Robert Champion scored 19 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, to help Holy Cross beat Southern University for its first NCAA Tournament victory in 63 years.
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Southern University’s Shawn Prudhomme (10) shoots against Holy Cross’ Eric Green during the second half of a First Four game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Wednesday, March 16, 2016, in Dayton, Ohio.
Patience for first-year Crusaders coach Bill Carmody, who continued to see signs of hope during a frustrating campaign that turned around with four surprising wins in the Patriot League tournament to earn the automatic bid.
Despite entering the tournament with a losing record, the Crusaders (15-19) advanced to face top-seeded OR on Friday in Spokane by winning a West Regional preliminary-round game against Southern in a battle of No. 16 seeds.
After jumping on Alabama State (21-6), Texas Southern (20-2) and Jackson State (7-0), the Jaguars missed their first five 3-pointers and turned the ball over six times as Holy Cross jumped to an 18-7 lead. This one’s interesting, as the victor will move on to play a winnable game against No. 6 Notre Dame on Friday in the East Region.
“Early on, we settled for shots”, Southern coach Roman Banks said. Southern trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half but erupted for a 9-0 run just before halftime, capped by three straight free throws by Prudhomme after he was fouled attempting a 3-point shot.
“We just started attacking the gaps”, Rodgers said. Although Southern turned a 12-point deficit into a five-point lead, resilient Holy Cross reclaimed control for a 59-55 win. Champion and Alexander each scored seven points and combined to go 3 of 5 from 3-point range for the Crusaders in the half.
Zak Irvin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer and a pair of free throws in the closing minute as MI pulled out another one at the end on Wednesday night, beating Tulsa 67-62 in the First Four.
The Jaguars tied it on a 3-pointer from Trelun Banks with 1:24 left but couldn’t regain the lead.
Rodgers made a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left, but Champion’s two free throws completed the scoring nine seconds later. “I kind of got us oing on the defensive end and got us in the open court where we wanted to play”.
Champion led Holy Cross with 19 points. But the Crusaders committed 14 turnovers for the game and some of those sparked another Southern rally. “We’re just enjoying it and going for the ride”.
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And if that one comes down to the final minute, nobody will count them out.
