NCAA East Regional roundup: Marquette rallies to edge Davidson

The Associated Press

Published: Thursday, March 21 2013 11:55 p.m. MDT

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Marquette guard Vander Blue (13) scores the winning basket against Davidson forward Jake Cohen (15) in the final second of their second-round NCAA college basketball tournament game, Thursday, March 21, 2013, in Lexington, Ky. Marquette won 59-58. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Associated Press

Summary

Vander Blue's layup with one second left capped Marquette's rally from a nine-point deficit and gave the third-seeded Golden Eagles a 59-58 victory over Davidson Thursday in the NCAA tournament.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Vander Blue's layup with one second left capped Marquette's rally from a nine-point deficit and gave the third-seeded Golden Eagles a 59-58 victory over Davidson Thursday in the NCAA tournament.

Blue and Jamil Wilson made consecutive 3-pointers to bring Marquette within 58-57 with 11 seconds left. The Golden Eagles then caught a huge break when De'Mon Brooks' long inbounds pass went out of bounds at midcourt with 5.5 seconds left, providing another opportunity.

Blue took full advantage after getting Wilson's inbounds pass, driving left and finding room for the winning basket. He then sealed Marquette's improbable win by stealing Davidson's last-ditch inbounds pass at midcourt to set off a celebration among players and Golden Eagles fans at Rupp Arena.

No. 6 BUTLER 68, No. 11 BUCKNELL 56: At Lexington, Ky., Andrew Smith had a double-double including a career-high 16 rebounds, Roosevelt Jones added 14 points and Butler made its free throws down the stretch to hold off upset-minded Bucknell.

After trailing for most of the game, 11th-seeded Bucknell got back into it with a 19-2 second-half run. But after Joe Willman's jumper cut Butler's lead to 43-42 with 6:56 left, the Bison (28-6) went almost five minutes without scoring. Butler went 18-of-20 at the line in the last 4:43.

No. 12 CAL 64, No. 5 UNLV 61: At San Jose, Calif., Allen Crabbe had 19 points and nine rebounds, reserve Robert Thurman scored all 12 of his points on dunks and 12th-seeded California held off fifth-seeded UNLV.

Buoyed by the crowd support of a strong contingent so close to Berkeley, the Golden Bears (21-11) held the Runnin' Rebels (25-10) without a basket for more than 11 minutes in the second half. Cal turned a tie game into a nine-point lead during that stretch and withstood a late UNLV push for its first tournament win since 2009.

No. 4 SYRACUSE 81, No. 13 MONTANA 34: At San Jose, Calif., Brandon Triche scored 20 points, C.J. Fair added 13 and fourth-seeded Syracuse shut down No. 13 seed Montana with its zone defense.

Michael Carter-Williams chipped in four points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

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