NCAAB roundup: Davidson steals a tourney bid

[March 12, 2018]  Freshman guard Kellan Grady hit the decisive jumper to cap a 17-point effort and Davidson is headed to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 58-57 victory over No. 25 Rhode Island in the championship game of the Atlantic 10 tournament on Sunday at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C.

Grady's short baseline floater marked Davidson's first field goal in 12 minutes, 50 seconds and accounted for the one-point margin with 1:14 left. Senior forward Peyton Aldridge added 13 points and seven rebounds as the third-seeded Wildcats (21-11) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Senior guard E.C. Matthews had 20 points and eight rebounds for the top-seeded Rams (25-7), who are expected to receive an at-large bid as part of the NCAA field. Rhode Island had a shot for the win but sophomore guard Jeff Dowtin was off-the-mark with a jumper with one second left.

Davidson shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the second half, and Grady's winner was its lone basket over the final 14-plus minutes. The Wildcats shot 38 percent for the game.

"We're fighting every chance we get," Aldridge said in a postgame interview on CBS. "Every opportunity, the guys gave it their all."

No. 8 Cincinnati 56, No. 21 Houston 55

Gary Clark sank a free throw with 4.3 seconds left as the Bearcats edged the Cougars to claim the American Athletic Conference tournament championship in Orlando, Fla.

Top-seeded Cincinnati (30-4) earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while third-seeded Houston (26-7) will snag an at-large berth.

 

Houston failed on two chances in the final 10 seconds to win the game. Rob Gray missed a contested 3-pointer and Clark grabbed the rebound, drawing a foul from Nura Zanna. After missing the first of two foul shots, Clark swished the second.

Following a Cincinnati timeout, Gray turned the ball over on a bad pass with 1.2 seconds left, enabling the Bearcats to defend their AAC tourney title.

Kentucky 77, No. 13 Tennessee 72

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 29 points, including a key jumper in the last minute, as the Wildcats edged the Volunteers at Scottrade Center in St. Louis to win their fourth straight Southeastern Conference tournament.

Kevin Knox added 18 for fourth-seeded Kentucky (24-10), while Wenyen Gabriel chipped in 12 points before fouling out. Quade Green finished with 10.

Admiral Schofield paced second-seeded Tennessee (25-8) with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Grant Williams finished with 15 points. Jordan Bone scored 12 and Lamonte Turner added 10 but made just 3 of 12 shots from the field.

Gilgeous-Alexander drained a 17-footer with 59 seconds left to give Kentucky a 70-67 lead. The Wildcats then used free throw shooting to salt away their 31st SEC tourney title, hitting 7 of 8 in the final 34 seconds, including the final two by Gilgeous-Alexander with 2.4 seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media

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