BOSTON – The Vermont Catamounts waited more than a year for another chance to reach the NCAA tournament, and they didn’t let this one slip away.
David Hehn hit a 10-foot jumper with 5.6 seconds left to give Vermont a 56-55 win over Boston University in the America East finals Saturday and its first trip to the NCAAs.
Tournament MVP Matt Sheftic scored 23 points to lead the Catamounts (21-11), who became the league’s first No. 2 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the tournament title game.
Last year the Catamounts were the top seed, but they lost to Maine in overtime in the semifinals.
“I always believed this day would come, and then last year I thought it was going to happen and it didn’t,” said Vermont coach Tom Brennan, in his 17th season. “This year I didn’t think it was going to happen, but once we got on this little roll I knew we were playing as well as BU.”
Chaz Carr came up short on a 3-pointer as time expired for the Terriers, last year’s tournament champions. About 700 Vermont fans who made the trip down to Boston rushed the court to celebrate.
Conference USA
No. 20 Louisville 83,
UAB 78
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville forward Luke Whitehead set a Conference USA tournament record with 37 rebounds, but none were as important as the last one.
The 6-foot-7 junior grabbed the ball after Eric Bush missed a layup, then hit two free throws with 4.7 seconds left to clinch Louisville’s 83-78 win over Alabama-Birmingham in the championship game Saturday.
Whitehead finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds, his third double-double in the Cardinals’ three tournament games.
As Whitehead stepped to the free-throw line, the home crowd of 17,202, a record for the tournament’s championship game, started chanting, “MVP! MVP!”
Whitehead was later named the tournament’s most valuable player.
Mid-Eastern
S. Carolina St. 72, Hampton 67
RICHMOND, Va. – Thurman Zimmerman scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, helping South Carolina State rally to end Hampton’s two-year reign as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament champion with a 72-67 victory Saturday.
The Bulldogs will make their fifth NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2000.
Top-seeded South Carolina State (20-10) trailed 26-6 after just 7:26 and had nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes, then started taking better care of the basketball and pounding it inside for easy baskets and free throws.
Hampton (19-11), which also blew a huge first-half lead in losing at South Carolina State during the regular season, lost its last lead when Zimmerman made two free throws to give the Bulldogs a 58-57 lead with 5:36 left.
Pacific-10
Oregon 74,
Southern California 66
LOS ANGELES – Luke Ridnour had 18 points and nine assists, Luke Jackson added 17 points and Oregon defeated Southern California 74-66 Saturday to win its first Pac-10 Conference tournament title.
Fifth-seeded Oregon became the lowest seed to win and the only other champion besides Arizona and UCLA in the tournament’s six-year history. The Ducks won their first two games, against Arizona State and UCLA, by one point each.
The Ducks (23-9) earned the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament berth, although they were already assured of a spot, despite losing five of their final nine regular-season games.
Oregon will be making its second straight appearance and third in four years in the NCAAs, where the Ducks lost to Kansas in the final eight last year.
Atlantic 10
No. 22 Dayton 79,
Temple 72
DAYTON, Ohio – One of the country’s best home teams can start packing for the ultimate road show.
Sean Finn scored a career-high 20 points Saturday as No. 22 Dayton put the finishing touch on its best home season, beating Temple 79-72 for its first Atlantic 10 tournament title.
It was Dayton’s first tournament championship of any sort since 1990, giving the Flyers (24-5) their first NCAA berth since 2000. It came in the most appropriate setting.
The Flyers went 17-1 at home, their highest victory total in any of UD Arena’s 33 seasons. Most of the fans in the crowd of 11,537 on Saturday wore red shirts and provided the home-court advantage that was a mainstay all season.
Mid-American
C. Michigan 77, Kent St. 67
CLEVELAND – Chris Kaman scored 25 points and T.J. Meerman added 16 as Central Michigan defeated Kent State 77-67 to win the Mid-American Conference title Saturday night and earn its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1987.
Kaman, the MAC player of the year, added 13 rebounds for Central Michigan (24-6), which blew the game open with a 16-2 run to open the second half.
The Chippewas, who finished 9-19 a year ago, were picked to finish sixth before the season started. But after winning the MAC West title, they added their first tournament crown since Dan Majerle led them in 1987.
Big East
No. 5 Pittsburgh 74, Connecticut 56
NEW YORK – Pittsburgh’s three seniors got the school its first Big East championship in their third straight title game.
Brandin Knight, limping on an injured ankle, Donatas Zavackas and Ontario Lett all got to share in the celebration for the first time Saturday night, following the fifth-ranked Panthers’ 74-56 victory over Connecticut at Madison Square Garden.
The Panthers (26-4) ended their two-title game losing streak with their defense, the seniors’ leadership and big contributions from some of the underclassmen. Connecticut (21-9), which beat Pittsburgh 74-65 in double overtime in last year’s championship game, managed just six points over the final six minutes as the Panthers pulled away.
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