‘Near-Perfect’ Half Carries Pacific

Because of problems with its charter jet, it took Pittsburgh nearly 19 hours to get here from western Pennsylvania.

Thanks to Pacific, the Panthers’ stay in the NCAA tournament lasted about 17 hours less than that.

Looking more like the team that rattled off 22 consecutive wins than the one that was upset by Utah State in the Big West Conference tournament final, Pacific jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 79-71 victory over the Panthers on Thursday in a first-round game.

The Tigers (27-3), seeded No. 8 in the Albuquerque Regional, will play top-seeded Washington Saturday. No. 9 Pittsburgh (20-9) ended its run of three consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 in front of 11,878 at Taco Bell Arena.

“Our first half was a near-perfect first half,” Pacific Coach Bob Thomason said. “Not only from the standpoint of execution of offense and making shots, but from defensively, rebounding and taking care of the ball.

“I just thought we played a sensational first half.”

As good as Pacific was in taking a 45-30 lead at the break, Pitt was that bad. At times in the opening 20 minutes, the Panthers played as though they left their game on a Sioux Falls, S.D., tarmac, where they spent a good part of Wednesday after their charter jet experienced mechanical problems.

Pacific made six of eight three-point shots in the half and was 10 of 20 in the game.

The Tigers, the first Big West team to go unbeaten in conference play since Nevada Las Vegas in 1992, were supposed to be overmatched inside against Pittsburgh, but outrebounded the Panthers, 35-30.

Pittsburgh was led by junior guard Carl Krauser’s game-high 27 points.

“We did lose a day of practice, but that still shouldn’t have affected the way we played,” said Pitt senior forward Chevon Troutman, who had 12 points but was just three of 10 shooting. “It was a little different, but you got to adjust to it.”

Having twice led by 17 in the first half, Pacific’s lead dwindled to 64-59 with 3 minutes 43 seconds to play, but the Tigers made eight of nine free throws down the stretch.

The Tigers had four players score in double figures, led by 17 points apiece by senior guard David Doubley and junior forward Christian Maraker, who gave Pacific a scare early.

“I fell and my head hit the floor and [a Pitt player] landed on top of my head so I was kind of out there for a few seconds,” Maraker said. “It feels fine now and I just wanted to get back into the game and keep playing.”

That left all the headaches to Pittsburgh.

Washington 88, Montana 77 -- The top-seeded Huskies charged out to a 20-point lead in the first nine minutes and played well enough the rest of the way in Boise, Idaho.

Brandon Roy had 17 points, Tre Simmons 15, and Washington (28-5) shot 55 percent to win an NCAA tournament game for the first time since reaching the round of 16 in 1998.

Montana (18-13), led by Kamarr Davis’ 24 points, rallied from a dismal start before fading. Montana, the No. 16 seed, didn’t score until Davis hit a turnaround jumper 4:10 in and was down, 28-8, before the game was nine minutes old. But by forcing Washington into bad shots and staying patient offensively, Montana cut the lead to 32-23 with a 15-5 run.

Washington got the lead back to 17 points at halftime after Simmons made a three-point basket from the corner.

Wake Forest 70, Chattanooga 54 -- Chris Paul returned from a one-game suspension for punching a player and he and the second-seeded Demon Deacons shook off a horrible first half in Cleveland.

Paul had 20 points, 13 in the second half, and six rebounds and five assists for Wake Forest (27-5), which struggled with Chattanooga (20-11). The No. 15-seeded Mocs led, 38-35, when Paul made a three-pointer, and Wake Forest started to do its damage from long range. Trent Strickland made a three-point basket and Taron Downey made two three-pointers on consecutive trips as the Demon Deacons went up, 53-45, with 9:29 to go.

Chris Brown scored 14 points and Alphonso Pugh 13 for Chattanooga, which had 22 turnovers.

Gonzaga 74, Winthrop 64 -- The 14th-seeded Eagles flirted with an upset against the third-seeded Bulldogs in Tucson before Gonzaga grabbed control late.

The loss ended Winthrop’s 18-game winning streak, longest in the nation. Gonzaga (26-4) won its 13th in a row and now has the longest winning streak in Division I.

Neither team led by more than two points until late in the game, which was tied four times in the final 20 minutes.

Torrell Martin scored 22 points and made six three-pointers -- both career highs -- for the Eagles (27-6), who are 0-5 all-time in the NCAA tournament.

West Virginia 63, Creighton 61 -- Tyrone Sally blocked Nate Funk’s three-point attempt, then raced downcourt for a fast-break dunk with 2.9 seconds to go for the Mountaineers (22-10) in Cleveland.

Creighton (23-11) won four games this season on its last possession, and nine of its last 11 that were decided by one point. This time, Funk caught an inbounds pass from midcourt with 1.7 seconds left, turned and fired a 22-foot shot that went over the rim at the buzzer.

The Mountaineers then celebrated career win No. 500 for Coach John Beilein.

Associated Press contributed to this report.