DAYTON, Ohio -- Jimel Cofer scored all 19 of his points in the second half and overtime and Grambling State rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat Montana State 88-81 to earn its first NCAA Tournament win in program history in the First Four on Wednesday night.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Tigers (21-14) advance as the No. 16 seed in the Midwest Region to play No. 1 seed Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.
"Incredible. That's what March is made of, baby," Grambling State Coach Donte' Jackson said. "You got to find a way to fight, stay in the game, and have that one last run."
Montana State's Robert Ford III made his fifth three-pointer of the game to tie the game at 78 for the Big Sky Conference tournament champions with 2:02 left in overtime, but Grambling iced the game from the free throw line with eight consecutive points.
Montana State (17-18) went 1 of 6 in the final 1:27 in failing to win its first NCAA Tournament game in its sixth attempt.
Burnett and Jourdan Smith had 18 points apiece for the Tigers.
Grambling State, which was playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time despite a 2-10 start to the season, rode a second-half surge going on a 21-6 run erasing its 42-33 halftime deficit. Cofer, who didn't play in the first half, flipped in a layup as part of an individual 6-0 run giving the Tigers their first lead of the second half 60-59 with 5:47 remaining in regulation.
Cofer laid in a game-tying score with 34 seconds left to knot it at 72, and Montana State's Brandon Walker missed a potential go-ahead layup with 9 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
Montana State shot 63% in the first half and held a lead as large as 14 in its third-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
"There were some definite momentum swings," Montana State Coach Matt Logie said.
Ford had 26 points to lead Montana State. Brian Goracke added 15 and Brandon Walker had 14.
"I would just say I understand how hard it is to get here," said Ford, who hit six three-pointers. "There's a lot of great players in the league. There's a lot of great teams. The biggest part is understanding what it takes to get here and when you get here, what it feels like."
The First Four went to overtime for the first time since Notre Dame beat Rutgers 89-87 in double overtime in 2022.
Grambling made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its 47-year history.
"What this means for our program, it's an understatement, to be totally honest," Jackson said. "Just let these guys know, when they could have went to all these other big schools and things of that nature, that they chose right by coming to Grambling. And just really thankful, just all our guys that's here and just the way they prepared and how they played today."
COLORADO 60,
BOISE STATE 53
DAYTON, Ohio -- Tristan da Silva led the way with 20 points as Colorado won its first NCAA Tournament game in three years, wrapping up the First Four with a win over Boise State.
A layup by Eddie Lampkin Jr. and a pair of foul shots from J'Vonne Hadley capped an 11-0 run and gave the Buffaloes a 56-49 lead with 24 seconds left in what had been a back-and-forth game. Boise State had to start fouling, and Colorado didn't miss from the line. That sealed it.
KJ Simpson had 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Buffaloes (25-10), who advance as a 10th seed to face seventh-seeded Florida in Indianapolis on Friday.
Chibuzo Agbo had 17 points for Boise State (23-11), who dropped to 0-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
NCAA WOMEN
VANDERBILT 72,
COLUMBIA 68
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Iyana Moore scored 22 points, Sacha Washington had 16 points and 15 rebounds and Vanderbilt celebrated its return to the NCAA Tournament with a win over Columbia in a battle of 12-seeds.
The Commodores (23-9), who are in their 28th NCAA Tournament but first since 2014, face fifth-seeded Baylor on Friday.
Khamil Pierre added 11 points for Vanderbilt and Justine Pissott had 10.
Moore delivered the big shot, hitting a three-pointer that made it 69-62 with 24.4 seconds to play but the win wasn't secure until Pissott made two free throws with 2.3 seconds left.
Kitty Henderson had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Lions (23-7), who were making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Abbey Hsu and Cecelia Collins both had 13 points.
Columbia is only the second Ivy League team to earn an at-large berth in the tournament, joining the 2016 Princeton team, which featured current Lions Coach Megan Griffith as an assistant coach.
Vanderbilt's largest lead was 10 points on several occasions, the last after a Washington layup made it 66-56 with four minutes to play. Fliss Henderson made a layup and then Kitty scored Columbia's next seven points, cutting it to 69-65 with on a three-point play with 18.1 seconds to go.
After one Vanderbilt free throw, Collins was fouled and after making the first free throw to make it 70-66 she missed the second. A three-pointer was missed after a long rebound before Collins got the ball in the lane for a short bucket with 3.1 to go, leaving it to Pissott to ice it.
Vanderbilt made 6 of 20 shots but managed a 13-13 tie after one quarter when Washington made a layup at the buzzer.
PRESBYTERIAN 49,
SACRED HEART 42
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Mara Neira made sure Presbyterian's first-ever NCAA Tournament game was memorable, scoring 14 points, including two free throws with 26.1 seconds left, as the Blue Hose beat Sacred Heart 49-42 in the First Four.
The Big South Tournament champions earned a Friday rematch with top-ranked South Carolina, which administered a 99-29 beatdown on this same floor on Dec. 16. Presbyterian is the smallest school in the tournament with 955 undergraduates in 2022-23.
Last year, Sacred Heart won the first NCAA Tournament game for a Northeast Athletic Conference team with a 57-47 win over Southern.
The Blue Hose won the battle of 16-seeds with defense, limiting Sacred Heart, which had won 15-consecutive games, to 25% shooting, including 3 of 23 from three-point range.
Bryanna Brady added 12 points for Presbyterian (21-14), which had to beat three higher seeds in the Big South tourney to extend its season. Tilda Sjokvist, the Big South tourney MVP, had 8 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Although Sjokvist was 3-of-13 shooting, she had a clutch jumper with 1:18 to play for a 45-40 lead.
Ny'Ceara Pryor scored 12 points with 7 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists for Sacred Heart, but it was a struggle for the sophomore who is the two-time Northeast Conference player of the year and tournament MVP. Pryor was 3 of 19 from the field. Sierra Johnson added 10 points.
Sacred Heart put up 23 more shots by forcing 10 more turnovers and getting 10 more offensive rebounds but the Blue Hose, despite going 1 of 11 behind the arc, shot 40%. In addition to making 16 of 40 shots they were also 16 of 19 from the foul line compared to 7 of 10 for Sacred Heart.
In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, again with 2:42 to play and finally with 27 seconds left, the Pioneers got within three but never closer.
Presbyterian made 6 of 10 shots to take a 14-9 lead after one quarter. The Pioneers were 4 of 19.
The Blue Hose defense was better in the second quarter, holding Sacred Heart to eight points to open a 29-17 lead at the half. The Pioneers were 3 of 12 from the field and went almost 7 1/2 minutes without a basket. Neira had a three-point play and three-pointer back-to-back to make it 25-11, the largest lead of the game.
The script flipped in the third quarter when the Blue Hose were 2 of 12 and had the lead cut to 35-30.
Grambling State coach Donte' Jackson gestures during the first half of the team's First Four game against Montana State in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Grambling State guard Jourdan Smith reacts to making a 3-point basket against Montana State during the second half of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Grambling State guard Jourdan Smith (11) dunks against Montana State during overtime of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Grambling State guard Zahad Munford wipes his face as he sits near the sideline during the second half of the team's First Four game against Montana State in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Grambling State forward Antwan Burnett, right, drives to the basket against Montana State guard Tyler Patterson, left, during the first half of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Grambling State guard Jourdan Smith claps during a stop in play in overtime of the team's First Four game against Montana State in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Montana State forward Brandon Walker, right, is defended by Grambling State forward Jonathan Aku during the first half of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Grambling State guard Jourdan Smith drives to the basket against Montana State guard Eddie Turner III during the first half of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)
Montana State forward Brian Goracke, right, shoots against Grambling State guard Jourdan Smith during the first half of a First Four game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Dayton, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)