Mount St. Mary's, Kansas State Open NCAA Tourney With Wins

By ESPN

Diminutive point guard Junior Robinson fearlessly dribbled into the heart of New Orleans' defense, pulled up and hit yet another of his oh-so-soft jumpers. This one decided a frenetic opening game for the NCAA tournament.

Robinson, who at 5-foot-5 is the smallest player in Division I, scored 23 points Tuesday night, including that go-ahead jumper with 1:27 to play, and Mount St. Mary's held on for a 67-66 victory over New Orleans in the First Four.

Robinson carried the Mountaineers (20-15) to only their second NCAA tournament win, making jumpers with so much arc they appeared to tease the ceiling.

"The way he plays out there -- his speed, his athleticism -- it's just so special," coach Jamion Christian said. "When you're a smaller guy, you're naturally going to have a chip on your shoulder, and you want to go out there and show the world the things you can do."

The Mountaineers will head to Buffalo to play defending national champion and top overall seed Villanova in the East Regional on Thursday. They had a charter flight waiting after the game.

"It's a dream come true," guard Elijah Long said. "But this is March Madness, and this is part of the madness."

Mount St. Mary's led most of the way, but New Orleans (20-12) pulled off a comeback befitting its resurgent season. The Privateers had a chance for a final shot, but Erik Thomas' inbound pass with 2.6 seconds left was off target and stolen by the Mountaineers' Chris Wray.

The Privateers' tournament appearance was part of a huge turnaround for the school, which was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They went 10-20 last season, but won the Southland's regular-season and tournament titles for the first time in school history.

Their final comeback came up short.

After trailing by as many as 11 in the first half and nine in the second, they briefly took a 64-63 lead on Christavious Gill's free throws with 1:48 left. Robinson responded with his soft jumper, and the Mountaineers held on.

"We started the engine on the car, and now the car is moving," said Nate Frye, who led New Orleans with 18 points. "We've got to pick up speed and keep building off what we did this year. We established the building blocks of what was broken down from Katrina."

Kansas State 95, Wake Forest 88

After finally making it into the NCAA Tournament with its offensive balance, Kansas State showcased its array of scorers in the First Four.

Kamau Stokes scored 19 of his 22 points in the second half of a wide-open game on Tuesday night, and the Wildcats' versatility was the difference as they pulled away to a 95-88 victory over Wake Forest.

Eleventh-seeded K-State (21-13) got its first NCAA Tournament win in five years and a trip to play No. 6 Cincinnati on Friday in Sacramento as part of the South Regional. The Bearcats are known for their tight defense.

"It's a good matchup for us," said Wesley Iwundu , who had 24 points. "You know they're a tough team, but we're down for any challenge. We're the underdogs now but we like being the underdogs."

In a matchup of two versatile offenses, the Wildcats had the most options and hot shooters. Four players finished in double figures -- their season norm -- as the Wildcats shot a season-high 66 percent from the field against a team they had never faced.

"Now you're playing somebody new and maybe you can get some of the little looks that you haven't gotten in probably like the last six weeks," coach Bruce Weber said.

Stokes missed three of his four shots in the first half, but found his touch right away after the break, hitting a pair of quick 3s.

"I think he just needed to shake off his jitters in the first NCAA Tournament game," Iwundu said. "But in the second half, he got back to doing what he does best, hitting some big shots."

Wake Forest (19-14 ) couldn't keep up during its first NCAA Tournament game in seven years. The Demon Deacons scored 90 points nine times during the season, but couldn't match the Wildcats.

"We came close and then we let them build another lead," said John Collins, who had 26 points and nine rebounds. "So I think it was kind of a trend."

It was a breakthrough season for the Demon Deacons in coach Danny Manning's third season. He led Kansas to the 1988 national championship -- Danny and The Miracles, as they're known -- by beating K-State along the way. And now he had the Demon Deacons back in the tournament for the first time in seven years.

"For us, it's been a long, eventful season," Manning said.

Wednesday, March 15 Schedule (All Times Central)

#16 North Carolina Central vs. #16 UC Davis, 5:40 p.m.

#11 USC vs. #11 Providence, 8:10p.m.