Memphis powers past Northridge in US NCAA

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – After overcoming heartbreak and tragedy just to get to the national college basketball tournament, Cal State-Northridge could not get past the greatest game of Roburt Sallie’s life on Thursday.

Sallie, averaging 4.5 points all years, scored 35 as second-seeded Memphis beat plucky Northridge, 81-70, in a West Regional match and dodged what would have been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

Northridge, which lost one of its top players in a traffic accident during the season and another to a burglary charge, never seemed intimidated despite being 19-point underdogs. Taking advantage of miserable shooting by most of Memphis, Northridge led for much of the second half and went up by six points with 10:08 to play. But Antonio Anderson, hardly a factor for most of the game, launched a decisive 9-0 run that saved last year’s national runner-up.

With their coach in the hospital, A.J. Price and Hasheem Thabeet scored 20 points apiece to lead top-seeded Connecticut to its first postseason win in three years, beating Chattanoga, 103-47. UConn coach Jim Calhoun missed the game because he wasn’t feeling well and was hospitalized for tests. He will be kept overnight for observation.

Bryan Davis scored 21, Donald Sloan had 14 as ninth-seeded Texas A&M handed BYU its seventh straight opening-round loss, 79-66, in a rematch from last year. The Aggies will meet No. 1 seed Connecticut on Saturday.

E’Twaun Moore had 17 points as fifth-seeded Purdue held off a late charge to advance by Northern Iowa, 61-56, which closed to within 56-54 on Kerwin Dunham’s 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left.                 

Grievis Vasquez had 27 points as Maryland shut down California, the nation’s best 3-point shooting team, 84-71.

Tenth-seeded Maryland disrupted Cal with its pressure defense, rarely giving the Bears a good look from the perimeter. Maryland will face No. 2 seed Memphis on Saturday. Quincy Pondexter scored a season-high 23 points as fourth-seeded Washington took advantage of early foul trouble to beat Mississippi State, 71-58.    (AP)