Wichita State rolls past La Salle 72-58 to reach final 8 of NCAA tournament

Published March 29, 2013

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES –  Wichita State went from sweet to elite, beating La Salle 72-58 on Thursday night to reach the final eight of the NCAA tournament for the first time in 32 years.

Malcolm Armstead scored 18 points, Carl Hall added 16 points and freshman Ron Baker 13 for the ninth-seeded Shockers, who proved their upset of No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the third round was no fluke. They never trailed in this matchup of small schools whose past NCAA tourney success was long buried in the history books.

The Shockers advanced to Saturday's West Regional final against No. 2 seed Ohio State, a 73-70 winner over Arizona in the first semifinal at Staples Center. Their yellow-clad fans, several waving handmade signs, made up nearly all of the smaller crowd that stuck around to see the end.

View the original article here

La Salle knocks off No. 4 seed Kansas State

Kansas City, MO –  Jerrell Wright made three free throws in the final 30 seconds to lift La Salle to a 63-61 win over Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Wright had 21 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field and was 9-for-10 from the foul line for the Explorers (23-9), who are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992 and advanced to the second round with an 80-71 victory over Boise State in Wednesday's First Four.

Ramon Galloway tallied 19 points and Sam Mills added 10 for La Salle, the 13th seed in the West Region. The Explorers will face 12th-seed Ole Miss in the third round on Sunday.

Jordan Henriquez and Shane Southwell scored 17 points for the Wildcats (27-8), who were in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year and were coming off a loss to Kansas in the Big 12 Conference Tournament final. Henriquez also had 12 rebounds in defeat.

La Salle was strong in the first half, shooting 58.1 percent from the floor and 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. The Explorers opened the game with a 24-9 run in the first 9 1/2 minutes.

By halftime, the Explorers extended their lead to 44-26.

La Salle had trouble making shots in the second half, however, scoring just 19 points on 16.7 percent (3-of-18) shooting.

The Explorers' offensive difficulties allowed the Wildcats to come back, with Henriquez, Southwell and Rodney McGruder leading the rally. Henriquez scored 12 points and grabbed seven boards after halftime, while Southwell and McGruder each scored eight points.

Down 57-56 with 7:09 remaining in regulation, McGruder made a layup to give Kansas State its first lead of the game.

After a free throw by Henriquez, Wright sank both of his free throws to tie the game at 58-58 with just over six minutes to go.

Henriquez would make a layup to put Kansas State back ahead, but Wright responded with two more free throws and the game was tied once more with 4:18 left.

Henriquez made one more free throw with 2:25 to play, but that would be the final score for the Wildcats.

Wright made two free throws with 30 seconds to go, then one more with nine seconds remaining.

Rodriguez attempted a jumper with two seconds left but missed, and La Salle grabbed the defensive rebound to secure the win.

Game Notes

Wright had eight rebounds ... La Salle was 14-of-16 from the foul line, while Kansas State was 9-of-17 ... The Explorers won two games in an NCAA Tournament for the first time since reaching the National Championship Game in 1955. La Salle won the NCAA Tournament the year before ... Coming into the game, Kansas State was 3-0 against La Salle, including a 66-53 win in the first round in the 1988 NCAA Tournament.

View the original article here

La Salle bests Boise State for first tourney win since '90

Dayton, OH –  Tyrone Garland led four players in double figures with 22 points on 9-of-11 from the field, as La Salle used a hot- shooting performance to dispatch Boise State, 80-71, in first-round action of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday.

Ramon Galloway totaled 21 points, four rebounds and four assists for the Explorers (22-9), who waited 21 years for another crack at the NCAA Tournament and didn't disappoint thanks to a 63.3 percent effort from the floor.

Sam Mills drained five 3-pointers en route to 15 points and Jerrell Wright added 13 with six rebounds.

The first of three Philadelphia-based programs to take the floor became the first to advance, winning their first tourney game since 1990 and earning a shot at fourth-seeded Kansas State in the West Region on Friday.

"We want to make a run, and we want to show everybody that La Salle can play with the best teams in the country," Galloway said.

Anthony Drmic's game-high 28 points -- including five shots from beyond the arc -- wasn't enough for the Broncos (21-11). Derrick Marks had 14 points, seven boards and five assists, while Ryan Watkins contributed 10 points in defeat.

Garland and Mills connected on back-to-back treys to give the Explorers a 68-56 margin with 7:15 to play, and a runner from Galloway pushed the edge to 72-58 less than two minutes later.

Mikey Thompson hit two free throws and Kenny Buckner added one more to pull the Broncos to 74-66 with 2:36 remaining, and after Wright bricked a pair from the line, a Barnes bucket made it 74-68 with 1:51 left.

Tyreek Duren then missed a layup, and Buckner missed the front end of a 1- and-1 after being fouled when pulling down the rebound.

Garland hit both of his attempts for a 76-68 game, and a tip from Marks after a pair of missed three-pointers by Drmic made it a six-point spread once more.

But Galloway made his last shot and Duren made a pair from the charity stripe to seal it.

"They just got on a roll and put way too much pressure on our offense," Boise State head coach Leon Rice said.

La Salle led 10-6 in the early stages, and the Explorers stretched their advantage to 25-12 thanks to a 12-1 run, ending on a Galloway trey -- the last of his five points in the surge -- with 9:12 on the clock.

Boise State reeled off five straight points, but two baskets from Garland and a slam off the break by Galloway provided a 31-17 lead with under 5 1/2 minutes before intermission.

The Broncos pulled within 35-27 at the break on a Drmic three-point play.

Galloway's shot from long distance opened up a 44-34 edge for La Salle early in the second half, and when Garland and Mills were true from beyond the arc on consecutive possessions, it was a 52-38 game.

Boise State managed to answer triple for triple in the next several minutes, but was unable to reduce its deficit to any meaningful number.

Game Notes

La Salle dropped a 78-76 decision to Seton Hall on March 19, 1992 in first- round action of the East Region, and last tasted victory in the NCAAs on March 15, 1990 in a 79-63 triumph over Southern Miss in the East Region ... Boise State shot 49.1 percent, but only 7-of-18 from beyond the arc, while the Explorers connected on 11-of-21 tries from long distance ... Duren posted just four points and five assists with two steals ... Buckner finished with six points and seven rebounds ... The Broncos fell to 0-6 all-time in the premier March tournament.

View the original article here