NCAA Hoops: No. 9 Notre Dame wins, Illini top Iowa

Share

Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
CSNChicago.comAssociated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Tim Abromaitis scored 22 points and Ben Hansbrough added 21 to lead Notre Dame to a 60-48 victory over Seton Hall on Saturday night.

The win allowed the Irish (23-5, 12-4 Big East) to stay in second place in the conference and was another step toward the double-bye in the upcoming league tournament.

Jeff Robinson had 16 points for Seton Hall (11-17, 5-11), and Jeremy Hazell added 14.

Seton Hall jumped out to an early 6-0 lead as Hazell and Robinson hit quick 3-pointers, before both teams went into a deep freeze from the field. Seton Hall still led 11-8 after nearly 8 minutes were gone inthe first half.

Notre Dame started 3-for-14 shooting and Seton Hall was 4 for 17 from the field.

Robinson converted a 3-point play by Robinson that gave Seton Hall a 20-11 advantage with 5:51 to go in the first half. The Pirates stretched the lead to 11 before Notre Dame staged a late rally, capped by a 3-pointer by Abromaitis as time expired to make it 27-24 at the half.

Notre Dame came back quickly in the second half. Carleton Scott's 15-footer with 17:30 remaining gave the Irish a 31-30 edge, part of a 13-0 run that gave Notre Dame a 37-30 lead.

Seton Hall pulled to 44-43 on a rebound by Fuquan Edwin with 6 minutes remaining but consecutive 3-pointers by Abromaitis and Scott Martin sealed the Irish's win.

Notre Dame warmed up to shoot 40 percent from the field, while the Pirates shot 30 percent.

Box Score

Illinois keeps tourney hopes alive, defeat Iowa 81-68

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Mike Tisdale scored 25 points and Illinois kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive with an 81-68 win Saturday over struggling Iowa.

Mike Davis added 20 points and nine rebounds. He was often the catalyst for the Illini (18-11, 8-8 Big Ten) on a night when Iowa, for a while, refused to go away.

Davis' short bucket with 12:34 to play gave Illinois a 58-43 lead that was too much for the Hawkeyes (10-18, 3-13).

Illinois led 36-31 at halftime and Iowa closed to within 38-35 early on a basket by Bryce Cartwright. But two free throws by Tisdale after Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery drew a technical and Davis' subsequent basket drained the Hawkeyes.

Melsahn Basabe led Iowa with 17 points. Jarryd Cole added 15.

Box Score

Bradley routs Drake 90-64

PEORIA, Ill. - Andrew Warren scored a career-high 33 points and Bradley routed Drake 90-64 on Saturday night.

Warren, a senior playing his final home game, also had his career highs with 11 rebounds and five assists, and matched his best total with four steals. Fellow senior Dodie Dunson had 17 points and seven assists for the Braves, who shot 63 percent from the field in the game, including a 77 percent (20 of 26) performance in the second half when they blew the game open.

The Braves (11-19, 4-14) and Bulldogs (13-17, 7-11) will also meet in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament Thursday night in St. Louis.

Dyricus Simms-Edwards added 15 points and Will Egolf scored 11 for Bradley. Kurt Alexander had 15 points and Rayvonte Rice scored 14 for Drake.

Box Score

Northern Illinois beats Toledo 75-70 in OT

TOLEDO, Ohio - Tim Toler scored 19 points, including Northern Illinois' last four points in overtime, as the Huskies rallied to beat Toledo 75-70 Saturday night and snap an eight-game losing streak.

Northern Illinois (8-19, 4-10 Mid-American Conference), which swept the season series, played without conference leading scorer Xavier Silas, who injured his ankle in a 64-58 loss to Central Michigan on Wednesday.

The Huskies led 36-29 early in the second half, then the lead went back and forth until Toledo built a six-point cushion, at 54-48, with 5:44 left in regulation.

After the Huskies pushed ahead at 61-60 at the 1:22 mark, the Rockets regained the lead until Tyler Storm's layup tied it at 64 to force overtime.

Malcolm Griffin had 17 points and seven assists for Toledo (4-25, 1-13), which has lost 10 straight and 16 of 17. Delino Dear added 10 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.

Box Score

Gilchrist leads South Florida over DePaul
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Augustus Gilchrist scored a career-high 32 points and had eight rebounds to lead South Florida to an 86-76 victory over DePaul on Saturday.

Jarrid Famous added 15 points, Shaun Noriega 13 and Hugh Robertson 12 for the Bulls (9-20, 3-13 Big East), who snapped a six-game losing streak. Two of their three Big East wins have come against DePaul.

Freshman Brandon Young scored 23 points and fellow freshman Moses Morgan had 16 for the Blue Demons (7-21, 1-15), who are 2-32 in conference in the last two seasons. DePaul was without leading scorer Cleveland Melvin, out with a strained left thumb.

South Florida led by 14 in the second half but saw the lead cut to 63-61 after Young made a layup with 9:02 left. But the Bulls regained control. Gilchrist converted a tip-in and Robertson made a 3-pointer to push the lead to 68-61.

DePaul was outrebounded 33-19.

Complete Recap, Box Score

Butler drops Loyola for share of Horizon title

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Shelvin Mack scored 18 points and Butler defeated Loyola of Chicago 63-56 in the regular season finale for both Saturday, clinching a share of its fifth straight Horizon League title.

Shawn Vanzant and Chase Stigall each added 10 points for the Bulldogs (21-9, 13-5), who tied for first with Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Cleveland State. Butler will take a season-high seven-game winning streak into next week's league tournament in which it will be the No. 2 seed.

Terrance Hill scored 14 points to lead the Ramblers (16-14, 7-11), who will be the eighth seed and play at Detroit on Tuesday.

The first 20 minutes featured five lead changes before Butler ended the half on a 7-0 run to take a 32-26 lead into intermission. The Bulldogs led the entire second half, but the Ramblers stayed within single digits until Vanzant's free throw made it 63-53 with 14 seconds to play.

Complete Recap, Box Score
SIU secures worst MVC record since '95-96

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) Dwayne Lathan scored 20 points Saturday as Indiana State closed its regular season with a 75-60 victory over Southern Illinois.

Aaron Carter added 13 points and Myles Walker 10 for the Sycamores (17-13, 12-6 Missouri Valley), who have won five of their last six.

Justin Bocot's double-double led the Salukis (12-18, 5-13), whose five conference wins are the fewest since 1995-96. Bocot came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points and grab a game-best 10 rebounds.

Indiana State shot 53.1 percent to Southern Illinois' 36.2 percent and outrebounded the Salukis 36-33.

The Sycamores used a 9-0 run to turn a 24-24 tie into a 33-24 lead with 2:32 left in the first half. The Salukis got no closer than six after that.

Indiana State will be the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and face Evansville. Eighth-seeded Southern Illinois will face No. 9 Illinois State.

Complete Recap, Box Score

ISU closes out regular season with loss to Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) Colt Ryan scored 32 points Saturday as Evansville celebrated its final game at 55-year-old Roberts Stadium with a 73-67 victory over Illinois State.

The Purple Aces (15-14, 9-9 Missouri Valley), who will move to a new downtown arena next season, finish the regular season in sixth place in the conference and will face third-seeded Indiana State in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Friday in St. Louis.

Illinois State (12-18, 4-14) will be the No. 9 seed and face No. 8 Southern Illinois in the opening round on Thursday.

Ryan scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half, including back-to-back 3-pointers that capped an 8-0 run at the start of the period and gave Evansville the lead for good.

Lewis Jones added 13 points for the Aces, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

Tony Lewis and Anthony Cousin had 12 points each for Illinois State.

Complete Recap, Box Score
Western Illinois no match for Oral Roberts

TULSA, Okla. - Steven Roundtree and Damen Bell-Holter both registered double-doubles Saturday night as Oral Roberts closed out its regular season with a 69-57 victory over Western Illinois.

Already locked in as the No. 2 seed for the Summit League tournament, the Golden Eagles (17-14, 13-5) had little trouble dispatching the ninth-place Leathernecks (7-22, 2-16) for their eighth straight win.

Western Illinois kept the Eagles in check early with its brand of slow-paced, methodical basketball. But a 14-2 run late in the first half gave Oral Roberts a 29-19 halftime lead that it wouldn't relinquish.

Roundtree had 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Bell-Holter finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Matt Lander had 22 points and Kaimarr Price 14 for Western Illinois, which has lost 12 in a row.

The Golden Eagles will play either North Dakota State or Southern Utah in the first round of the Summit League tournament March 5.

Box Score
Valparaiso rolls past Illinois-Chicago 79-65

VALPARAISO, Ind. - Cory Johnson scored 18 points to lead Valparaiso to a 79-65 victory over Illinois-Chicago in the final game of the regular season for both teams on Saturday night.

The Crusaders (21-10, 12-6 Horizon) led the entire way, including by as many as 15 points just before halftime.

Brandon Wood added 14 points while Howard Little pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for Valparaiso.

Paul Carter and Robo Kreps led the Flames (7-23, 2-16) and the game with 21 points each and Paris Carter added 10 points.

Box Score

Tennessee State beats Eastern Illinois 66-62

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Robert Covington scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds to lead Tennessee State to a 66-62 victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday night.

The Tigers (14-15, 10-8 Ohio Valley Conference) outscored Eastern Illinois 8-4 in the final 3:55 to win their third consecutive game and head into the conference tournament, which begins Wednesday, as the fifth seed.

Eastern Illinois (9-20, 4-14) didn't qualify.

After the Panthers tied the score at 58, Tennessee State scored the next five points for a 63-58 lead with 42 seconds left. Curry McKinney's jumper cut the deficit to 63-60, but Wil Peters and Jacquan Nobles combined for three free throws and a 66-60 cushion with 17 seconds left.

Peters and Kenny Moore had 11 points each and Patrick Miller scored 10.

McKinney scored 19 points and James Hollowell had 14 for Eastern Illinois.

There were nine ties and eight lead changes.

Box Score

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Contact Us