Robert Morris falls short
CLEVELAND (AP) — All-America guard Mark Sears scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and second-seeded Alabama pulled away late to escape 15th-seeded Robert Morris 90-81 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials gave the Crimson Tide (278) all they could handle and even took their first lead at 65-64 on a layup by Josh Omojafo to bring the Rocket Arena crowd to its feet.
Alabama responded behind Sears, who had seven points during an 11-2 surge that gave the Crimso...
CLEVELAND (AP) — All-America guard Mark Sears scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half and second-seeded Alabama pulled away late to escape 15th-seeded Robert Morris 90-81 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Colonials gave the Crimson Tide (278) all they could handle and even took their first lead at 65-64 on a layup by Josh Omojafo to bring the Rocket Arena crowd to its feet.
Alabama responded behind Sears, who had seven points during an 11-2 surge that gave the Crimson Tide some breathing room against the Horizon League champions.
“(I) kept playing the right way, and then the game repaid me back,” said Sears, who also had five rebounds and 10 of Alabama’s 25 assists.
Robert Morris (26-9) came in as a 22-1/2 point underdog, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, yet spent most of the afternoon threatening to author the first true bracket- buster of the tournament after a relatively quiet opening day on Thursday.
Instead, the Crimson Tide gathered themselves to advance. Alabama will face Saint Mary’s in the second round on Sunday after the seventh-seeded Gaels rallied past 10th-seeded Vanderbilt.
Duke 93, Mt. St. Mary’s 49
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tyrese Proctor had 19 points and freshman star Cooper Flagg returned from an ankle injury as No. 1 seed Duke beat Mount St. Mary’s 93-49 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Flagg had 14 points and seven boards for the Blue Devils (32-3), the East bracket headliner opening a push for a sixth national title roughly a half-hour’s drive from its Durham campus. Duke jumped to a 13-2 lead in a dominant first half marked by clean execution on the way to a big lead.
The Blue Devils cooled after the break, but finished at 50% shooting with 14 3-pointers to cruise toward a second-round date with Baylor. Proctor went 6 for 8 from deep.
“I just thought these guys were incredibly mature without necessarily even playing in the NCAA Tournament besides Tyrese and Mason (Gillis),” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “Proud of the performance. We have to move on very quickly, but really good to get our feet wet and understand what the tournament is all about.”
Kentucky 76, Troy 57
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Otega Oweh scored 20 points, Andrew Carr had 13 and third-seeded Kentucky beat Troy 76-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Oweh added eight assists and six rebounds, and Amari Williams grabbed 13 boards for Kentucky.
Next up for the Wildcats (23-11) in the Midwest Region is the winner of Illinois versus Xavier.
Kentucky also was a No. 3 seed last year when it lost 80-76 to 14th-seeded Oakland in the first round. But it doesn’t have a single person on its roster who played in that Oakland game, and it had no major issues against Troy this time around.
Myles Rigsby scored 14 points for the Trojans (23-11), champions of the Sun Belt Conference. Tayton Conerway had 12.
