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NCAA West Regional at Tucson : Southeastern 0 for 5 as UTEP Ousts LSU

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From Associated Press

Tim Hardaway scored 31 points as Texas El Paso beat Louisiana State, 85-74, Friday night in the first round of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. West Regional at Tucson.

With the loss by LSU, all five Southeastern Conference teams in the NCAA tournament have been eliminated.

The Miners (26-6) advanced to a Sunday game against Indiana.

LSU tied the game, 13-13, on two free throws by Lyle Mouton, but UTEP scored 15 straight points, and the Tigers never came closer than seven the rest of the way.

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Chris Jackson, LSU’s All-American freshman, was held to eight points in the first half on 4-of-13 shooting but finished with 33 points.

LSU’s Ricky Blanton, who was averaging nearly 21 points a game, was held to 11.

Seton Hall 60, SW Missouri St. 51--John Morton scored 26 points, and the 11th-ranked Pirates overcame a five-minute scoreless spell in the second half to beat the Bears.

Poor foul shooting did in Southwest Missouri State, which was 13 of 22 from the free-throw line and missed eight foul shots in the final 14 minutes.

Seton Hall made 14 of its 16 free throws.

Sunday, the Pirates (27-6) will play Evansville, which beat Oregon State, 94-90, in overtime in the opening game.

Southwest Missouri State, champion of the Association of Mid-Continent Universities, ended its season with a 21-10 record.

Seton Hall, runner-up in the Big East Conference, led, 30-23, at halftime behind the 17-point effort of Morton.

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But Southwest Missouri State, which trailed, 39-34, with 14:10 left, rallied to tie the game, 39-39, and was still within 50-48 with 2:39 remaining.

But Seton Hall went on a 10-3 run to clinch the victory.

Hubert Henderson scored 18 points for Southwest Missouri State.

Indiana 99, George Mason 85--In two of the past three years, the eighth-ranked Hoosiers were beaten in the opening round of the NCAA tournament by teams they were supposed to handle with ease. They avoided a repeat with a victory that spoiled George Mason’s first appearance in the tournament.

Freshman Eric Anderson scored 15 points, and six other Hoosiers were in double figures as Indiana shot 62%.

Indiana, the national champion in 1987 and the No. 2-seeded team in the West this year, was eliminated in the first round in 1986 by Cleveland State and lost last year in the first round to Richmond--like George Mason, a member of the Colonial Athletic Assn.

Indiana (26-7) outscored the Patriots, 35-6, in the final 11 minutes of the first half and led by as many as 33 points in the second half.

Mike Harnett scored 24 points, and Kenny Sanders added 23 for George Mason, which finished 20-11.

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“We did a good job on the defensive end on nearly every single (George Mason) possession,” Indiana Coach Bob Knight said. “We rebounded and blocked out very well.”

Knight played his reserves in the final 12 minutes, allowing George Mason to make the final score respectable.

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