NCAA Tournament roundup: Maryland holds off Belmont

Maryland’s Darryl Morsell made a crucial defensive stop as the Terrapins fended off Belmont, 79-77, in a first-round game in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

The mid-major powerhouse from Nashville, Tenn., couldn’t knock off the No. 6-seeded Terrapins from the Big Ten despite a 35-point performance by Dylan Windler.

Maryland was clinging to a one-point lead, and the shot clock was off as Belmont had a chance to win it at the buzzer. The Bruins didn’t bother calling a timeout to set up a play.

They knew what they wanted to do — a backdoor pass to Windler. But Morsell anticipated the pass and stepped in front of Windler to intercept the pass while the Belmont star tumbled to the court.

Morsell was fouled with 2.5 seconds to go, sending him to the foul line for two shots. He made the first and missed the second, and Windler heaved an unsuccessful desperation shot from midcourt.

Jalen Smith led four Maryland players in double figures with 19 points, including a huge three-point play with 1:41 remaining.

Auburn 78, New Mexico State 77 — After a teammate passed up an open layup that could have tied the game, New Mexico State’s Terrell Brown was fouled behind the arc and missed two of three free throws as the Aggies dropped a heartbreaker to fifth-seeded Auburn in the Midwest Region.

The Aggies were trailing 78-76 when guard A.J. Harris had his defender beat and looked to be headed to the glass for the tying bucket. He instead lobbed out to Brown, who was spotted up at the elbow for a possible game-winner. Brown missed but was fouled with 1.1 seconds left.

With Auburn’s J’von McCormick grabbing his throat as Harris toed the line, Brown missed the first, made the second, then watched the third one rim out.

Auburn knocked the ball out of bounds on the rebound and New Mexico State had one more good look, but Trevelin Queen’s 3 at the buzzer was an air ball.

LSU 79, Yale 74 — Skylar Mays hit four free throws in the final 15 seconds to help embattled LSU slip past 14th-seeded Yale. Mays scored 19 points but sealed the game from the charity stripe, and the Tigers needed each one of his free throws.

Yale hit four 3-pointers in the final minute and whittled an 18-point deficit to three in the closing seconds. Most of those on hand at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena started cheering for the underdog Bulldogs. With the lead on the line, Mays calmly stepped to the line and sank all his free throws.

Florida State 76, Vermont 69 — Mfiondu Kabengele had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Florida State held off a barrage of 3-pointers from 13th-seeded Vermont.

Terance Mann added 19 points for the fourth-seeded Seminoles, who were tied with the Catamounts at halftime but pulled away late.

Anthony Lamb had 16 points to lead a balanced, long-range attack for Vermont, which lost for the first time in seven games.

Florida 70, Nevada 61 — Florida nearly squandered a double-digit lead before finally stopping a Nevada comeback and pulling off an upset. Kevarrius Hayes scored 16 points, Jalen Hudson added 15, and the 10th-seeded Gators won their tournament opener for the third straight year.

Gonzaga 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 49 — When it comes to a 16 seed beating a 1, it’s still true — anything really can happen in the NCAA Tournament. Just not in this one against Gonzaga.

Rui Hachimura led the Zags with 21 points and eight rebounds, and this game looked every bit as lopsided as most of the 1-vs.-16 contests since 1985, when the bracket was expanded to 64 teams.

Kentucky 79, Abilene Christian 44 — With PJ Washington watching from the bench in a cast, second-seeded Kentucky romped.

Keldon Johnson scored 25 points in a huge mismatch that was over by halftime. The Wildcats shot 60 percent in the opening period, held Abilene Christian to 5 of 26 from the field and went to the locker room with a 39-13 lead.

Michigan St. 76, Bradley 65 — Cassius Winston scored 26 points, and second-seeded Michigan State held off Bradley in the East Region. Xavier Tillman had 16 points with 11 boards for the Spartans, who’ll face Big Ten rival Minnesota on Saturday in search of their first trip to the Sweet Sixteen in four years.

Kansas 87, Northeastern 54 — Dedric Lawson had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and fourth-seeded Kansas dominated inside.

The fourth-seeded Jayhawks had a notable size advantage and used it, outscoring the Huskies, 50-16, in the paint while grabbing 17 more rebounds.

Villanova 61, Saint Mary’s 57 — The defending national champions are moving on in the NCAA Tournament.

Phil Booth scored 20 points, fellow senior Eric Paschell added 14 and No. 6 seed Villanova held off Saint Mary’s in the first round of the South Region.

Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts each had 13 points for Saint Mary’s (22-12), which never trailed by more than eight.

The 11th-seeded Gaels, who pulled off an upset win over Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Tournament, had a chance down the stretch in this one.

Ford’s basket in the lane after a few nifty moves got the Gaels within six points at 61-55 with 34 seconds left. After Paschell missed a foul shot on the other end, Fitts cut the deficit to four points with a leaner in the lane.

The Gaels had two more chances in the final seconds after a foul by Booth and some missed free throws. But Fitts hit the rim on a 3-point attempt and Saddiq Bey stole the ball from Ford in the final seconds to seal the win.

Baylor 78, Syracuse 69 — Makai Mason scored 22 points, and Baylor set a school NCAA Tournament record with 16 3-pointers.

The ninth-seeded Bears found gaps in Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, mostly by getting the ball into the high post or driving and kicking out. Baylor nearly matched the school tournament record of 11 3-pointers in the first half (10) and made 16 of 34 overall.

Baylor shot 54 percent and slowed Syracuse’s 3-point barrage in the second half to earn a shot at top-seeded Gonzaga on Saturday.

Purdue 61, Old Dominion 48 — Carsen Edwards scored 26 points, and third-seeded Purdue coasted to victory against Old Dominion.

Edwards, the Big Ten’s leading scorer, has been slumping recently and dealing with a sore back that he insisted was fine on Wednesday. The junior guard had shot 32 percent in his last 11 games, and was 7 for 33 from 3-point range in his last three games.

Ahmad Caver scored 19 points and B.J. Stith had 14 for Old Dominion (26-9). The Monarchs shot 27 percent from the field in their first NCAA appearance since 2011.

Michigan 74, Montana 55 — Charles Matthews had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best performance since coming back from injury, and No. 2 seed Michigan put away Montana early.

Ignas Brazdeikis added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jon Teske had 11 points and nine boards for the Wolverines, who led by as many as 27 points in the second half.

The Wolverines are in the round of 32 for the third straight year. They’ll play Florida on Saturday.

Sayeed Pridgett led Montana with 17 points.

Wofford 84, Seton Hall 68 — If you didn’t know who Fletcher Magee was before, you should now.

Magee set the Division I career record for 3-pointers, poured in 24 points and led seventh-seeded Wofford to victory.

Magee hit seven treys against the 10th-seeded Pirates to help the Terriers to their first tournament win in five tries. Wofford also won its 21st consecutive game overall.

Magee has 509 3-pointers in four seasons, breaking the career mark set by Oakland’s Travis Bader in 2014. Duke’s J.J. Redick (457), Tennessee’s Chris Lofton (431) and Davidson’s Stephen Curry (414) also rank in the top 10.