WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Joseph Yesufu scored 21 points and Drake beat Wichita State 53-52 on Thursday night in the First Four, the Bulldogs' first NCAA Tournament win in a half-century.
Drake's last tournament victory had been 50 years ago to the day -- March 18, 1971, against Notre Dame.
"To get a win for our program that hasn't happened in 50 years -- it's really exciting," Bulldogs Coach Darian DeVries said. "These guys have fought through so much, and for them to be the ones to get us one, I think is really deserving."
The Bulldogs were hardly overmatched in this year's tournament field -- they came in with 25 wins, second most of the 68 teams behind top overall seed Gonzaga, and their tense matchup with a longtime Missouri Valley Conference rival brought some early drama to the pandemic-affected tourney.
Wichita State's Dexter Dennis made a three-pointer with 8 seconds remaining to trim Drake's lead to a point. The Bulldogs got the ball in to Yesufu, who was fouled. He missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give the Shockers a chance, but Wichita State's Alterique Gilbert settled for a long three-pointer that hit the front rim as time expired.
Tremell Murphy added 11 points for 11th-seeded Drake (26-4), which advanced to play sixth-seeded Southern California in the West Region on Saturday.
Morris Udeze scored a career-high 22 points and Dennis added 13 for Wichita State (16-6).
WEST REGION
NORFOLK STATE 54,
APPALACHIAN STATE 53
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Devante Carter made two free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining, and Norfolk State held on to beat Appalachian State after blowing an 18-point second-half lead.
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Spartans completed a sweep by historically Black colleges and universities on the first day of NCAA Tournament play, joining Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Texas Southern. Norfolk State advanced to face top overall seed Gonzaga on Saturday.
Jalen Hawkins scored 20 of his 24 points before halftime for the Spartans (17-7), who earned their first tournament win since upsetting No. 2 seed Missouri in 2012.
Justin Forrest had 18 points for App State (17-12).
EAST REGION
TEXAS SOUTHERN 60,
MOUNT ST. MARY'S 52
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- John Walker III scored a season-high 19 points and Jordan Gilliam had 12 to help Texas Southern erase a 10-point halftime deficit and beat Mount St. Mary's in the first NCAA Tournament game in nearly two years.
It's the second consecutive First Four victory for the Tigers (17-8), who also won in 2018 -- their most recent tournament appearance. Texas Southern, the No. 16 seed in the East Region, won its 10th consecutive game and faces top-seeded Michigan (20-4) on Saturday.
Walker also matched his career high with nine rebounds.
Damian Chong Qui scored 14 points and Mezie Offurum had 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Mountaineers (12-11), who fell to 1-9 in tourney play.
UCLA 86,
MICHIGAN STATE 80, OT
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- UCLA showed plenty of fight in its overtime win over Michigan State in a First Four game in the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans showed some fight, too -- among themselves.
After Coach Tom Izzo and forward Gabe Brown carried a shouting match into the halftime locker room, the Spartans proceeded to blow an 11-point lead over the next 20 minutes. UCLA forced overtime with Jaime Jaquez Jr.'s three-point play with 3.3 seconds to go, then pulled away in the extra session for a victory at Mackey Arena.
The Bruins' Cody Riley hit a foul shot with 26 seconds left and, after the Spartans' Joshua Langford missed at the other end, Jaylen Clark added two more to send UCLA into a first-round game against No. 6 seed BYU on Saturday night.
Jaquez finished with a career-high 27 points, Johnny Juzang added 18 and Riley and Jules Bernard had 11 apiece for the Bruins (20-7), who had backed into the tournament on the heels of four consecutive losses.
Aaron Henry led the Spartans (15-13) with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
