 3-4 15, Balistrere 0-1 3-7 3, Watson 2-6 1-2 5, Van Dorpe 5-7 0-0 11, Robinson 0-2 0-0 0, Kelly 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 21-63 17-33 67.
KENTUCKY (26-4)
Rhodes 1-2 7-8 9, McCarty 7-12 0-2 17, Riddick 1-2 0-0 2, Delk 6-10 5-6 20, Sheppard 3-5 0-0 7, Harrison 1-7 0-0 3, Edwards 3-4 0-0 7, Walker 3-7 3-7 10, Epps 3-4 0-0 7, Prickett 8-10 0-2 16, Pope 4-4 3-6 13, Padgett 1-4 0-0 2, Mills 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 41-72 18-31 113.
Halftime-Kentucky 59, Mt. St. Mary’s 36. 3-Point goals-Mount St. Mary’s 8-18 (McGuthrie 5-11, Inge 2-3, Van Dorpe 1-1, Robinson 0-1, Cheunge 0-2), Kentucky 13-25 (McCarty 3-3, Delk 3-6, Pope 2-2, Epps 1-1, Walker 1-2, Sheppard 1-2, Edwards 1-2, Harrison 1-6, Mills 0-1). Fouled out-Watson. Rebounds-Mount St. Mary’s 38 (Inge 8), Kentucky 56 (McCarty 11). Assists- Mount St. Mary’s 17 (Inge 8), Kentucky 33 (Epps 8). Total fouls-Mount St. Mary’s 26, Kentucky 23.
Tulane 76, Brigham Young 70
Kim Lewis scored 22 points and the Green Wave opened the second half with a 13-4 run in beating the Cougars.
Brigham Young stayed with Tulane throughout, but hurt itself by losing 14 of 18 turnovers on steals.
TULANE (23-9)
Allen 5-8 1-1 11, Simmons 6-12 1-3 13, Honeycutt 5-12 4-7 16, Jackson 0-4 0-0 0, Lewis 6-11 7-9 22, Cameron 1-2 1-3 3, Childs 4-5 0-2 9, Nelson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-56 14-25 76.
BRIGHAM YOUNG (22-10)
Larson 8-13 4-6 20, Durrant 1-3 0-2 2, Roberts 10-16 0-0 20, Ro.Reid 8-12 0-0 19, Ra.Reid 0-4 0-0 0, Wilcox 1-6 0-0 3, Knight 1-4 1-2 3, Jepsen 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 0-1 0-0 0, Berges 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 30-61 5-10 70.
Halftime-Brigham Young 36, Tulane 35. 3-Point goals-Tulane 6-16 (Lewis 3-5, Honeycutt 2-5, Childs 1-1, Jackson 0-1, Simmons 0-4), Brigham Young 5-14 (Ro.Reid 3-6, Berges 1-1, Wilcox 1-5, Ra.Reid 0-1, Larson 0-1). Fouled out- None. Rebounds-Tulane 30 (Allen 9), Brigham Young 36 (Roberts 8). Assists- Tulane 18 (Honeycutt 7), Brigham Young 20 (Ro.Reid 6). Total fouls-Tulane 11, Brigham Young 19. A-19,120.
xxxx Southeast Regional Thursday’s results Manhattan 77, Oklahoma 67 Arizona State 81, Ball State 66 Kentucky 113, Mount St. Mary’s 67 Tulane 76, Brigham Young 70 Today’s games Iowa State (22-10) vs. Florida (17-12) North Carolina (24-5) vs. Murray State (21-8) Michigan State (22-5) vs. Weber State (20-8) Georgetown (19-9) vs. Xavier, Ohio (23-4)