NCAA Tournament roundup: McNeese knocks out Clemson in Midwest
Brandon Murray came off the bench to score a team-high 21 points, and 12th-seeded McNeese pulled off the first major upset of the NCAA Tournament, eliminating fifth-seeded Clemson 69-67 in a first-round Midwest Region matchup Thursday in Providence, R.I.
Quadir Copeland added 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Cowboys (28-6), who advanced to a second-round contest on Saturday against No. 4 Purdue, which knocked out High Point 75-63.
Christian Shumate added 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Sincere Parker contributed 12 points in a reserve role. McNeese led by 24 points with 16:14 left in the game, building the enormous lead thanks to a 15-0 advantage in points off turnovers during the first half and a 44-24 margin in points in the paint on the day.
Jaeden Zackery scored a game-high 24 points and Chase Hunter added 21 - all in the final 10:02 - to pace the Tigers (27-7). But second-leading scorer Ian Schieffelin missed all four shots he tried and finished with just one point, 11.8 below his average.
No. 1 Houston 78, No. 16 SIU Edwardsville 40
Milos Uzan scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half to help the top-seeded Cougars cruise by the SIUE Cougars in Midwest Region first-round play in Wichita, Kan.
L.J. Cryer scored all 15 points in the first half and Ja'Vier Francis had 13 points and eight rebounds as Houston (31-4) won its 14th straight game on the way to a second-round matchup with No. 8 Gonzaga on Saturday.
SIU Edwardsville star Ray'Sean Taylor scored 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Taylor finished his career with a school-record 1,962 points. His cousin, Brian Taylor, also had 10 points for Edwardsville, which qualified for its first NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the Ohio Valley Conference