Lehigh in Dance
GABE KNUTSON blocked Cameron Ayers' baseline layup attempt with 7 seconds left and C.J. McCollum scored 29 points to help visiting Lehigh hold off Bucknell, 82-77, last night to win the Patriot League tournament.
GABE KNUTSON blocked Cameron Ayers' baseline layup attempt with 7 seconds left and C.J. McCollum scored 29 points to help visiting Lehigh hold off Bucknell, 82-77, last night to win the Patriot League tournament.
After Mackey McKnight missed two foul shots, the Bison trailed, 78-77, and had a chance to take the lead, but couldn't get the ball into leading scorer Mike Muscala.
McCollum and Jordan Hamilton each hit two foul shots in the final 4 seconds, and Lehigh (26-7) began celebrating after clinching its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three seasons.
"We knew it was going to come down to defense," Knutson said. "We knew it was going to take one possession at a time . . . and taking good shots on offense."
This one will be especially sweet for Lehigh after beating Bucknell (24-9) on its home floor. Lehigh rarely flinched behind league player of the year McCollum, who hit an array of tough shots to help withstand Bucknell's second-half rally from an 11-point deficit.
Muscala finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds for Bucknell. On Knutson's block, he said he made a bad pass to Ayers, a former standout at Germantown Academy.
"I guess I should have tried to score, but I saw the [defender] coming," Muscala said. "You can't dwell on it too much, but I should have been more aggressive there on that first play."
In other tournaments * NORTHEAST:
At Long Island University, Julian Boyd scored 18 points, Jason Brickman had 11 assists and the Blackbirds (25-8) won their second straight tournament championship with a 90-73 victory against Robert Morris.
* BIG SKY: At Montana, Kareem Jamar had 23 points and added seven assists and Mathias Ward had 23 points and eight rebounds as the Grizzlies (25-6) beat Weber State, 85-66, in the championship game.
* CONFERENCE USA: At Memphis, Tenn., Damier Pitts scored all 16 of his points in the second half to help Marshall (19-12) defeat Southern Methodist, 74-56, in the first round . . . Gabriel McCulley scored 18 points and UTEP (15-16) defeated Houston, 67-62, in overtime.
* SOUTHLAND: At Katy, Texas, Darius Gardner, Jonathan King and Antonio Bostic scored 13 points apiece to pace Stephen F. Austin (20-11) to a 68-46 victory over Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals . . . Mike James scored 21 points and Lamar (21-11) downed Northwestern State, 76-69 . . . Bo Ingram scored 21 points as Texas-Arlington (24-7) blitzed Nicholls State, 96-48.
* BIG 12: At Kansas City, Dash Harris and Khris Middleton drilled key three-pointers in the last 4 minutes and Texas A & M hit 14 straight foul shots to beat Oklahoma, 62-53, in an opening-round matchup.
* MAC: At Cleveland, Mike Douglas scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, leading Western Michigan (14-19) to a 71-54 win over Northern Illinois in the second round.
* MEAC: At Winston-Salem, N.C., Christopher Tolson scored 16 points and Hampton (12-20) upset top-seed Savannah State, 59-46, in the quarterfinals.
Noteworthy *
Mississippi backup guard Jelan Kendrick will not play in the Southeastern Conference Tournament because of unspecified reasons and did not travel with the team to New Orleans.
* Arizona point guard Josiah Turner was suspended indefinitely for violating unspecified team rules, the second time this season the freshman has been suspended.
* Minnesota center Ralph Sampson III could miss the Big Ten Tournament because of a knee injury.
