Associated Press
The national roundup …
It’s March and Junior Hairston is living the madness.
The former West Rowan star led Towson with 14 points as the Tigers beat Northeastern 58-54 in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Saturday night.
The 11th-seeded Tigers (11-21) knocked off the third-seeded Huskies (18-12) one night after upsetting No. 6-seed Drexel. Towson will play No. 2 seed George Mason in the semifinals today at 5:30 p.m.
The Tigers, who went a combined 0-3 versus Northeastern and Drexel during the regular season, have won two straight games for the first time since the start of January.
George Mason 61, JMU 53
RICHMOND, Va. ó Cam Long and Darryl Monroe scored 12 points apiece to help George Mason hold off James Madison 61-53.
The second-seeded Patriots (21-9, 13-5) have won three games in a row and five of their last six.
VCU 61, Georgia State 52
RICHMOND, Va. ó Eric Maynor scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to leading Virginia Commonwealth to a 61-52 win over Georgia State
Old Dominion 52, Hofstra 51
RICHMOND, Va. ó Darius James hit two free throws with 20.2 seconds left and Jonathan Adams blocked a Hofstra shot at the buzzer to help Old Dominion beat Hofstra 52-51.
SOCON
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ó Stephen Curry scored 43 points to lead Davidson (26-6) to an 84-68 victory over Appalachian State in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament.
His 43 points is the third-highest individual performance in SoCon tournament history.
College of Charleston 67, Western Carolina 48
Andrew Goudelock scored 16 points to lead the College of Charleston to a 67-48 win over Western Carolina.
Western (16-15) was aiming to make its first appearance in the SoCon semis since 1999.
Chattanooga 79, Elon 78
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ó Kevin Goffney scored 18 points and Chattanooga held off Elon 79-78.
MVC
ST. LOUIS ó Osiris Eldridge scored 21 points with four of Illinois State’s 13 3-pointers in a 73-49 rout of cold-shooting No. 2 seed Creighton in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament on Saturday.
The third-seeded Redbirds (24-8), who were 13-for-19 overall on 3-pointers, ended Creighton’s 11-game winning streak.
Valley player of the year Booker Woodfox had 13 points but on 4-for-14 shooting for Creighton, the second seed and the Valley’s best hope for an at-large NCAA tournament berth given its RPI of 39 and late-season success.
N. Iowa 76, Bradley 62
ST. LOUIS ó Adam Koch had 22 points and nine rebounds, helping top seed Northern Iowa (22-10) pull away in the second half to beat Bradley 76-62.
PAC 10
TUCSON, Ariz. ó Chase Budinger matched his season high with 28 points, Nic Wise added 27 and Arizona won its regular-season finale 101-87 over Stanford on Saturday night.
Budinger was 10-of-14 shooting and Wise 9-of-9 as the Wildcats shot season-best 70 percent (35-of-50) in a victory that kept alive their hopes for a 25th consecutive NCAA tournament berth. Jordan Hill had 20 points for the Wildcats (19-12, 9-9 Pac-10), who snapped a four-game losing streak.
BIG EAST
WASHINGTON ó Only 23 seconds into the game, Will Walker’s jumper put DePaul ahead of Georgetown. On the Blue Demons’ second possession, Dar Tucker missed a 3-point attempt. And thus began a 10-plus minute scoreless drought for DePaul, filled with errant jumpers, flubbed 3s, even a blown dunk ó 0-for-14 on field goals overall, plus 0-for-2 on foul shots.
It was a fittingly futile display for a team that would go on to lose 48-40 to Georgetown , DePaul’s school-record 18th consecutive defeat, making it only the third Big East team to go through an entire conference schedule without a victory.
C-USA
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Jermaine Taylor scored 36 points, converting on a three-point play with 28 second left, to propel Central Florida to a 74-71 win over East Carolina on Saturday night in the Conference USA regular-season finale for both teams.
After Taylor’s late layup and free throw gave UCF a 72-71 lead, the Pirates (13-16, 5-11) attempted to hold the ball for a last shot. But Sam Hinnant, who scored 22 for ECU, was called for an offensive foul with 2.7 seconds remaining while driving down the lane.
SEC
OXFORD, Miss. ó Mississippi State, fighting for its postseason life, got 17 points from Barry Stewart and survived a potential game-winning 35-foot shot at the buzzer.The Bulldogs (19-12, 9-7 Southeastern Conference) locked up the SEC Western Division’s No. 3 seed.