Associated PressCORAOPOLIS, Pa. ó Dallas Green picked up a loose ball and made a hurried shot with 2.5 seconds remaining for his only basket of the game, and regular-season champion Robert Morris shook off its tournament jinx against Mount St. Mary’s for a 48-46 victory Wednesday night in the Northeast Conference championship game.
Jeremy Chappell scored 15 points as Robert Morris (24-10), rallying from five points down in the second half to beat the 2008 champion Mountaineers (19-13) for the third time this season, withstood a ragged performance on its home court to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time in 17 years.
BIG EAST
NEW YORK ó Eric Devendorf scored all but one of his 19 points in a technical-filled second half and No. 18 Syracuse pulled away for an 89-74 victory over Seton Hall on Wednesday night in the second round of the Big East tournament.
Jonny Flynn had 19 points and 11 assists for the sixth-seeded Orange (24-8), who will face third-seeded and third-ranked Connecticut in the quarterfinals on Thursday night.
Jeremy Hazell had 27 points for the 11th-seeded Pirates (17-15), who advanced to the second round with a 68-54 victory over South Florida. Seton Hall was looking to win two games in the Big East tournament for the first time since 2001.
West Virginia 74, Notre Dame 62
NEW YORK ó Alex Ruoff scored 25 points, Devin Ebanks had 17 rebounds and West Virginia built a big halftime lead then held off a surge led by Luke Harangody to beat Notre Dame 74-62 Wednesday night in the second round of the Big East tournament.
Providence 83, DePaul 74
NEW YORK ó Sharaud Curry scored 25 points and Providence held DePaul without a field goal for nearly eight minutes to beat the surprising Blue Demons 83-74 , enhancing its chances for an NCAA bid. Eighth-seeded Providence (19-12) got its first victory in the Big East tourney since 2003.
No. 21 Marquette 74, St. John’s 45
NEW YORK ó Wesley Matthews scored 20 points and No. 21 Marquette snapped a four-game losing streak by holding St. John’s to a Big East tournament-record 10 points in the first half on the way to a 74-45 win.
CONFERENCE USA
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Kevin Sims scored 23 points and handed out six assists in Tulane’s 69-59 defeat of East Carolina in the opening round of the Conference USA tournament.
Sam Hinnant led the ninth-seeded Pirates (13-17) with 16 points and Darrius Morrow added 13 points.
Rice 60, Marshall 59
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Lawrence Ghoram scored 18 points and Rice held off a late Marshall rally to defeat the Thundering Herd 60-59.
PAC 10
LOS ANGELES ó Anthony Goods scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half when Stanford rallied to beat Oregon State 62-54 in a first-round game of the Pac-10 tournament.
The ninth-seeded Cardinal (18-12) were making their first-ever appearance in the tournament’s play-in game a year after losing to UCLA in the title game.
BIG 12
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Marshall Moses matched his career high with 18 points and provided a much-needed inside threat as Oklahoma State (21-10) held off scrappy Iowa State 81-67 on in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
Texas 67, Colorado 56
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Dexter Pittman dominated inside with a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, leading Texas past Colorado 67-56.
At 6-foot-10 and about 300 pounds, the oversized Pittman had his way against Colorado’s interior defense. He started out 9-for-10 from the field with four dunks and even hit his first five free throws.
Baylor 65, Nebraska 49
OKLAHOMA CIT ó Curtis Jerrells scored 19 points and Kevin Rogers had 10 points and a career-high 20 rebounds as Baylor dominated on the boards and beat Nebraska 65-49.
LaceDarius Dunn added 18 points on 4-for-9 3-point shooting and eight rebounds for Baylor (18-13), which won a first-round Big 12 tournament game for only the fifth time ever, but for the second time in the last three seasons.
MEAC
WINSTON-SALEM ó Reggie Holmes scored 18 points and top-seeded Morgan State beat Florida A&M 71-41 victoryin the quarterfinals of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament.
Seeking their first MEAC championship since 1977, the Bears (21-11) advanced to Friday’s semifinals, where they will face the winner of today’s Coppin State-North Carolina A&T quarterfinal.
MOUNTAIN WEST
LAS VEGAS ó Four players scored in double digits to give Air Force its first conference win of the year as it beat Colorado State 71-67 in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Championship tournament.
The ninth-seeded Falcons (10-20) move on and must face the conference’s top seed, No. 25 BYU in the quarterfinals today.