Conference tournament roundup: UC San Diego in NCAA Tournament as Big West champ

UC San Diego, in its first season of NCAA Tournament eligibility, is going to the Big Dance after clinching its first Big West championship with a 75-61 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday night in Henderson, Nev.

The top-seeded Tritons won their 15th straight game to improve to 30-4 — matching the program record for single-season victories.

Hayden Gray tallied a career-high and game-high 22 points with a personal-best six 3-pointers on seven attempts. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones added 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Tyler McGhie contributed 11 points and Nordin Kapic 10.

The second-seeded Anteaters (28-6) shot 35.1 percent (20 of 57) from the field, including 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) on 3-point attempts. Justin Hohn scored 18 points, Devin Tillis had 12 with eight assists, and Bent Leuchten had 10 points.

Norfolk State 66, South Carolina State 65

Christian Ings had 16 points, including the go-ahead free throw with eight seconds left, as the top-seeded Spartans punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a win in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship over the second-seeded Bulldogs in Norfolk, Va.

Norfolk State (24-10) led 64-56 with under a minute to play before Wilson Dubinsky buried a 3-pointer for S.C. State (20-13). Dubinsky then capitalized on a Spartans turnover, hitting a layup to bring the Bulldogs to within three.

Jaylani Darden made one of two free throws to put the Spartans in front 65-61, but a Dubinsky layup and another lay-in by Caleb McCarty tied the game at 65-all with 10 seconds to play.

McCarty, however, committed a reach-in foul as Norfolk State sprinted up the floor. Ings made the first free throw with eight seconds to play but missed the second, giving the Bulldogs hope. But Jayden Johnson’s potential game-winner rimmed out for South Carolina State as the Spartans earned the program’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament in five years.

Brian Moore Jr. had 15 points for Norfolk State, and both he and Ings had seven rebounds. Dubinsky finished with 24 points for the Bulldogs, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range.

Bryant 77, Maine 59

Barry Evans had 19 points and Earl Timberlake scored 17 to lead the top-seeded Bulldogs past the third-seeded Black Bears, earning Bryant the America East tournament championship in Smithfield, R.I.

With the title, Bryant (23-11) secured the program’s second-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs last went in 2022 when they were members of the Northeast Conference.

Evans hit 8 of 11 shots and added seven rebounds for Bryant, while Timberlake stuffed the stat sheet with five assists, four boards, four steals and two blocks. Rafael Pinzon had 13 points for the Bulldogs, and Keyshawn Mitchell chipped in with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

A.J. Lopez paced the Black Bears (20-14) with 20 points and Kellen Tynes finished with 10 points, six assists and four steals.

Colorado State 69, Boise State 56

The Rams led by as many as 25 points in beating the Broncos for the third time this season for the Mountain West Conference championship in Las Vegas.

Colorado State (25-9), winner of 10 consecutive games, led 63-38 with 6:48 remaining in the game before Boise State (24-10) chipped away at the lead but ultimately fell short.

Nique Clifford scored a game-high 24 points for Colorado State, hitting 7 of 17 from the floor, including 3 of 8 from 3-point range. Ethan Morton, with 11 points, was the only teammate in double-figure scoring. The Rams made 12 (of 25) from beyond the arc, breaking their own record for the conference tournament final.

Tyson Degenhart poured in 22 points for the Broncos, who were 19 of 49 (38.8 percent) from the field, including 8 of 27 (29.6 percent) on 3-pointers. Emmanuel Ugbo contributed eight rebounds off the bench and Alvaro Cardenas added eight assists.

Akron 76, Miami (Ohio) 74

Nate Johnson’s layup with 2.3 seconds left lifted the Zips past the RedHawks in Cleveland for their sixth Mid-American Conference tournament crown and seventh NCAA Tournament berth.

Johnson finished with 22 points and five assists, Tavari Johnson added 15 points and Amani Lyles had six points and 14 rebounds for Akron (28-6), whose biggest lead was two points.

Miami (25-9) led 46-34 at halftime and led by as many as 18 points, but the Zips came all the way back, taking a 74-72 lead on Shammah Scott’s two free throws with 1:05 left. The RedHawks’ Evan Ipsaro tied the game on two foul shots with 56 seconds remaining, leading to Johnson’s heroics on an assist from Lyles, who grabbed a rebound and fired an outlet pass to him.

Peter Suder had a game-high 24 points for Miami, which was 3 of 5 from the foul line, compared to 13 of 16 for Akron. The RedHawks were 28 of 57 from the field, including 15 of 30 from long range.

Liberty 79, Jacksonville State 67

Kaden Metheny scored 21 points and Taelon Peter had 20 off the bench as the top-seeded Flames downed the second-seeded Gamecocks for their first Conference USA tournament championship in Huntsville, Ala.

Liberty (28-6) had 18 assists on 30 made baskets, including nine for Colin Porter, who had 13 points. Zach Cleveland added 10 and a team-high seven boards. The program has seven conference titles overall, including four in the last seven seasons.

Jacksonville State (22-12), which trailed by as many as 20 points, was led by Jaron Pierre Jr. with 19 points, Marcellus Brigham Jr. with 12 and Quel’Ron House with 11. The Gamecocks had 11 assists but outrebounded the Flames 30-26.

Alabama State 60, Jackson State 56

Shawn Fulcher and Micah Simpson made two foul shots apiece in the final 13 seconds for the difference in the fifth-seeded Hornets’ win over the second-seeded Tigers for the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament title in College Park, Ga.

Alabama State (19-15) secured its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011.

TJ Madlock’s jumper put the Hornets ahead 56-53 with 38 seconds remaining. Fulcher sank two free throws with 13 ticks left, and Jackson State’s Dorian McMillian closed the gap to 58-56 on a 3-pointer with eight seconds left. Simpson was fouled and made both free throws with six seconds to go.

CJ Hines led Alabama State with 20 points, while Madlock had seven with 12 rebounds. Shannon Grant, with 20 points, was the only double-figure scorer for Jackson State (16-18).

Grand Canyon 89, Utah Valley 82

The second-seeded Lopes knocked off the top-seeded Wolverines in Las Vegas to win their third consecutive Western Athletic Conference tournament and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years.

Grand Canyon (26-7) and regular-season champion Utah Valley (25-8) split two regular-season meetings, each winning at home. The Lopes had the edge on points in the paint (42-30) and made 27 of 33 free throws (81.8 percent), compared to 19 of 28 (67.9 percent) for the Wolverines.

Six players scored in double figures for Grand Canyon: Ray Harrison with 18, Duke Brennan with 16, JaKobe Coles with 13 and Tyon Grant-Foster, Lok Wur and Makaih Williams with 12 apiece. Brennan added 10 rebounds.

The Wolverines were led by Tanner Toolson’s game-high 28 points. Carter Welling added 18 and Trevan Leonhardt had 10.

–Field Level Media