College basketball

Men: Late 3-pointer gives berth to 12-18 team

By wire services
Published March 9, 2005

TULSA, Okla. - Pierre Dukes became an unlikely hero for an improbable NCAA Tournament team.

Dukes' only shot of the second half was a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left and Oakland upset top-seeded Oral Roberts 61-60 Tuesday night to win the Mid-Continent Conference tournament and make the NCAAs with a 12-18 record.

The seventh-seeded Golden Grizzlies are in the tournament for the first time since becoming a Division I program eight seasons ago. It's the fourth straight season a team with a losing record has made the NCAA Tournament.

Oakland (Mich.) took possession after Jonathan Bluitt hit one of two free throws to make it 60-58. Rawle Marshall passed it to Dukes on the left side, and his shot splashed through the net.

"When I got it, I looked at the clock and there wasn't enough time to get it back to him, so I figured I'd let it fly," said Dukes, a 35 percent shooter from 3-point range who almost didn't even make the team.

HORIZON LEAGUE: Adrian Tigert sank a free throw with 4.2 seconds left, giving tournament host Wisconsin-Milwaukee a 59-58 win over Detroit in the title game. Ed McCants' 18 points led the Panthers, who held Detroit scoreless over the final 21/2 minutes to avoid losing the title game at home for the second straight season.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE: Tiras Wade scored 21 of his 30 in the second half and Chris Cameron hit three timely 3-pointers, carrying Louisiana-Lafayette past Denver 88-69 in the final in Denton, Texas. The Ragin' Cajuns have earned consecutive NCAA Tournament berths.

This season started with talk that Gonzaga might no longer be the best team in the West Coast Conference. It ended with the Zags on top for the sixth time in seven years.

Tournament MVP Adam Morrison scored 30 to lead No. 11 Gonzaga over Saint Mary's 80-67 in Santa Clara, Calif., in a meeting of the conference's top two teams.

"Obviously being how young we are, over the summer we heard a lot of whispers about us finishing second or fourth in this league, and it kind of put a little chip on our shoulders," Morrison said.

Ronny Turiaf added 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Zags (25-4) earned a seventh straight NCAA tournament bid with their 12th consecutive victory.

GAINESVILLE - Florida junior guard Anthony Roberson was named to the AP All-SEC first team, the second consecutive season he has earned the honor. Teammate David Lee was a second-team pick.

Roberson, 22, led the SEC in scoring in league play at 20.8 a game and was the only player to score at least 15 in all 16 SEC games. He is the first Florida player since Udonis Haslem to earn back-to-back first-team honors. Lee is the first Gator since 1990 to average a double double in SEC play, with 13.9 points and 10.3 rebounds.

The remainder of the first team: Player of the Year Brandon Bass, LSU; Chuck Hayes, Kentucky; Lawrence Roberts, Mississippi State, and Kennedy Winston, Alabama. Kentucky's Tubby Smith was named coach of the year.

- ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times staff writer

B-CC 76, N. CAROLINA A&T 62: Antonio Webb scored 24 and Diondre Larmond 22 for Bethune-Cookman in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament play-in game in Richmond, Va. Larmond hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats the lead for good at 26-25 in the first half.

EX-COACH RIPS TENNESSEE: A lack of commitment and a "football mentality" have prevented Tennessee from establishing a top-notch program, former coach Jerry Green said. Green was forced out in 2001 after leading the Volunteers to the best four-year run in school history, including NCAA Tournament appearances all four years. "I've never been through anything in my life like those four years at Tennessee," he said. "It's probably as screwed up a situation, with what we did and the number of wins we had, as any I've ever heard of."

AWARDS: Syracuse's Hakim Warrick, the second-leading scorer and fourth-best rebounder in the Big East this season, was named conference player of the year. He was also named USBWA's All-District 2 (New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Washington) MVP. ... North Carolina's Marvin Williams was a unanimous pick to the AP All-ACC freshman team.

EASTERN MICHIGAN: Jim Boone is out as coach after losing twice as many games as he won over five seasons including a 12-18 mark this season.

N.C. STATE: Senior Jordan Collins is "doubtful at best" for the ACC tournament with a separated shoulder, coach Herb Sendek said.

SIENA: The school fired coach Rob Lanier after a season in which the Saints set a school record with 24 losses.

OBITUARY: Neal Baisi, who coached at West Virginia Tech for 12 seasons then was its athletic director from 1965-89, died at 81. In an era well before 3-point shot, his 1955 WVT team averaged 111.9 points - something no high school, college or pro team had done.

[Last modified March 9, 2005, 00:55:19]