Loyola Marymount set to hire Bill Bayno as men's basketball coach
LOS ANGELES -- Loyola Marymount is expected to announce the hiring of former UNLV basketball coach Bill Bayno on Friday, according to a person with knowledge of the move.
The hiring, first reported by the Los Angeles Times on its Web site, was confirmed to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school had not made a formal announcement.
Bayno, currently an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers, guided UNLV to a 95-65 record and two NCAA tournament appearances as the Rebels' coach from 1995-2000.
He was fired during the 2000-2001 season after allegations that he had broken rules in the recruiting of Lamar Odom in 1996 and 1997. But the NCAA cleared him of wrongdoing, and he filed a wrongful termination lawsuit and received a settlement from UNLV.
Bayno, who earlier spent seven assistants on John Calipari's staff at Massachusetts, replaces Rodney Tention as the Lions' coach. Tention resigned after LMU went 30-61 over three seasons.
The Lions had a 5-26 record and were 2-12 in West Coast Conference play this past season.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
The first day of the regional semifinals
EDS: UPDATES with late games; SHOULD STAND.
There was never any question about North Carolina's offense. The Tar Heels made quite a statement with their defense Thursday night.
The first East Regional semifinal was a matchup of the country's second-best offense and second-best defense: North Carolina and its 89.9 points per game against Washington State, which allowed an average of 56.1 points.
It was a clash of opposites basketball purists couldn't wait to see but it turned out to be no contest.
North Carolina showed the defensive specialists -- the Cougars held Notre Dame to 41 points in the second round -- a thing or two about stopping an opponent.
The Tar Heels held Washington State to 31.6 percent shooting, including 2-for-16 from 3-point range, in their 68-47 victory that sent them on to the regional finals for the second straight year.
"We were trying to contest everything," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I think one of the things we wanted to be is, I put up on the board, `tough enough, patient enough, poised enough.' And talking about guarding for 35 seconds."
Center Aron Baynes was 6-for-8 from the field for the Cougars, so except for him, Washington State shot 12-for-49, a number it usually keeps opponents to.
Washington State coach Tony Bennett said he was concerned about his team's 3-point shooting "and against a team this talented I knew we would have to make some shots. The quality of shots were pretty good. I think it affects you more on the defensive end. We couldn't get one to drop and you felt so much pressure on your defense, and the looks, again, were there."
North Carolina broke the 100-point mark in its first two games of the tournament -- the first time a team did that since Loyola Marymount in 1990 -- and although it didn't come close to that number against Washington State, the Tar Heels won by enough to again clear the bench and get every player in the game.
Williams said the Tar Heels didn't approach the game as a clash of styles.
"We looked at it as we have to get through it because it's the next game. We didn't look at their style of play. We didn't look at our opponent. It was just the next game in front of us," he said. "I'd rather win in the 80, 90, and 100s, but sometimes you have to win in the 50s and 60s. And you have to be tough enough to understand that, and you have to be tough enough to make the shots and tough enough to guard for 35 seconds."
One of the best defensive segments of the game for the Tar Heels came in the second half when Alex Stepheson blocked a dunk attempt by Washington State's Kyle Weaver and then on the Cougars' next trip down court, Stepheson sent a drive by Weaver into the band behind the basket.
"I think North Carolina is better defensively than people think," Bennett said. "They can guard you, they certainly can."
BAD THREES: Three-point shooting is always considered a key to postseason success and that was apparent in the first day of the regional semifinals. Washington State, West Virginia and Tennessee all struggled from long range in third-round losses.
Washington State came into the NCAA tournament shooting 38.1 percent beyond the arc but in its three NCAA games the Cougars were 10-for-46 (21.7 percent), including 2-for-16 in the 68-47 East Regional semifinal loss to North Carolina.
West Virginia was fifth in the Big East in 3-point percentage at 35.9 but the Mountaineers made one of 11 from behind the arc in their 79-75 overtime loss to Xavier in the West Regional semifinal.
"I don't know what we are shooting on the year but it is definitely better than 10 percent," West Virginia's Joe Alexander said. "In a close game like that, if we would have shot, you know, even half of what we normally shoot, it would have made a big difference. So it definitely hurt us a lot."
Tennessee came into the NCAA tournament shooting 36.2 percent on 3s but the Volunteers were 16-for-58 in their three games including 5-for-20 in the 79-60 loss to Louisville. Chris Lofton, who finished his career third on the all-time NCAA 3-point list with 431 was 2-for-11 in his final college game and had three of his 3-point attempts blocked.
"I just tried to blitz the screen and every time he's on my side get up and jam him," said Earl Clark, one of several Louisville players who defended Lofton during the game. "I tried to make it a tough shot for him."
Louisville coach Rick Pitino said it was changing defenses that made the difference.
"When you give any good team a steady diet of one defense it's not quite as good," he said. "We extend our zone almost like a halfcourt trap. We don't give the wings good looks and especially on Earl's side we're quite long and (Terrence Williams) is a great athlete as well."
Lofton was terse in his postgame comments.
"They wouldn't leave me," he said. "It was tough to get my shot off. They're a great defensive team."
WORKING OVERTIME: Xavier's B.J. Raymond scored all eight of his points in the 5-minute overtime in the Musketeers' 79-74 win over West Virginia.
"I just want to thank Coach for having a lot of confidence in me to put me back in the game," said Raymond, who hit two 3-pointers in the final 1:18. "When I was kind of a nonfactor for the first 40 minutes. And I knew when I got back in there, I had to make something happen, whether it be grabbing a rebound, getting a steal. Luckily he called the play for me to roll it to the top. And I was open and I knocked one down. All I needed was one to get me going, so ..."
Raymond, who averages 10.1 points per game, didn't get down on himself at any point.
"As a player, you always have to stay in the game," he said. "Going and making the shots, I shot that shot probably 100,000 times in my life. It is easy once you shoot it that many times. So it really wasn't like the shot wasn't pressure. It was simply just making sure I caught it pretty well."
POINTS TAKEN: There are no moral victories this time of the year but Western Kentucky can hold its head high after its 88-78 loss to UCLA in the regional semifinals. In its first two games UCLA allowed a total of 78 points (29 in a 41-point win over Mississippi Valley State and 49 in a 2-point victory over Texas A&M).
CONFERENCE CALL: The Big East and Pac-10 both started the round of 16 with three teams alive, the most of any of the conferences. They both had two teams playing Thursday and they both split.
Louisville was the Big East's winner with a 79-60 victory over Tennessee, while West Virginia lost 79-75 in overtime to Xavier.
UCLA was the Pac-10's winner with an 88-78 victory over Western Kentucky, while Washington State lost 68-47 to North Carolina.
The other Big East team is Villanova, which plays Kansas on Friday night, while Stanford of the Pac-10 also plays a Big 12 team, Texas.
NO TIES: Two coaches went without a tie on the bench Thursday night and they both lost.
Washington State's Tony Bennett went with an open-collared shirt and suit jacket in the Cougars' 68-47 loss to North Carolina.
West Virginia's Bob Huggins had a T-shirt under his sports jacket as the Mountaineers fell 79-75 to Xavier in overtime.
Seems that was knot the correct fashion decision.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Sun Devils brush aside disappointment, prepare for Hornets
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona State has little time to wallow in the disappointment of not making the NCAA tournament.
The Sun Devils face Alabama State in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night.
The Hornets (20-10) won the SWAC regular season title but lost in overtime to Jackson State 77-72 in the conference tournament semifinals.
Mississippi Valley State beat Jackson State in the title game and faces No. 1 seed UCLA in the first round of the West Regional in Anaheim, Calif.
The young Sun Devils (19-12), led by freshman James Harden, were picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 in the preseason media vote but wound up 9-9 in a dramatic turnaround in coach Herb Sendek's second season as coach.
Arizona and Oregon, teams that finished behind Arizona State in the conference standings, made the NCAA field, but the Sun Devils didn't, largely because of their relatively weak nonconference schedule. A season sweep of Arizona added to the team's disappointment.
The Sun Devils, who last participated in the NIT in 2005, can become just the fourth 20-game winner at Arizona State in the last 27 years.
The team went through a workout Monday evening in advance of the NIT contest.
Alabama State coach Lewis Jackson was scrambling to get his team across the country after learning the Hornets' pairing with Arizona State on Sunday night.
Difficulties aside, the game is a big moment for a school making its first NIT appearance.
"The guys are really upbeat about getting on a plane and being able to travel like that at this time of year," Lewis told the Montgomery, Ala., Advertiser. "Hopefully, it will have a good effect on them and make them feel good about themselves."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Wink Adams leads UNLV past TCU 89-88 despite Frogs' prowess
LAS VEGAS -- In a game that featured 28 3-pointers, a three-point play made the difference.
UNLV answered TCU's record onslaught of 3-pointers with a three-point play by Wink Adams in the closing seconds that gave the Runnin' Rebels an 89-88 win over the Horned Frogs in a Mountain West Conference quarterfinal Thursday night.
The Horned Frogs sank an incredible 17-of-23 shots from beyond the arc, including six by Brent Hackett, whose final 3-pointer with Joe Darger all over him put TCU ahead 88-86 with 30 seconds left.
The 17 3-pointers were the most ever in a Mountain West Conference tournament game, as were the 28 combined. UNLV tied its season high for 3-pointers, sinking 11 in 25 tries.
After two timeouts, Adams got the ball at the top of the key and drove to the hoop, releasing his show just as three defenders converged, scoring as he was fouled by Kevin Langford with 3.4 seconds left. His bonus made it 89-88, the 16th lead change to go with 15 ties in a thrilling seesaw game at the rocking Thomas & Mack Center.
The second-seeded Horned Frogs (14-16) had one more shot at the upset of the second-seeded Rebels (25-7), who won this tournament a year ago on their home court. But Hackett's running jumper at the buzzer hit the front of the iron.
Nobody would have been surprised had he pulled up and fired up another 3-pointer.
Hackett led the Frogs with 26 points and was 6-of-8 from long-range. Langford had 21 points, including two 3-pointers, and Ryan Wall scored all 15 of his points on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
"It was a good game as far as just seeing all those shots go in," Hackett said. "A lot of shots that we don't even practice. But, you know, Coach (Neil Dougherty) instilled confidence in us the whole time. I mean, that's what we just kept doing, just kept shooting the ball."
The Horned Frogs actually were much sharper from beyond the arc than inside of it, making 74 percent from 3-point range and just 37 percent (10-of-27) on regular field goal attempts.
The Rebels, who won this tournament a year ago, joined the fun in the final seven minutes, sinking four 3-pointers of their own, two of them by Adams, who led UNLV with 29 points and declared this his best game of his three-year career at UNLV.
"By far. I mean, this is the best game, the funnest game," he said. "... I never played against a team who shot that well in a game. Just my teammates behind me, everybody's making big plays. I mean, it just feels good to be a part of that."
In one stretch, the teams exchanged six consecutive 3-pointers.
"Everyone was on fire," Wall said. "Both teams."
"It was amazing," said UNLV's Curtis Terry. "They would come down and make a shot. We would come down and make a shot. It was just a shootout. Luckily for us, we made a play at the end. This was a fun game to play."
The Frogs' sharp-shooting performance even took Dougherty by surprise.
"Have you seen us play lately?" he asked. "We've been shooting about 20 percent, max."
Many of the Frogs 3-pointers swished at the buzzer, too, particularly disheartening for a UNLV team that was playing terrific, hard-nosed defense.
Rebels coach Lon Kruger said it wasn't a case of his players coming off screens slow or miscommunication on switches, either.
"When you play for 34 seconds and you feel good and feel like you got them in a tough corner and they jump up and knock down a 3, that's tough," Kruger said.
Adams said it will only toughen up the Rebels as they tune up for the NCAA tournament next week.
"We think this game definitely gets us ready for getting our team better and got our chemistry even stronger tonight," he said. "We've never been in a game like this throughout the whole season. This was our toughest game by far and we're just going to take it and get better from it."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Reid's late shot lifts High Point past Coastal Carolina
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Arizona Reid rebounded his own miss and scored on a jumper with 5.6 seconds left to help High Point take a 59-56 victory over Coastal Carolina on Tuesday in the opening round of the Big South Tournament.
Mike Jefferson had his shot blocked by Anthony Breeze, and Reid missed a shot before grabbing the ball and scoring.
Reid, the Big South player of the year for the second straight season, added two free throws with 1 second left after a Coastal Carolina turnover to seal it for the third-seeded Panthers (17-13). He finished with a game-high 20 points.
A 3-pointer by Eugene Harris with 6:13 left helped High Point run up a 54-47 edge, but the sixth-seeded Chanticleers (13-15) retaliated with a 9-1 run and took a 56-55 lead on a layup by Breeze with 29 seconds left.
Jefferson added 17 for High Point.
Jack Leasure scored 18 for Coastal Carolina and Breeze added 10.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Foul problems plaguing Arkansas lately
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Patrick Beverley's 3-pointer gave Arkansas a two-point lead over Kentucky with 6:49 remaining.
From that point on, the Razorbacks held the Wildcats to two field goals -- and still lost.
"We have to be mentally tougher," coach John Pelphrey said. "A common denominator for us is we foul in the last four minutes."
Late fouls hurt Arkansas on Saturday, when Kentucky scored 12 of its last 16 points from the free throw line in a 63-58 victory. The previous weekend, Mississippi State scored 15 of its last 17 points on free throws in an 80-74 win over the Razorbacks.
"It was the same at Kentucky and Mississippi State," Pelphrey said. "They were not made to perform. A foul on defense is just like a turnover."
On the season, Arkansas (18-8, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) has attempted 570 free throws to 512 for its opponents. In SEC games, however, the Razorbacks are operating at a deficit. They've taken 251 free throws, and opponents have shot 262.
In the last four games -- three of which were losses -- Arkansas has attempted 76 free throws to its opponents' 119.
Arkansas plays at Alabama (14-13, 3-9) on Wednesday night. The Razorbacks edged the Crimson Tide 71-67 in overtime earlier this season.
Alabama's Richard Hendrix is averaging 18.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
"Richard Hendrix is the best frontcourt player in the league," Pelphrey said. "He has size, strength, he performs and he has a high IQ. He's got it all."
Arkansas is led by swingman Sonny Weems, who is averaging 15.3 points per game. The Razorbacks were ranked 35th in the Ratings Percentage Index on Tuesday, according to CollegeRPI.com. Pelphrey knows every game is critical as the team pursues an NCAA tournament bid.
"We have to keep playing," Pelphrey said. "You have to keep up with the strength of schedule and RPI some because there are some good teams that don't go to the NCAA tournament."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Bentley ties record with 52nd straight win
WALTHAM, Mass. -- Bentley tied an NCAA Division II record with its 52nd consecutive regular-season victory, a 79-66 win over Assumption on Tuesday night.
The Falcons (25-0), the top-ranked team in Division II, matched Langston's record set from 1943-46.
Jason Westrol had 23 points, six rebounds and two steals for Bentley, while Yusuf Abdul-Ali had 19 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Pat Shea and Grey Twomey had 14 points each for Assumption (19-8).
Bentley led 37-23 at halftime, and Assumption came no closer than eight points in the second half.
The Falcons play at St. Michael's on Saturday then end the regular season at home against Southern Connecticut next Tuesday.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
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