St. Peters Stuns Kentucky; Gonzaga, Baylor Win

March 18, 2022 3:53 am

UNDATED (AP) – Top seeds Gonzaga and Baylor have advanced to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on a day a No. 2 seed was dispatched.  That second seed was Kentucky, which suffered an 85-79 overtime loss to St. Peter’s. Darryl Banks poured in 27 points as the Peacocks became the 10th No. 15 seed to win a first-round game since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. St. Peter’s also handed Kentucky its first opening-round loss under coach John Calipari.  Banks’ two free throws with 1:45 left in overtime gave Saint Peter’s the lead for good.  Gonzaga struggled to shake No. 16 seed Georgia State for 30 minutes before going on a 24-1 run in a 93-72 victory. Drew Timme scored 22 of his 32 points in the second half and finished with 13 rebounds.  Matthew Mayer scored a career-high 22 points and Baylor improved to 27-6 by ripping Norfolk State, 85-49. Freshman standout Jeremy Sochan added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bears, who are trying to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2007.
In other first-round action Thursday:
– Jacob Gilyard scored 24 points and 12th-seeded Richmond leaned on its graduate senior-experienced lineup to defeat Big Ten champion Iowa, 67-63. Tyler Burton scored 18 points and had 11 rebounds for the Atlantic 10-champion Spiders, who improved their tournament record against fifth-seeded teams to 4-0.
– Teddy Allen scored 37 points and New Mexico State won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in almost three decades, 70-63 over No. 5 Connecticut. The game was tied at 58 until Allen delivered a 3-pointer and a 3-point play on consecutive possessions.
– Tyger Campbell bailed out UCLA by scoring eight straight points late in the second half of the Bruins’ 57-53 win over No. 13 seed Akron. Campbell finished with 16 points and Jaime Jaquez added 15 for the fourth-seeded Bruins.
– Logan Johnson scored 20 points and fifth-seeded Saint Mary’s rolled to an 82-53 pounding of Indiana. Tommy Kuhse added 19 points and six assists for the Gaels, the only team to beat Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference this season.
– Trey Alexander converted a go-ahead, three-point play late in overtime to carry Creighton to a 72-69 victory over San Diego State. Alexander scored 18 points for the Bluejays and Ryan Kalkbrenner had 16 points and 10 rebounds before leaving with an apparent left leg injury in OT.
– Brady Manek scored 28 points and Caleb Love had 21 of his 23 before halftime of North Carolina’s 95-63 rout of Marquette. Love made six 3-pointers, all in the first 19 minutes, to tie Carolina’s single-game tournament record as the Tar Heels built a 28-point lead.
– Al Durham had 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Providence in a 66-57 win over South Dakota State. Jared Bynum made three free throws with 29.9 seconds left as fourth-seeded Providence snapped the longest winning streak in college basketball.
– Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points and Tennessee pounded Longwood 88-56, showing exactly why it felt it deserved better than a No. 3 seed. The Volunteers shot 60% from the field and had four players score in double figures.
– Stanley Umude scored 21 points and JD Notae provided all 17 of his in the second half as fourth seed Arkansas escaped with a 75-71 victory over 13th-seeded Vermont. Jaylin Williams scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds for the Razorbacks.
– DeAndre Williams had 14 points and Memphis held off a second-half Boise State rally for a 64-53 victory. The ninth-seeded Memphis advanced in the West Region to play Gonzaga.
– Freshman Frankie Collins scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench to help 11th-seeded Michigan overcome a shaky start to beat sixth-seeded Colorado State 75-63. The Wolverines committed nine turnovers in the first 12 1/2 minutes and trailed 28-13, causing coach Juwan Howard to send out Collins from the bench.