WASHINGTON D.C. REGION

(2) Tennessee 63, (15) Winthrop 61

Chris Lofton’s remarkable shot allowed Tennessee to avoid a major upset and sent Tennessee into the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time in six years.

The sophomore guard took an inbound pass with 2.9 seconds left and rattled home a fallaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line to help the second-seeded Volunteers beat Winthrop 63-61 yesterday in the first round of the Washington Regional.

Craig Bradshaw missed a shot right before the buzzer that would have tied it for the Eagles (23-8), who remained winless in six trips to the tournament.

The Volunteers advance to face seventh seeded Wichita State. Major Wingate led Tennessee with 15 points, and Torrell Martin finished with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Eagles.

(7) Wichita St. 86, (10) Seton Hall 66

Sean Ogirri had 23 points and hit six 3-pointers to lead Wichita State, giving the Missouri Valley Conference an impressive debut after hearing plenty about its haul of four NCAA bids.

Paul Miller scored 15 points for the seventh-seeded Shockers (25-8) who were playing their first NCAA tournament game since 1988. They advance to play Tennessee on Saturday.

Kelly Whitney scored 18 points to lead the 10th-seeded Pirates (18-12), who battled through the rugged Big East to reach the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

MINNEAPOLIS REGIONAL

(4) Boston College 88, (13) Pacific 76

Boston College derailed scrappy Pacific and the Maraker Express. The final overtime was anticlimactic, but the fourth-seeded Eagles (27-7) sure made this one interesting for the first 45 minutes. They advanced to play Montana.

BC trailed by six early in the first overtime and needed a pair of free throws from Craig Smith, a 66% shooter, with 4 seconds left to send the game into the next extra period.

With 9 seconds left in regulation, Pacific’s star, Christian Maraker, hit an open 3-pointer to tie the game at 65. But the Eagles held Maraker scoreless in the two overtimes, and the Tigers (24-8) failed to advance to the second round for the third straight year.

(12) Montana 87, (5) Nevada 79

Montana overcame a sizable height disadvantage and became the latest no. 12 seed to pull an upset. Since 1985, at least one 12th-seeded team has upset a no. 5 seed in the tournament every year except for 1988 and 2000. The Grizzlies (24-6) never trailed against the Wolf Pack (27-6).

Andrew Strait, Montana’s second-tallest player at 6-foot-8, had 22 points and Virgil Matthews scored 20 for the Grizzlies. Nick Fazekas had 24 points and 12 boards for Nevada. Montana will next play Boston College.

(11) UW-Milwaukee 82, (6) Oklahoma 74

Pulling off their third major upset in two years, 11th-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee got 24 points apiece from Joah Tucker and Boo Davis to knock off sixth-seeded Oklahoma (20-9).

Tucker, one of the stars in Milwaukee’s run to the Sweet 16 last season, scored nine during a 23-7 surge that carried the Panthers (22-8) to a 60-46 lead with just over seven minutes to go.

The closest Oklahoma got the rest of the way was six. Wisconsin-Milwaukee plays Florida on Saturday.

(3) Florida 76, (14) South Alabama 50

Lee Humphrey scored 20 points, including 12 on four 3-pointers in the second half, and the third-seeded Gators advanced in front of a partisan crowd at Veterans Memorial Arena.

Florida (28-6) extended its winning streak to six games and will play Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday. Joakim Noah and Al Horford combined for 30 points and 21 rebounds and dominated inside, not surprising considering Florida’s significant size advantage.

Leandro Buboltz made led the 14th-seeded Jaguars (24-7) with 14 points, most of them coming on four 3-pointers. Mario Jointer added 10 points and seven rebounds.

OAKLAND REGIONAL

(10) Alabama 90, (7) Marquette 85

Jean Felix was nearly perfect in scoring a season-high 31 points for the Crimson Tide, in a game that was delayed 70 minutes after bomb-sniffing dogs detected something suspicious at San Diego State’s arena.

Once order was restored, Felix made five 3-pointers in the first 12 1/2 minutes to help the 10th-seeded Crimson Tide (18-12) take a 15-point lead.

With Alabama leading 86-85, the ball bounced off Felix’s foot and went out of bounds, but Steve Novak missed a turnaround jumper. Alabama’s Ronald Steele made two free throws for an 88-85 lead. Novak, Marquette’s all-time 3-point shooter, missed from behind the arc with 7.8 seconds left.

Seventh-seeded Marquette (20-11) was ousted in its first NCAA tournament appearance since reaching the Final Four in 2003.

(2) UCLA 78, (15) Belmont 44

Freshman Luc Richard Mbah a Moute scored a career-high 17 points and UCLA routed Belmont.

Ryan Hollins added 10 points for no. 2 seed UCLA (28-6), which won its seventh straight after holding the 15th-seeded Belmont to 21 second-half points. Justin Hare Boomer Herndon and Andrew Preston had six points each for Belmont (20-11).

UCLA coach Ben Howland earned his first NCAA tournament victory since taking over in Westwood three seasons ago. The Bruins advanced to the second round for the first time since 2002 and will play 10thseeded Alabama.

(3) Gonzaga 79, (14) Xavier 75

Adam Morrison did just enough to keep Gonzaga from a first-round exit in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs’ mustachioed, mop-topped star scored seven of his 35 points in the final two minutes as Gonzaga rallied past Xavier 79-75.

Morrison led the Zags on a late 10-2 run, finally overcoming Xavier (21-11). The Musketeers had held off every previous Gonzaga surge, but ultimately they were overrun by the nation’s leading scorer.

Morrison was 11-for-21 from the floor and had four assists. J.P. Batista added 18 points and eight rebounds for the Zags, who are in their eighth straight NCAA tournament.

ATLANTA REGIONAL

(4) LSU 80, (13) Iona 64

Glen Davis scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and fourth-seeded LSU (24-8) overcame a sluggish start to beat no. 13 seed Iona 80-64.

Davis, a 6-foot-9, 310-pound sophomore, took over after missing eight of his first nine shots and being held to five points in the opening half. The SEC player of the year finished 7-of-15 from the field and had 13 rebounds – six of them after halftime.

Steve Burtt and Ricky Soliver, the highest scoring guard tandem in Division I, did all they could to keep Iona (23-8) in the game. Burtt had 23 points and Soliver 14 in their final college contests.

LSU, which trailed 37-32 at the half, advanced to a second-round matchup against either fifth-seeded Syracuse or no. 12 Texas A&M on Saturday.

(8) G. Wash. 88, (9) NC-Wilmington 85

Maureece Rice scored 20 points and had a key defensive play in overtime to help the Colonials rally from an 18-point deficit.

Omar Williams had 16 points and nine rebounds for the eighth-seeded Colonials (27-2). Carl Elliott added 15 points and hit two free throws with 11.6 seconds left to send the game into overtime, while Danilo Pinnock had all 11 of his points after halftime.

T.J. Carter scored 25 points to lead the ninth-seeded Seahawks (25-8), who shot 59% and hit 11 3-pointers for the game.

-Associated Press

LATE GAMES

(16) Southern vs. (1) Duke
(12) Texas A&M vs. (5) Syracuse
(12) Utah State vs. (5) Washington
(11) San Diego State vs. (6) Indiana