Pomona Blows Late Lead in Loss

Cal Poly Pomona blew a nine-point lead less than five minutes from the end Wednesday in a 58-56 loss to Tarleton State in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament at Grand Forks, N.D.

LaShon Sheffield made a 15-foot jump shot with three seconds left to give Tarleton State the victory and keep the Broncos from earning their first semifinal appearance.

Pomona (24-7) led 54-45 with 4:39 left but scored only two points the rest of the way.

“It’s a very disheartening loss when you’re ahead that much with a few minutes left and lose,” Pomona Coach Greg Kamansky said. “We missed a ton of shots, so we have no one to blame but ourselves. And they hit a lot of big-time shots at the end.”

Pomona got 12 points from Jonathan Boyd and 11 from David Sybesma.

Sheffield, who also made a key three-point basket with 1:36 left, led Tarleton State (25-8) with 23 points and five assists.

Tarleton will take on Bryant University in today’s semifinals.

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In National Invitation Tournament games: Pat Carroll scored 22 points and Dwayne Lee had 13, including a big three-point basket with 1:16 left, to lead St. Joseph’s to a 58-51 win over Texas A&M; in a quarterfinal game at College Station, Texas.... Rodney Carney scored 26 points to lead host Memphis to an 81-68 quarterfinal win over Vanderbilt.... Maryland advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1972, getting 12 points and 11 rebounds from Nik Caner-Medley in a 78-63 win over Davidson at College Park, Md.

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Frank Haith, who led Miami to 16 wins in his first season as coach, signed a five-year contract. Terms of the deal weren’t released, but when Haith was hired last year, he signed a five-year pact worth an estimated $350,000 annually.... St. Mary’s Coach Randy Bennett plans to meet with Athletic Director Carl Clapp soon to work out a contract extension. Bennett led the Gaels to their first NCAA tournament berth since 1997, but they lost to Southern Illinois, 65-56, in the first round.... Molly Tuter, an assistant since 2000, has been named women’s coach at UC Irvine, Athletic Director Bob Chichester announced. Tuter, 29, was the interim coach after Mark Adams resigned Dec. 28 after an 0-7 start.