SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 75, PROVIDENCE 71
DAYTON, Ohio -- Bennie Boatwright scored a career-high 24 points as Southern Cal rallied from a 17-point deficit in the second half to beat Providence 75-71 in a First Four game Wednesday night.
The comeback victory was revenge for the Trojans, who lost to Providence by one point in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year. They move on to play 6th-seeded SMU at Tulsa, Okla., on Friday.
After Providence led by 15 points at halftime and went up by 17 to start the second half, Southern Cal (25-9) mounted a furious rally. The Trojans closed it to five points at the 10-minute mark, and went up 61-60 on a jumper by Chimezie Metu off a turnover with 6:46 left.
Metu hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to put Southern Cal up 71-64 with 1:23 remaining and kept Providence from getting back into it down the stretch.
Jordan McLaughlin scored 18 points for Southern Cal, and Metu added 15 on 9-for-12 free throw shooting.
Emmitt Holt led Providence with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Lindsey and Rodney Bullock added 17 each.
The comeback was Southern Cal's 12th this season of at least 10 points, the most in the nation.
Providence outshot Southern Cal 49 percent to 42 percent, but the Friars outscored them in the second half 46-27.
It looked like a rout in the making at halftime. Providence (20-13) took a 44-29 lead on the strength of a 15-0 run punctuated by two three-pointers by Bullock and another from Lindsey, who had 15 points in the first half. The Friars were 8 for 15 from three-point range in the first half.
Southern Cal had just three field goals in the last 11 minutes of the half, and went without one in the last 4 1/2 minutes of the frame with Providence ripping off a 12-3 run in that span.
Providence had the game well in hand but went cold in the second half and let Southern Cal muscle back into it. An energetic second-half comeback gives the Trojans some buoyancy and momentum as they move into the field of 64.
CALIFORNIA-DAVIS 67,
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 63
Chima Moneke had 18 points and 12 rebounds as UC Davis won in its first NCAA Tournament appearance, beating North Carolina Central.
The 16th-seeded Aggies rallied in the second half and held off N.C. Central down the stretch to earn a trip to Tulsa to play No. 1 seed Kansas on Friday.
Brynton Lemar scored 15 points and Lawrence White added 14 for UC Davis, which had earned a trip to the tournament by winning the Big West Conference Tournament.
The Aggies (23-12) won despite 18 turnovers that led to 20 points for streaky N.C. Central. But the Eagles couldn't overcome poor shooting that deteriorated even more in the second half.
The Eagles pulled within 64-63 with 1:49 left in the game on a three-pointer by Dajuan Graf. N.C. Central got the ball back with 37 seconds left, but another three-point try by Graf was off the mark. Graf had to foul Lawrence White, who made two free throws with 16 second remaining to give the Eagles some breathing room. Lemar hit a foul shot with 4 seconds left to put it away.
Graf paced North Carolina Central (25-9) with 15 points. Kyle Benton and Patrick Cole added 13 each.
UC Davis came out and grabbed momentum on two rim-rattling dunks by Moneke and led by as many as nine points in the first half before N.C. Central could get its feet. The Eagles stormed back with a 16-3 run and led 34-31 at halftime, thanks in part to nine UC Davis turnovers.
Graf had 12 points for N.C. Central on 5-for-7 shooting from the field at the half.
UC Davis had an 11-2 run in the second half, and North Carolina Central was just 1 of 9 from the field during that stretch.
At a glance
FIRST FOUR
All times Central At UD Arena Dayton, Ohio TUESDAY’S GAMES
Mount St. Mary’s 67, New Orleans 66
Mount St. Mary’s advances to play Villanova today
Kansas State 95, Wake Forest 88
Kansas State advances to play Cincinnati on Friday
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
UC Davis 67, N.C. Central 63
UC Davis advances to play Kansas on Friday
Southern California 75, Providence 71
Southern California advances to play SMU on Friday
Sports on 03/16/2017