Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. ó North Dakota State coach Saul Phillips figured there was no need for a timeout in the final seconds. The ball was already right where he wanted it.
In Ben Woodside’s hands.
Woodside made a 17-foot jumper from the top of the key with three seconds left to give the top-seeded Bison a 66-64 victory against Oakland.
The win sends NDSU to the NCAA tournament in its first season in Division I.
“I’ve been working on my offense for a while,” Phillips said. “It’s called, ‘Get the ball to Woody and get out of the way.’ It’s been effective.”
NDSU (26-6) trailed by 14 points in the first half and needed a rally in the final five minutes to win.
Woodside, who had a 60-point game against Stephen F. Austin in triple overtime this season, is one of five seniors who redshirted earlier in their careers as the Bison started to transition from Division II to I. They were targeting this season, hoping to take one good shot at an NCAA bid.
A 3-pointer from Michael Tveidt put NDSU ahead 64-62, and Oakland’s Keith Benson made a game-tying dunk with 12 seconds left. The Bison charged down court and gave Woodside the ball.
“We talked about it all year where if it’s a close game and it comes down to the wire and we need a shot to go up or to tie we’ve talked about not calling a timeout but going with the flow,” Woodside said.
HORIZON FINAL
Cleveland St. 57, Butler 54
INDIANAPOLIS ó Cedric Jackson scored 19 points as Cleveland State used a flurry of 3-pointers to beat No. 16 Butler and clinch its first NCAA berth since 1986.
Six of Cleveland State’s first seven field goals in the second half were 3-pointers, helping the Vikings (25-10) erase an eight-point deficit.
Shelvin Mack and Gordon Hayward missed 3s for Butler (26-5) in the closing seconds.
SUN BELT FINAL
WKU 64, South Alabama 56
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. ó A.J. Slaughter scored 18 points as Western Kentucky (24-8) clinched its 21st NCAA tournament berth.
WKU wasted a 15-point first-half lead and trailed 43-39 in the second half.
BIG EAST TOURNEY
Notre Dame 61, Rutgers 50
NEW YORK ó Tory Jackson scored all 12 of his points in the second half to lead Notre Dame over Rutgers in the opening round of the Big East tournament.
The 10th-seeded Fighting Irish (18-13) will play seventh-seeded West Virginia in the second round today.
St. John’s 64, Georgetown 59NEW YORK ó Paris Horne scored 23 points as St. John’s picked up its first win in the Big East tournament since 2003. The 13th-seeded Red Storm (16-16) will next face fifth-seeded and 21st-ranked Marquette.
The 12th-seeded Hoyas (16-14) were ranked as high as No. 9 in the country this season but have lost 11 of their last 15 games.
DePaul 67, Cincinnati 57
NEW YORK ó Will Walker and Dar Tucker scored 17 points apiece and DePaul ended its 18-game losing streak.
The 16th-seeded Blue Demons (9-23) advanced to meet eighth-seeded Providence on Wednesday.
Cincinnati (18-14) dropped to 0-3 all-time in the Big East tournament.
Seton Hall 68, So. Florida 54
NEW YORK ó Jeremy Hazell scored 23 points to help Seton Hall snap a five-game losing streak in the Big East tournament.
The 11th-seeded Pirates (17-14) will play against sixth-seeded Syracuse today.