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Briefs

OVAC seeking people for reunion

MOUNDSVILLE — The OVAC is looking for players, coaches, support staff and cheerleaders from the 1994 Rudy Mumley All-Star football game for a 25-year reunion.

Those wanting to take part can contact reunion coordinator Chuck Taskalines at (304) 639-6318 or by e-mail at marshallcoump@yahoo.com.

Haley leads WVU in CBI opener

MORGANTOWN — Jermaine Haley had 24 points as West Virginia defeated Grand Canyon 77-63 in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational Wednesday night.

Lamont West had 11 points for West Virginia (15-20). Emmitt Matthews Jr. added 11 points. Chase Harler had 10 points for the home team.

Oscar Frayer had 13 points for the Antelopes (20-14). Damari Milstead added 12 points.

Arizona State beats St. John’s

DAYTON — Luguentz Dort overcame a hard foul and a leg injury, scored 21 points and led Arizona State to a long-awaited NCAA Tournament victory Wednesday night, 74-65 over St. John’s in the First Four.

The 11th-seeded Sun Devils (23-10) will play Mid-American Conference champion Buffalo on Friday in the West Region, coming off their first NCAA Tournament win in 10 years.

Arizona State also provided a Pac-12 breakthrough: the conference’s first NCAA Tournament win in two years.

The Pac-12 was 0-3 in the tournament last season, with two teams — Arizona State and UCLA — falling in the First Four. Arizona then got knocked out in the round of 64.

The Pac-12 got three teams in again this year, with Oregon and Washington joining the Sun Devils.

St. John’s (21-13) was the last team picked for the tournament, sneaking in despite a late-season fade. The Red Storm wound up one of the first ones out as well.

Shamorie Ponds scored 25 points for St. John’s, which hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000. The Red Storm never led on Wednesday.

Arizona State’s physical defense brought the Red Storm to a halt. St. John’s missed 17 of its first 23 shots as the Sun Devils built an 18-point lead . A technical foul on coach Bobby Hurley as he argued over a blocking foul with 25 seconds left in the half helped St. John’s trim the deficit to 38-25.

Ponds had a steal and dunk as St. John’s cut the lead to 40-33 early in the second half while Dort was on the bench getting his lower right leg treated. The freshman guard landed hard after extending for a rebound and getting fouled. Mustapha Heron was called for a flagrant foul.

Dort returned and hit a pair of free throws and a layup that blunted St. John’s comeback. His fast-break layup rebuilt the lead to 16 points.

Ponds hit a 3-pointer as St. John’s made a final surge, cutting it to 62-55 with 3:58 left. Dort made a pair of free throws that helped finish it off.

BIG PICTURE

St. John’s: The Red Storm opened the season with 12 wins, their best start since the 1982-83 season, but faded at the end, losing five of its last six.

Arizona State: Hurley won national titles with Duke in 1991-92 and has shown his team video of the Final Four when he thought it could use a boost. In his fourth season at Arizona State, he has led the Sun Devils to their first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances since 1980-81.

North Dakota St. tops N.C. Central

DAYTON — North Dakota State is one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country, and that’s what it came down to at the end of the Bison’s First Four win over North Carolina Central.

Vinnie Shahid sank three foul shots in the last 8 seconds to secure the 78-74 win on Wednesday night for North Dakota State, which now moves on to play East Region No. 1 seed Duke on Friday in Columbia, South Carolina.

“I thought that was key to make free throws, something that we’ve pretty much done all year,” coach David Richman said. “Again, when it’s this time of year, it’s going to come down to possession here, possession there and those free throws. Every one of them is crucial.”

North Dakota State (19-15) won its second NCAA Tournament game since moving up to Division I 11 years ago. The team from Fargo upset Oklahoma in the opening round in 2014.Tyson Ward scored 23 points for North Dakota State, posting his third 20-point effort in the last six games for the Summit League Tournament champions.

Shahid had 14 points, and Sam Griesel and Jared Samuelson each added 10 points for the Bison. Eight different North Dakota State players put up points against a tough N.C. Central defense.

“Early in the season we played a lot of teams that pressured like that, a lot of teams they had some athletes like that,” Shahid said. “And earlier in the year, when teams made a run, they were athletic and pressured like that, we kind of crumbled. As you can see, we’ve grown up a little bit.”

N.C. Central (18-16) squandered an outstanding night by senior center Raasean Davis, who scored 20 points and pulled down 16 rebounds — the 16th double-double of his career.

Larry McKnight Jr. also had 20 points and Randy Miller Jr. scored 18 for the Eagles, who lost a First Four game for the third consecutive year.

COMING FROM DOWNTOWN

The Bison held a 40-34 lead at the half on the strength of seven 3-pointers in 14 attempts and 58-percent shooting overall. Five North Dakota State had hit long shots before the intermission, with Samuelson going 3 for 4.

North Dakota went 2 for 6 on 3-point attempts in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. Central: The Eagles mounted a comeback but couldn’t keep a second-half lead for long. A lack of depth was part of the problem: N.C. Central got zero points from its bench, while North Dakota State’s reserves scored 17.

From staff and wire reports

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