SUNDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 83, @#11 North Carolina 80
@Florida State 89,
UT Martin 61
@Morehead State 102, Marshall 94 (OT)
IPFW 69,
Tennessee Tech 66 (Corpus Christi, Texas)
BELMONT 83, #11 NORTH CAROLINA 80
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - J.J. Mann had rehearsed hitting a game-winning shot so many times before. When the ball came his way late against No. 12 North Carolina, the senior didn't squander the chance to give Belmont a stunning road upset.
The senior hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds left, helping the Bruins beat the Tar Heels 83-80 on Sunday in the Hall of Fame Tipoff.
Mann finished with a career-best 28 points, with the last basket giving the Bruins an 81-80 lead. Then, after a missed shot from UNC's J.P. Tokoto, Caleb Chowbay scored on a breakaway layup with 0.2 seconds left that sent Belmont players rushing onto the court to celebrate at the horn.
"There aren't great victories unless you beat great programs," longtime Belmont coach Rick Byrd said. "... It's a big moment right now for us."
Indeed, especially considering it appeared the Bruins (3-1) would be left lamenting one that got away.
Belmont had frustrated North Carolina by playing with poise and knocking down outside shots, leading by 11 points early in the second half. Then the Tar Heels (2-1) rallied and led by eight with 2 1/2 minutes left, only to see Mann and the Bruins push back.
With the Bruins trailing by two in the final 20 seconds, Reece Chamberlain brought the ball upcourt and flipped it to Mann, who launched the straightaway shot over Tokoto.
He said he was "about 99 percent sure it was going in" before it dropped through the net.
"It's something you dream about as a kid, and something that you pretend this summer in the gym," Mann said. "You're saying, `All right, game winner against North Carolina, here you go.' And then it happens. It's just unbelievable."
Belmont is a consistently successful Ohio Valley Conference program with six NCAA tournament trips in eight years. Now the Bruins have their first win against a Top 25 opponent since beating No. 23 Missouri in December 2003.
It was North Carolina's first nonconference home loss since falling to Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge eight years ago.
Drew Windler, who rebounded Tokoto's late miss and threw it ahead for Chowbray's layup, said he had 28 congratulatory text messages and countless other Twitter messages waiting by the time he got on the team bus.
"It's a historical win for Belmont," Windler said. "We don't have a lot of wins over AP Top 25 teams. So anytime you can go into a Top 25 team's place, especially a place like North Carolina -- storied program -- and do just enough to beat a good team, that's great. That's something to hang your hats on."
Mann hit five 3-pointers and added nine rebounds to lead the Bruins, who hit 15 of 37 3s to match their three-game season total for made 3-pointers coming in.
Windler scored 16 points and hit four 3s of his own for the Bruins, who shot 45 percent and hit 20 of 22 free throws.
The free throws were a big factor considering the Tar Heels -- playing yet again without leading scorer P.J. Hairston and senior guard Leslie McDonald due to NCAA eligibility concerns -- couldn't make their own.
UNC shot 48 percent and scored 20 second-chance points, but finished 22-for-48 (46 percent) from the foul line. That included a woeful 9-for-28 in the first half as Belmont took a 41-34 lead at the break.
"I don't know," sophomore Brice Johnson said of the free-throw struggles. "That hurt. We should've made free throws. ... Make at least 10 of those we win the game. We just have to concentrate, just take our time."
North Carolina erased the deficit with a 14-0 second-half run, holding the Bruins to one field goal over a 10-minute span. But after the Tar Heels had pushed ahead 73-65 on Marcus Paige's driving basket with 3:46 left, Mann and the Bruins pushed back.
Mann knocked down a 3 to cut the deficit to 78-75 with 1:02 left, then followed with another 8 seconds later to cut the deficit to 80-78.
The Tar Heels had a chance to make it a two-possession game again, but Paige lost the ball on a dribble drive with 19.9 seconds left, leading to a jump ball that set up Mann's final shot.
James Michael McAdoo scored a career-high 27 points and had 13 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels, while Paige finished with 17 points.
"(Byrd) is a good friend and a really good coach, and I'm happy for him," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "But I love those kids in my locker room and their coach let them down today. That's about it."
FLORIDA STATE 89, UT MARTIN 61
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team battled at Florida State this afternoon but fell to the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Seminoles by an 89-61 margin at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
The Skyhawks (1-4) were led this afternoon by a pair of forwards. Junior Myles Taylor poured in 17 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench while freshman Javier Martinez compiled career-highs of 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds on a near-perfect shooting performance (6-for-7 shooting, 1-for-1 from the free throw line). Senior guard Justin Childs also added 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and three steals for UT Martin, who was playing its third game in the last five days.
Ian Miller’s 20 points led Florida State (3-0), who is coached by UT Martin alum Leonard Hamilton. Aaron Thomas (19 points), Okaro White (17 points) and Devon Bookert (13 points) also paced the Seminoles, who were forced into 19 turnovers by the Skyhawk defense.
A jumper by Tobias Dowdell gave UT Martin a 2-0 lead at the 18:11 mark of the first half. The Skyhawks stayed within one possession through the game’s first five minutes until Florida State opened up an 11-4 advantage with 14:21 to play before halftime.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Taylor ignited an 8-0 Skyhawk run, as a Bobby Jones three-pointer at the 11:31 mark provided a 12-11 UT Martin lead. However, the Seminoles answered with nine unanswered points and would later go on a separate 7-0 spurt to lead 31-16 with 5:39 remaining in the first half.
Florida State led by 20 points until a Newell jumper with just under a minute left in the half provided the halftime margin of 41-23.
Taylor compiled seven points in the first half to lead the Skyhawks while Florida State was led by Miller’s 13 points.
The Seminoles began the second half on a 6-0 run but UT Martin kept fighting, as an 8-0 run over a span of 1:30 got the Skyhawks within a dozen points (52-40) with a little over 13 minutes to play. Taylor sank a jumper, followed by a Dee Oldham three-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play by Martinez to get UT Martin back within striking distance.
Florida State would follow with seven unanswered points to go ahead 59-40 at the 11:31 mark. Just over two minutes later, back-to-back buckets by Martinez and Oldham would make the score 65-50 but another 7-0 Seminole run immediately followed and the Skyhawks would not get any closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
MOREHEAD STATE 102, MARSHALL 94 (OT)
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men's basketball team overcame a 21-point deficit against Conference USA opponent Marshall to post a 102-94 overtime win on Sunday afternoon in front of 3,506 fans at Johnson Arena.
After missing 25 free throws during regulation, the Eagles sank all 14 freebies in overtime.
The Eagles improve to 3-1, while Marshall slips to 2-1. The Thundering Herd had won four consecutive games against Morehead State with the last Eagle victory (101-100) coming back on Dec. 17, 2002.
Sophomore Brent Arrington and senior Bakari Turner led the Eagles with 24 points apiece. It marked Turner's career high. Junior Angelo Warner added 15, and junior Luka Pajkovic scored 13.
Marshall senior Elijah Pittman led all scorers with 31 points. Freshman Kareem Canty totaled 19 points and a game-high nine assists.
Senior Chad Posthumus recorded 15 rebounds and 14 points for his fourth double-double at Morehead State. Junior Kareem Storey handed out a team-best eight assists for the Eagles before fouling out in regulation. MSU finished with a 40-39 rebounding advantage.
Marshall held its biggest lead, at 48-27, with one minute to play in the first half. The Eagles started the second half with a 13-2 run to cut the Marshall lead to only seven points at 53-46 with 16:09 on the clock.
Turner knocked down a three-pointer with 38 seconds left in the second half to cut the Marshall lead to 85-82. Pajkovic then connected on a lay-up, which trimmed the lead to two points. Posthumus sank a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 86.
Marshall sophomore DeVince Boykins was given two free throws with just 1.1 left on the clock, but missed both as the contest headed to overtime.
Morehead State closed out the affair on a 10-2 spurt after it was tied at 92. Warner's two free throws with 2:21 remaining gave the Eagles their first lead since 9-8.
The game featured 76 fouls, with eight players fouling out, and 108 free-throw attempts. Marshall was whistled for a school-record 44 infractions. The Eagles shot 62 percent (40-of-65) from the free throw line, while the Thundering Herd knocked down 67 percent (29-of-43).
MSU's bench outscored Marshall's, 41-24.
Morehead State shot 45 percent (28-of-62) from the field and 30 percent (6-of-20) from three-point range. Marshall connected on 52 percent (29-of-56) and 30 percent (7-of-23) from outside the arc.
Morehead State forced 26 turnovers, which resulted in 32 points. The Eagles gave the ball away 16 times.
IPFW 69, TENNESSEE TECH 66
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - In what quickly became the theme of the Holiday Inn Downtown Marina Islanders Tournament, Sunday's game became yet another instant classic as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell to IPFW, 69-66.
Down by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Golden Eagles showed a strong resilience they had displayed all weekend, using stout defensive play and some clutch buckets to cut the lead to just six points heading into halftime.
The comeback attempt would fall just short in the end, as the Mastodons used 53.8 percent shooting to edge the Golden Eagles in a game that was just inches from becoming a Tech victory. Tech, who had been dealing with a stomach virus going around the locker room, didn't seem to quite have the same stamina it usually displays, but made an incredible effort down the stretch regardless.
Luis Jacobo led all scorers, putting up a double-double for the Mastodons with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He would be the only IPFW player to score in double-figures.
JUCO transfer Dwan Caldwell put together a second-straight offensive show, setting a new career-high with 15 points and adding six boards off the glass. The center gathered all-tournament honors after averaging 11 points and five rebounds for the weekend.
Senior Dennis Ogbe, who finally started to look healthy after suffering from a multitude of illnesses to begin the season, also contributed 15 points while adding six rebounds. The Munich, Germany native was key down the stretch for the Golden Eagles as well, scoring nine points over the final six minutes of play.
Another JUCO transfer wrapped up the double-digit scorers for Tech as Ty Allen scored 11 while pulling in a career-high five rebounds.
The Golden Eagles seemed destined to force an overtime period with their play down the stretch.
The comeback started at the 6:55 mark when Tech, down by 11 at that point, found Allen open from 3-point range. The junior drained the bucket and head coach Steve Payne called for a timeout. Out of the break, IPFW missed a field goal that led to a layup by Ogbe, who finished strong while inducing a foul.
After sinking the free throw, the Golden Eagles had cut the lead to just 57-52. Mastodon Joe Reed drew a foul and headed to the line on the next series, but the forward missed both shots from the charity stripe. Tech took advantage, gathering a layup from Allen with 5:41 to play to make it just a three-point game.
IPFW brought the ball up the floor and tried to kill some clock, but the Golden Eagle defense held strong as senior Jeremiah Samarrippas created a steal and hit JUCO transfer Ladon Carter for a transition dunk to bring the Tech squad within one point.
The Mastodons finally were able to put up a score, but Ogbe came through with his second clutch bucket of the game, making a fantastic post move for the lay-in while drawing another foul. Not even 24 hours after going a career-worst 1-for-6 from the charity stripe, Ogbe was brilliant at the free throw line on Sunday, sinking all four attempts, including the game-tying freebie following the foul.
Over the next two minutes, the Mastodons went on an 8-2 scoring run, capitalizing on free throws with 51 seconds to play to take a six point lead, 67-61.
But once again, the Senior Class Award candidate (Ogbe), proved clutch, hitting a 3-pointer with 39 seconds to play to put Tech back within two. On the ensuing inbounds play, Carter forced a turnover, stealing the ball from IPFW's Luis Jacobo and hitting a layup with 21.7 seconds to pull Tech within one, down 67-66.
The Golden Eagles fouled Mastodon Pierre Bland with 12.4 seconds to play, sending the guard to the line for two shots. Bland sank the first before bouncing the second one off the iron. Redshirt sophomore Josiah Moore came down with the rebound, giving the Tech squad one last try to erase the two-point deficit.
Samarrippas brought the ball up the floor and hit Allen for an open look from 3-point range, but the ball clanked off the rim, missing by sheer inches, and the ball went out of bounds with one second to play. IPFW would hit one of two free throws to walk away with the 69-66 victory.