Colleges

Iowa loses in final second

Jermaine Wallace might have had the worst view. Stuck in the corner with time running out, all Wallace could do was heave, hope and watch.

As he fell below the baseline, his fadeaway 3-pointer went in with 0.5 seconds left, and Northwestern State shocked Iowa 64-63 on Friday in Auburn Hills, Mich.

"I actually saw it go in through the back of the glass," Wallace said. "I can't believe this."

Neither could the third-seeded Hawkeyes (25-9). Down by 17 with 81/2 minutes left, the Demons (26-7) stormed back to knock off the Big Ten tournament champions.

"I'd like to say I had it all drawn up, but we were just trying to get the guys in the game who could create havoc on defense and score on offense," said Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy, who used 11 players.

Hawkeyes star Greg Brunner made one of two free throws with 14.6 seconds left for a 63-61 lead. The Demons came down the court, and Kerwin Forges missed a shot. But Wallace corralled the rebound.

He turned and, as he was falling out of bounds, put up the shot.

"I chased it down and looked at the clock," he said. "I knew I had chance for one or two dribbles, so I shot it and fell."

Shortly after the Hawkeyes' second straight first-round exit, coach Steve Alford, whom rumors have linked with the vacant Indiana job, was asked if he will be Iowa's coach next season.

"We're two minutes after the game," he said. "My focus and concern hasn't changed. These kids have been extremely focused, and my concern is to try to lead them."

Northwestern State trailed 18-4, rallied, then fell behind 54-37. Clifton Lee made four 3-pointers and a long jumper to pull Northwestern State within three twice. Then Jermaine Spencer scored in the lane to make it 60-59 with 1:03 left.

Brunner's missed free throw then set up the winning shot.

"A senior shouldn't miss that shot," Brunner said. "But I did."

NO. 2 TEXAS 60, NO. 15 PENN 52: The Longhorns finally put away the Quakers in Dallas. Penn (20-9), which led 23-22 at halftime, trailed by only a point and had the ball when coach Fran Dunphy called timeout with 5:53 left.

But Eric Osmundson missed a 3-pointer. P.J. Tucker grabbed the rebound, and Daniel Gibson drove for the first of consecutive layups, with Brad Buckman's blocked shot in between, that put Texas (28-6) up 45-40.

The Quakers, whose last NCAA win came 12 years ago, finished 17-of-53 shooting (32 percent). They were 10-of-27 on 3-pointers and only 7-of-26 inside the arc. Penn was 7-of-25 before halftime, hitting 6 of 14 3-pointers.

NO. 6 WEST VIRGINIA 64, NO. 11 S. ILLINOIS 46: Kevin Pittsnogle scored 18 and the Mountaineers made 11 3-pointers in Auburn Hills, Mich. West Virginia (21-10) had lost five of seven, including a quarterfinal loss to Pitt in the Big East tournament.

But it used runs of 14-0 in the first half and 12-0 in the second to put away the Salukis (22-11) early.

"When we were up 20 with (two minutes) to go, I said to myself "Even I can't blow this one,"' said West Virginia coach John Beilein, whose four Tournament games last season were decided by an average of 5.3 points and included two overtimes. "It was nice to not have those gut-wrenching final seconds."

NO. 10 N.C. STATE 58, NO. 7 CAL 52: Cameron Bennerman broke two ties late to help the Wolfpack end a four-game skid in Dallas. N.C. State (22-9) avenged a first-round Tournament loss to the Golden Bears three years ago, won with a 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left.

"You need special players to step up and make plays," Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said. "And Cameron's been that guy for us throughout the season."

Coming off a Pac-10 tournament in which he set game records for points and rebounds, Leon Powe had 14 points and 12 rebounds. But facing consistent double teams, he made only 5 of 13 shots. His two free throws tied it at 50.

Bennerman, a senior who scored 12 of his 18 in the second half, responded with a 15-footer off the right side of the free-throw line.

Ayinde Ubaka tied it again for Cal (20-11) with a long jumper with 1:06 left. But Bennerman faked Rod Benson and swished an open 3-pointer with 32.3 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Ubaka air balled a 3-pointer from the right corner.

[Last modified March 18, 2006, 02:30:29]