NEW YORK — Jamal Olasewere scored seven of his 31 points in overtime and Long Island University earned its first NCAA Tournament bid in 14 years with an 85-82 overtime victory over two-time defending champion Robert Morris in the Northeast Conference title game Wednesday night.
Jason Brickman made two free throws with seven seconds left to give the top- seeded Blackbirds (27-5) an 85-82 lead.
Russell Johnson, who made a 3-pointer with 16.8 left for the Colonials (18-14) to send the game into overtime, missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
The rebound bounced out of bounds with 0.6 left and the Colonials had another chance. But Johnson’s catch-and-shoot 3 at the buzzer hit the front of the rim and bounced out.
Big East: St. John’s 65, Rutgers 63
NEW YORK — Dwight Hardy scored 17 points and the Red Storm, despite not making a field goal over the final four minutes, advanced to the tournament quarterfinals for the first time since 2003.
A wild last minute that had two lead changes, two turnovers that were called — and two that weren’t — and two missed free throws finished with Justin Brownlee of St. John’s taking a couple of extra steps, stepping out of bounds and throwing the ball into the stands while the final 1.7 seconds ticked off the clock.
“Both missed violations should have caused the game clock to stop and a change of possession to occur prior to the end of the game. Neither error is reviewable or correctable under NCAA rules,” Big East commissioner John Marinatto said, referring to the travel and stepping out of bounds.
Marquette 67, West Virginia 61
Darius Johnson-Odom scored 11 points, including two big 3-pointers in the final minutes, and the 11th-seeded Golden Eagles (20-13) advanced to the quarterfinals.
Connecticut 79, Georgetown 62
Kemba Walker scored 28 points, eclipsing Richard Hamilton for fourth on Connecticut’s single-season scoring list with 748.
Cincinnati 87, South Florida 61
Yancy Gates was 10-of-11 from the field — his only miss coming with 8:35 left in the game — and the Bearcats (25-7) matched the school’s biggest win total since the 2004-05 season.
The Associated Press
