This time, Winthrop will stay for a while

Finally, on its seventh try, Winthrop did it. And against Notre Dame, of all teams.

Craig Bradshaw, an import from New Zealand, scored 24 points and Torrell Martin had 20 as Winthrop upset the Fighting Irish, 74-64, Friday at Spokane, Wash., in the first round of the NCAA tournament .

The 11th-seeded Eagles, who had been 0-6 in previous tournament appearances, blew a 20-point lead in the second half before surging in the final two minutes to end Notre Dame’s first NCAA appearance since 2003.

Winthrop (29-4), the little school from Rock Hill, S.C., and the Big South Conference, lost in the final seconds to Tennessee last year in the tournament.

Last June, Winthrop Coach Gregg Marshall accepted the College of Charleston’s offer to become its head coach -- for almost twice his Winthrop salary of about $500,000. But 24 hours later, he said “No, thanks,” and stayed with the Eagles.

“It’s huge for me personally,” Marshall said, while his players fielded congratulatory phone calls and text messages in the locker room. “It’s huge for these players. It’s huge for our league, huge for the state of South Carolina.

“It’s nine years of putting your heart and soul into something and being close in the past.”

Trailing 54-34, sixth-seeded Notre Dame (24-8) stormed back to take a 63-62 lead with 2:21 left. From then on, it was all Winthrop.

Winthrop scored the first seven points of the second half and built its huge lead with 13 minutes.

The Irish came all the way back, scoring the next 13 points to get to within 54-47.

Winthrop made only three free throws over eight minutes, and the Irish closed to within 57-56 on a putback by Russell Carter off a missed three-point shot.

Carter, an All-Big East player and Notre Dame’s leading scorer, finished with 12 points on only six-for-15 shooting.

Notre Dame took the lead on Luke Harangody’s turnaround. He was fouled on the play but missed the ensuing free throw.

Then it was Winthrop’s turn. The Eagles scored eight of the next 10 points. Bradshaw’s shot inside and Chris Gaynor’s second three-pointer in three tries gave the Eagles a 67-63 lead with 1:30 left.

Bradshaw, at 6-foot-10, was taller than any Notre Dame player and moved wherever he pleased inside. Many of his 24 points came within eight feet of the basket even though he is often a three-point shooter. He made 10 of 16 shots and scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half.

Nevada Las Vegas 67, Georgia Tech 63 -- The Runnin’ Rebels (29-6) won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 16 years, beating the Yellow Jackets (20-12) at Chicago.

Michael Umeh made two free throws with 23.5 seconds left to give seventh-seeded UNLV a 65-61 lead. Joel Anthony then blocked a drive by Andre Crittenton.

The last time the UNLV won in the NCAA tournament was under Jerry Tarkanian, who led them to the 1991 Final Four. Now, under Coach Lon Kruger, the Runnin’ Rebels have an eight-game winning streak.

Wisconsin 76, Texas A&M; Corpus Christi 63 -- The second-seeded Badgers (30-5) looked liked the NCAA tournament rookies, at least in the early going at Chicago.

Flustered for most of the first half, the Badgers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the 15th-seeded Islanders (26-7), who were making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Kammron Taylor, scoreless at the break, finished with 24 points. Wisconsin also clamped down its defense on the Islanders, who began playing basketball in the 1999-2000 season.

The Islanders came out strong in their first tournament appearance, scoring the game’s first 10 points and later leading, 25-7, against the stunned Badgers.

The Islanders’ bid to become only the fifth No. 15-seeded team to beat a No. 2 was hurt greatly by struggles at the free-throw line in the second half. They missed eight during the final 10 minutes.

Purdue 72, Arizona 63 -- Lute Olson’s eighth-seeded Wildcats (20-11) were knocked out of the first round by the Boilermakers at New Orleans.

With Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Bob Knight of Texas Tech also losing their openers, three of the best coaches in tournament history are all on the sideline, making this the first time since 1995 that the second round opens without any of them.

Carl Landry powered ninth-seeded Purdue (22-11) with 21 points and 13 rebounds. This win was no fluke -- the Boilermakers trailed only once and it was by a single point.

The Boilermakers used several early three-point baskets to take control and capped the first half with one more. An 8-0 start to the second half put them up by 11, and they led 51-43 with 7:38 left.

Florida 112, Jackson State 69 -- The top-seeded Gators responded from a lackluster first half with the best half in school history and routed the 16th-seeded Tigers at New Orleans.

The Gators (30-5) were clearly bigger, faster and more talented than the Tigers (21-14). However, they didn’t show it until after halftime. But they really put on a show to start the second half and finished with 71 points after the break.

Trey Johnson, the nation’s second-leading scorer, finished with 25 points on eight-for-21 shooting for Jackson State.