At 12-18, Oakland Advances With Win

Pierre Dukes made a three-point basket with 1.3 seconds left and Oakland (Mich.) upset top-seeded Oral Roberts, 61-60, Tuesday night to win the Mid-Continent Conference tournament at Tulsa, Okla., and advance to the NCAA tournament with a 12-18 record.

The seventh-seeded Golden Grizzlies are in the tournament for the first time since becoming a Division I program eight seasons ago.

Oakland took possession after Jonathan Bluitt made one of two free throws to make it 60-58. Rawle Marshall found Dukes on the left side for his winning shot.

“When I got it, I looked at the clock and there wasn’t enough time to get it back to him, so I figured I’d let it fly,” said Dukes, a 35% shooter from three-point range.

Ken Tutt’s desperation shot missed after a deflected inbounds pass banked high off the rim, and Oral Roberts’ players hung their heads while the Golden Grizzlies huddled and celebrated near midcourt.

“I’m just numb,” Oral Roberts guard Luke Spencer-Gardner said. “I’m not really feeling all that much. I’m just shocked. This isn’t the way it was meant to be.”

Cortney Scott scored 19 points and Marshall scored 18 for Oakland, which had lost to Oral Roberts (25-7) twice during the regular season.

Horizon League: Adrian Tigert made a free throw with 4.2 seconds left, giving Wisconsin Milwaukee a 59-58 win over Detroit in the league’s tournament championship game and the second NCAA tournament berth in the school’s history.

Wisconsin Milwaukee trailed most of the night and missed 11 of 24 free throws.

Freshman Brandon Cotton, who led all scorers with 21 points, brought the ball upcourt and was off-target on a contested jumper for Detroit.

Sun Belt: Tiras Wade scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half and Chris Cameron made three key three-pointers, carrying Louisiana Lafayette past Denver, 88-69, in the final of the conference tournament to put the Ragin’ Cajuns into the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.

Western Athletic: Julian Sensley scored 13 points to lead Hawaii over San Jose State, 72-48, in the first round of the conference tournament at Reno, Nev. Seventh-seeded Hawaii will play second-seeded Texas El Paso in the quarterfinals Thursday.

In another first-round game, Boise State knocked off Tulsa, 83-73, and will next face top-seeded Nevada.

Big Sky: Matt Martin had 16 points, including four three-point baskets, and Montana beat Montana State, 79-67, to advance to the final of the conference tournament at Portland, Ore.

Montana will play Weber State, a 71-61 winner over host Portland State, in tonight’s title game.

Southland: Jonathan Patton scored 21 points and Southeastern Louisiana stifled Texas State in the second half to rally for a 75-58 victory in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament at Hammond, La. Southeastern Louisiana will play host to Sam Houston State, an 88-70 winner over McNeese State, in a semifinal game Thursday.

In another quarterfinal game, Northwestern State got 26 points from Jermaine Wallace to defeat Texas Arlington, 81-67, at Natchitoches, La. Northwestern State will next play host to Lamar, a 91-83 winner over Texas San Antonio, in a semifinal game Thursday.