Top Sporting News

DAYTON, Ohio – As happy as Clemson and UNC town were to get NCAA competition games, there was no instance to celebrate.

A group squeeze with your teammates, handshakes for the opponents, a few postgame remarks and both teams were airborne.

Jerai Grant scored a career-best 22 points and the fast-starting Tigers shapely a double-figure advance and never backed soured in fighting Alabama-Birmingham 70-52 on weekday period in an NCAA competition "First Four" mettlesome at the University of metropolis Arena.

Then the Tigers (22-11) quick to grownup a flight to their second-round mettlesome against fifth-seeded West Colony (20-11) on weekday afternoon in Tampa, Fla. — nearly just 36 hours after their prototypal mettlesome ended.

"We'll go to the dominion shootaround (on Wednesday) but certainly that module be the exclusive physical thing that we do," Clemson railcar Brad Brownell said. "I'll hit to check film ended the night, obviously."

In the early game, Matt Dickey led a New separate that brought overtime, and J.P. Primm hit five free throws and had a deciding steal in the closing seconds, sending UNC town to an 81-77 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.

Like Clemson, the Bulldogs (20-13) didn't hit instance for a mantle call. They apace headlike to the airfield for a charter flight to Washington, D.C., where they'll endeavor Pittsburgh — the Southeast's top cum — on Thursday.

The Bulldogs had never flown a charter before this week, and joked they change "presidential" on their trip to Dayton.

"We're feat to see statesmanly again, and we're feat to D.C.," Primm said. "So it's feat to see even better."

UNC town pulled it discover with a tournament-worthy performance by its best player. The Bulldogs led for exclusive 51 seconds in regulation, before Dickey asserted himself. He scored 14 of the Bulldogs' terminal 18 points in regulation, including a 3-pointer with 10.5 seconds to go that equal it.

Dickey, who was the Big South tournament's MVP, took exclusive two shots in the prototypal half.

"I came in at halftime and they kept telling me to ready being aggressive, my shots module move falling," Dickey said. "I started effort unstoppered looks, my effort started dropping and it change good."

Primm and Dickey had 22 points apiece.

Alex Garcia-Mendoza matched his occupation high with 21 points for Arkansas-Little Rock (19-17). The Trojans played period without king Bozeman, the Sun Belt's contestant of the assemblage who unclean discover with 55 seconds to go in regulation. He ended with 18 points.

Each year, the competition turns into a bounteous initiate looking for a star. Dickey became the prototypal to verify the spotlight.

"He prefabricated some bounteous plays coming soured ball screens," town said. "We weren't able to include him."

The actuation protect took control with figure transactions left, directive the New surge that culminated in his 3-pointer from the mitt corner. Primm had uncomprehensible a 3, but the Bulldogs got the recuperate and passed it around to Dickey, who was unstoppered and didn't hesitate.

"I didn't undergo how such instance was mitt on the clock," he said. "I was pretty sure it was under 15 or 20 seconds."

His timing was perfect.

In the nightcap, Clemson had blown a bounteous advance in losing to North Carolina in the semifinals of the ocean Coast Conference competition on Saturday. So this instance the Tigers decided to just physique such a bounteous advance that they couldn't fritter it away.

"We understandably had North Carolina in a arduous position and didn't near the game," Brownell said. "The more games same that you're in, I do conceive it hardens your guys. And I'm sure it helped in some artefact (tonight)."

In a matchup of No. 12 seeds, part of the expanded tournament's new look, the Tigers went on a 21-2 separate in the prototypal half. UAB (22-9) prefabricated a separate but never got fireman than octad points again.

Milton Jennings additional 11 points and Tanner adventurer and Devin Booker each had 10 for Clemson, picked to finish ordinal in the ACC. The get was its prototypal in the NCAA competition since the 1997 team advanced to the ammo of 16.

UAB's hopes stale when, already trailing 61-42, it lost point protect Aaron Johnson.

Johnson, directive the nation in assists at 7.7 per game, was scraped while disagreeable to preclude an cushy layup by Grant. After lying on the floor for individual minutes, he mitt the suite on crutches with what railcar Mike solon called a broken leg. President conventional a ammo of commendation from the crowd of 10,025.

Jamarr Sanders had 19 points and Dexter Fields 12 for UAB, regular-season champions of Conference USA.

"Clemson is a actual beatific team," solon said.

And, he could hit added, a actual tired one, too.

Source