No Opening-Round Encore for Hampton

Most of the sellout crowd was roaring, hoping for a chance to see a repeat of the celebration that became a television highlight staple a year ago.

No. 15-seeded Hampton was closing in on another victory over a No. 2-seeded team, looking to make Connecticut this season’s Iowa State.

The Huskies, however, intensified their defense over the final three minutes and closed the game with a 7-0 run for a 78-67 victory Friday in the first round of the East Regional at the MCI Center.

“First thing: If that’s a 15, what’s a 14 or a 13 look like?” a very relieved Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun said of Hampton. “We had them put away three, four times in the first half, but there was no quit in them. I am unbelievably impressed with them.

“Down the stretch, I know everyone was rooting for David, but I was pulling for Goliath.”

Last year, Hampton stunned Iowa State, 58-57, to become only the fourth No. 15-seeded team to win a first-round game. The postgame celebration, with Coach Steve Merfeld swinging his arms and legs wildly while being picked up from behind by a player, became one of the most repeated film clips in NCAA tournament history.

“We never felt we were going to lose that game, not before it, not during it, not now,” said Tommy Adams, who led Hampton with 23 points. “It’s tough dealing with the loss, but Connecticut made stops when they had to.”

Hampton (26-7) got within four points of the lead three times in the second half, and trailed 71-67 with 3:08 remaining after a breakaway dunk by Adams following a Connecticut turnover.

Most of the crowd of 17,725 was cheering for the Pirates, but Connecticut (25-6) shut them down on the final five possessions.

The victory was the Huskies’ 10th without a loss in first-round games under Calhoun.

Guard Caron Butler led the Huskies with 21 points and center Emeka Okafor had 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots.

*

North Carolina State 69, Michigan State 58--The backdoor was closed. The three-point shots weren’t falling. North Carolina State had only 18 points at halftime and leading scorer Anthony Grundy was in foul trouble.

So the Wolfpack turned to Plan B.

With freshmen Julius Hodge and Ilian Evtimov leading the way, North Carolina State took the ball straight to the basket. Converting layups and three-point plays, the No. 7-seeded Wolfpack rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit and won going away against the Spartans in the second game at the MCI Center.

North Carolina State (23-10) plays Connecticut in Sunday’s second round.

Hodge scored all of his 16 points in the second half, including back-to-back three-point plays that tied the score at 37-37. Evtimov had 10 of his 12 points after halftime.

The Wolfpack shot 25% in the first half and 67% in the second to win their first NCAA tournament game in 11 years.

“It’s sad to have it end on kind of a sour note,” Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said. “They didn’t beat us with backcuts; they didn’t beat us with threes. They beat us with dribble-drives and free throws. We took one option away, we took the second away and they found a third one.”

Michigan State (19-12) shot a season-low 32%. Marcus Taylor--the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 16.8 points a game--had 18 but made only five of 22 shots. The Spartans had reached the Final Four in each of the previous three years.

*

Maryland 85, Siena 70--Juan Dixon is leaving nothing to chance in his final NCAA tournament.

A determined Dixon scored 29 points as the top-seeded Terrapins (27-4) cruised past the undermanned Saints (17-19). Maryland will play Wisconsin--an 80-70 winner over St. John’s--in the second round Sunday.

Dixon, a senior guard, made 10 of 17 shots and all four of his free throws. He drove to the basket, pulled up for jumpers and deftly passed to open teammates when Siena double-teamed him.

“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” said Dixon. “This is my last time going through this, and I want to tell myself that I went out being aggressive.”

Dixon turned a 10-point lead into a 50-31 advantage during a three-minute stretch of the first half. First, he made two free throws and made a three-point shot. He then drove to the basket and passed to Tahj Holden, who was fouled on a dunk and made the free throw.

Siena, which had to win four games in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament and a NCAA tournament play-in game to reach the field of 64, trailed in double digits throughout the second half.

Prosper Karangwa, who scored a career-high 31 points in the play-in victory against Alcorn State, was held to seven points on three-of-eight shooting.

*

Wisconsin 80, St. John’s 70--Bo Ryan had coached in plenty of NCAA tournament games before Friday, winning four Division III national championships at Wisconsin-Platteville. His first as a Division I coach was something special.

Using Ryan’s trademarks of balanced scoring and taking care of the basketball, Wisconsin (19-12) maintained control in the second half.

“It’s a great thrill,” said the 54-year-old Ryan, the Badgers’ third coach in as many years. “Personally, I’ve waited a long time to be in a game like this. I didn’t say much about that to the players, but it sure is fun to be a part of it.”

Kirk Penney scored 19 points to lead five Wisconsin players in double figures.

Marcus Hatten had 28 points for St. John’s (20-12) on 12-for-33 shooting.