Adam Spanich’s desperation three-point shot as time ran out gave lowly Southern California a 91-90 overtime victory over No. 2 Arizona Thursday night in Los Angeles, snapping the Wildcats’ 19-game winning streak.
Spanich’s only other field goal, a three-pointer with 3.1 seconds left in regulation, forced overtime.
The loss prevented Arizona (26-4, 16-1 Pac-10) from possibly becoming the first team to go unbeaten since the league expanded to 10 teams in 1978. The Trojans (8-19, 4-13) snapped a seven-game losing streak.
In other Pac-10 games, Kris Johnson scored 33 points and J.R. Henderson had 25 points and a career-high 16 rebounds as No. 19 UCLA (22-7, 12-5) defeated Arizona State 102-94 in Los Angeles. No. 11 Stanford (25-4, 14-3) coasted to a 95-67 victory over Oregon.
WAC: In Las Vegas, Tyrone Nesby put UNLV (18-12) ahead on a three-pointer with 1:24 left, then sealed the win with two free throws as the Rebels upset No. 5 Utah 54-51 in a quarterfinal. Andre Miller’s desperation three-point try missed at the buzzer, leaving the Utes 25-3. UNLV next faces ex-Rebel coach Jerry Tarkanian and his Fresno State team, which beat San Diego State 92-56.
Lee Nailon had 16 points and 13 rebounds as No. 13 TCU (27-4) extended its winning streak to 16 games by beating Southern Methodist 71-69.
Freshman Kevin Henry, playing because of an injury to Royce Olney, hit a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to give No. 20 New Mexico (22-6) a 60-59 victory over Tulsa. Tulsa’s Zac Bennett missed four straight free throws in the last 43.4 seconds, setting up Henry’s three-pointer from the corner that gave the Lobos (22-6) the lead.
ACC: Top-ranked Duke missed 16 of its last 19 field-goal attempts in the first half and shot 35 percent, but overpowered Virginia in the second half for a 63-41 victory in Greensboro, N.C. Roshown McLeod’s 14 points led Duke (28-2), which forced turnovers on seven of Virginia’s first eight possessions in the second half and converted them into eight points, fueling an 11-0 run. Virginia (11-19) finished with its most losses since the 1962-63 Cavaliers went 5-20.
Atlantic 10: Shawnta Rogers had a career-high 28 points as George Washington avenged a 31-point regular-season loss to No. 23 Massachusetts with an 88-83 quarterfinal win in Philadelphia. Rogers went 12 for 13 from the line and Mike King added 18 points for George Washington. Monty Mack had 24 for UMass, while Lari Ketner, who is averaging 19 points in the last nine games, had 22 points.
The Colonials next face the 24th-ranked Temple Owls, who got 17 points from freshman guard Lynn Greer as their bench outscored St. Joseph’s 36-3 in a 76-52 win.
Big East: No. 22 Syracuse didn’t have a field goal over the final 4:13 but was 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the last 37 seconds and held off Villanova 69-66 in the quarterfinals in New York. Todd Burgan had 18 points and Ryan Blackwell had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Syracuse (23-7), which pulled away from a 53-53 tie with a 10-2 run and faces St. John’s in Friday night’s semifinals.
Zendon Hamilton had 22 points and Felipe Lopez added 20, leading St. John’s to a 91-80 victory over Boston College.
In the afternoon, No. 6 Connecticut (27-4) showed why it was the league’s best team this season over the final five minutes, outscoring Providence 13-4 for a 64-55 quarterfinal victory. The Huskies (27-4) play 12th-seeded Rutgers, which beat Georgetown 61-60. Connecticut had to overcome one of its worst shooting performances of the season (19 for 51, 37.3 percent) to beat the Friars, who scored on just two of their last 10 possessions.
Patriot League: Skip Victor’s steal and layup with 1:22 left gave Navy the lead and the host Midshipmen held on to win the championship with a 93-85 victory over Lafayette. Navy (19-10) won its third conference title in five years. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for Lafayette (19-9), which got 31 points from Brian Ehlers.
Michael Heary scored 26 points, including 15 of 19 from the foul line, for Navy, which blew a 20-point first half lead.
SEC: Tony Harris scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half in Atlanta and Tennessee pulled away from LSU 73-62 in the opening round, giving the Volunteers (20-7) their first 20-win season since 1985.
Alabama extended the coaching career of David Hobbs as Jeremy Hays grabbed a career-high 18 rebounds and scored 16 points to lead the Crimson Tide to a 72-62 victory over Vanderbilt. Alabama (15-15) has won five of six, advancing to a quarterfinal Friday against No. 7 Kentucky. Hobbs’ firing is effective at the end of the season.
Big 12: Chris Mihm put back a missed shot with about 12 seconds left and made two free throws with 9.7 seconds to play as Texas (13-16) held off Texas Tech 86-83 in the first round in Kansas City. Ty Sims and Ayome May led an 8-0 run that stopped a Colorado rally and enabled Kansas State to score a 75-61 victory.
Women
Sun Belt: No. 4 Louisiana Tech (24-3), led by Tamicha Jackson’s 13 points, raced to a 55-16 halftime lead and cruised to a 92-56 victory over Texas-Pan American in the opening round in Ruston, La. Pan American finished 1-26. ShaRae Mansfield scored 15 points to lead No. 15 Western Kentucky to a 113-47 victory over Lamar.
Big 12: Alicia Thompson scored 22 points to lead No. 6 Texas Tech (24-4) over Oklahoma State 53-49 in the semifinals in Kansas City.
