Down 25, BYU rallies past Iona
Brent Arrington #11 of the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils goes up for a shot against George Fant #44 of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in the second half. (March 13, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
DAYTON, Ohio -- Noah Hartsock scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half to fuel BYU's incredible comeback from a 25-point deficit, leading the Cougars past Iona, 78-72, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last night.
Brandon Davies scored 18 points and Damarcus Harrison 12 for the Cougars (26-8), who advance to play third-seeded Marquette tomorrow in Louisville, Ky.
It was the second stunning turnaround of the night in Dayton. With President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron watching, Western Kentucky came back from a 16-point deficit in the final 5 minutes to beat Mississippi Valley State.
Scott Machado had 15 points and 10 assists for the Gaels.
Iona (25-8) came in as the nation's top-scoring team at 83.2 points per game and didn't disappoint -- at least in the opening 16 minutes. The Gaels scored 55 points in an eye-popping display of passing wizardry and outside shooting. Then they didn't score for the final 4:30 of the first half.
BYU then held the Gaels without a point for 9:20 in a 17-0 run to narrow the deficit to 62-61 midway through the second half.
Western Kentucky 59, Mississippi Valley St. 58: T.J. Price's three-point play with 16 seconds left completed Western Kentucky's furious comeback.
The Hilltoppers (16-18) are the only squad in the 68-team field with a losing record. They move on to play Kentucky -- the top seed in the South Regional -- Thursday in Louisville, an all-Bluegrass game.
MVSU (21-13) couldn't close it out. Kevin Burwell scored 20 points and locked eyes with the president after swishing a three-pointer while the Delta Devils built their big lead. Obama smiled back. Western Kentucky won despite shooting 30 percent from the field and turning the ball over 28 times.
Prime-time basketball
Basketball fan-in-chief Obama gave Cameron a front-row seat to March Madness, taking his European partner to an election swing state for an NCAA Tournament game. The setting created the image of two buddies, dressed in casual clothes, eating hot dogs and enjoying the NCAA Tournament, one of America's premier sporting events. Cameron, who enjoys tennis and cricket but had never been to a basketball game before, said during a halftime interview on truTV that Obama was "giving me some tips. He's going to help me fill out my [NCAA Tournament] bracket."-- AP
