Sun Mar 23 17:47:22 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Western Kentucky tops San Diego, reaches Sweet 16

---

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Courtney Lee scored 29 points and pulled down seven rebounds as Western Kentucky recovered from blowing a 15-point second- half lead to down San Diego, 72-63, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Tyrone Brazelton added 15 points and five assists for the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers (29-6), who dispatched of the Drake Bulldogs in the first round and will now travel to Phoenix to take on top-seeded UCLA in a West Regional semifinal on Thursday.

Jeremy Evans chipped in with nine points and seven boards for Western Kentucky, which tied a school record for wins in a single season.

Gyno Pomare finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for the 13th-seeded Toreros (22-14), who were coming off their first-ever NCAA tourney win, a thrilling 70-69 victory over UConn in overtime. Brandon Johnson had 13 points but was just 4-of-15 from the floor and had six turnovers. Rob Jones had 11 points in defeat.

Western Kentucky took a 12-point lead into the final frame and continued to play frontrunner early in the second half. Ty Rogers extended the Hilltoppers cushion to 15, 52-37, by nailing a jumper with just under 16 minutes to go.

Sensing their season slipping away, the Toreros managed an 18-2 burst to take the lead. Devin Ginty capped the push with a big three to put San Diego on top, 55-54, with 6:35 left.

Lee finally stemmed the tide with a three of his own for the Hilltoppers, and Rogers followed by sinking three free throws after being fouled attempting a three to give WKU a 60-55 lead with 5:31 remaining.

Things remained tight as the game headed toward the stretch. Brazleton stroked a huge three with just over three minutes on the clock to extend the Hilltoppers advantage to six, 64-58.

Less than a minute later De'Jon Jackson went hard to the glass to make it 64-60.

Both offenses went cold from there and San Diego was forced to foul A.J. Slaughter with 45.3 ticks left. The guard calmly hit both to make it a two- possession game, 66-60.

It became a foul shooting contest from there and the Hilltoppers were solid from the line in the waning seconds to secure things.

The Hilltoppers took control of a close game with a 14-5 push midway through the first half. Lee capped the burst with a three to give Western Kentucky a 23-13 edge with 9:44 remaining.

WKU then expanded its lead to 14, 37-23, after Boris Siakam got loose for a layup with less than three minutes to go until intermission.

The Hilltoppers kept San Diego at arm's length for the rest of the frame and took a rather comfortable 39-27 advantage into the locker room.

Game Notes

The Toreros, who collected their second-ever West Coast Conference tournament title earlier this month, ended their season two victories shy of tying a school record for wins in a single season...WKU now owns an 18-19 all- time ledger in the tourney...The 1953-54 and the 1986-87 Western Kentucky teams also won 29 games...This was just the third-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood. The two previous meetings both took place in 1989, as WKU won the first matchup, 64-59, while San Diego returned the favor with a 72-66 victory.