No. 1 seed Houston holds off Gonzaga comeback

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — LJ Cryer matched a career high with 30 points, including two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, and No. 1 seed Houston held on to beat eighth-seeded Gonzaga 81-76 on Saturday night to reach the Sweet 16 for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament.

J’Wan Roberts added 18 points, and Milos Uzan made two last free throws with 2.1 seconds left to give the Cougars (32-4) their 15th consecutive win and push them into a regional semifinal against fourth-seeded Purdue on Friday night in Indianapolis.

Houston also ended Gonzaga’s run of nine straight Sweet 16s, which had been the longest active streak in the nation.

Gonzaga (26-9) was trailing 76-67 with just over 2 minutes to go when Graham Ike made two free throws to start its comeback, most of it coming at the foul line. And when Uzan turned the ball over and Khalif Battle made two free throws of his own, the Bulldogs had pulled to 77-76 with 21 seconds remaining.

Houston got the ball to Cryer, who was fouled, and he made both of his free throws to extend the lead. At the other end, Ja’Vier Francis stuffed Battle’s tying 3-point try, and Uzan knocked down his foul shots to seal the win.

Ike finished with 27 points to lead the Bulldogs. Battle had 17.

PURDUE 76, MCNEESE 62

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Trey Kaufman-Renn had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and Purdue used a fast start to roll to a win over McNeese in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Fletcher Loyer added 15 points. C.J. Cox finished with 11 points for the Boilermakers (24-11), who advanced through the Midwest Region to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season.

Sincere Parker had 17 points to lead McNeese (28-7). Javohn Garcia added 12 points as the Cowboys came up short in their bid to give the Southland Conference its first Sweet 16 team since Louisiana Tech in 1985.

TENNESSEE 67, UCLA 58

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Chaz Lanier made 4 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and No. 2 seed Tennessee advanced to a program-record third…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/no-1-seed-houston-holds-042347426.html

Author : The Associated Press

Publish date : 2025-03-23 04:23:00

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