Arizona wins double OT thriller over Gonzaga

Published 12:00 am Sunday, March 23, 2003

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Arizona moves on, but not before a double-overtime thriller that ranks with the best in NCAA tournament history.

Salim Stoudamire, quiet most of the intense evening, scored five points in the second overtime as the Wildcats, the West's No. 1 seed, held off ninth-seeded Gonzaga 96-95 Saturday.

Stoudamire's floater in the lane with 2:03 left in the second overtime were the game's final points. Gonzaga had numerous chances to take the lead but failed.

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Tony Skinner, whose career-high 25 points included 5-of-11 shooting on 3-pointers, missed an open 3 with four seconds to play for the Zags.

Blake Stepp, who scored 19 of his 25 points after halftime, missed a 5-foot follow-up bank shot just before the buzzer sounded.

Gonzaga (24-9) nearly pulled off an upset that would have dwarfed anything the Bulldogs did during their exhilarating tournament runs in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

They collapsed to the floor in disappointment and Arizona (27-3) advanced to a regional semifinal against Notre Dame.

Jason Gardner scored 22 for the Wildcats. Channing Frye had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Rick Anderson added 17 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Walton 16 points, nine assists, two blocked shots and three steals. His basket with 4.1 seconds to go forced the second overtime.

MIDWEST

Marquette 101, Missouri 92, OT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Freshman Steve Novak made three 3-pointers and the Golden Eagles made all of their shots in overtime to pull away from Missouri and into the regional semifinals.

It is Marquette's first trip to the round of 16 since 1994 and only its second since coach Al McGuire and the 1977 team won the national championship.

Travis Diener led the third-seeded Golden Eagles (25-5) with 26 points, while Dwyane Wade added 24 points and eight rebounds.

Marquette made six straight baskets and all six free throws in overtime, advancing to play either Pittsburgh or Indiana on Thursday in Minneapolis.

Rickey Paulding scored 36 points and made nine 3-pointers, both career highs, for the sixth-seeded Tigers (22-11) -- who had reached the regional semifinals the last two years. Arthur Johnson added 28 points and 18 rebounds.

Wisconsin 61, Tulsa 60

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Freddie Owens, playing on a sprained right ankle, hit a 3-pointer with 1 second left to cap a late rally and lift fifth-seeded Wisconsin over No. 13 Tulsa.

The Badgers (23-7), making a school-record fifth straight NCAA appearance, advanced to the regional semifinals against the winner of Sunday's game in Nashville between Kentucky and Utah.

Owens was injured in Wisconsin's opening-round win over Weber State and his status was unclear until tipoff.

Mike Wilkinson had 18 points and eight rebounds for Wisconsin, while Devin Harris scored 12 and Alando Tucker 10. The Badgers survived despite a six-point effort by their best player, Kirk Penney.

Kevin Johnson scored 23 points and Jason Parker had 17 for Tulsa (23-10), the lowest-seeded team to advance past the first round.

The Golden Hurricane were in control, leading 58-45 with 4:08 to play before the Badgers rallied with an 11-0 run.

WEST

Kansas 108, Arizona St. 76

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Seniors Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich sparked second-seeded Kansas right from the opening tipoff in an offensive showcase light years removed from its first-round struggles against Utah State.

Kansas (27-7), a Final Four team a year ago, is in the round of 16 for the ninth time in coach Roy Williams' 15 seasons.

Collison scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds, and Hinrich scored 24 as the Jayhawks topped 100 points for just the fifth time in the school's 98 NCAA tournament games.

Jason Braxton scored 17 for the 10th-seeded Sun Devils (20-11), who were in their first NCAA tournament since 1995.

Duke 86, Central Michigan 60

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Dahntay Jones scored a career-high 28 points and J.J. Redick added 26 as the third-seeded Blue Devils ran past the No. 11 Chippewas.

Duke (26-6) gave coach Mike Krzyzewski his 60th NCAA tournament victory, second only to Dean Smith's 65. The Blue Devils advanced to the regional semifinals for the sixth year in a row and the 20th time in their 28 NCAA appearances.

After struggling to beat No. 14 seed Colorado State 67-57 on Thursday, Duke came out strong and never let up against the outmanned, slower champions of the Mid-American Conference. The only lead Central Michigan (25-7) had was 2-0.

Chris Kaman scored 25 points and added 10 rebounds for the Chippewas, but teammate Mike Manciel managed just five points on 1-for-9 shooting.

Notre Dame 68, Illinois 60

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Dan Miller matched a career high with 23 points as Notre Dame advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time in 16 years.

Chris Thomas added 17 points for the Fighting Irish (24-9), who had not advanced this far in the NCAAs since 1987 under coach Digger Phelps. That year, they were eliminated in the regional semifinals by North Carolina.

It was a disappointing second-round exit for Illinois (25-7), the Big Ten tournament champions. Conference player of the year Brian Cook had 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Notre Dame shot 13-for-24 from 3-point range, including 11-of-16 in the first half. Miller sank his first five 3s and finished 5-for-7. Thomas and Matt Carroll each hit three from beyond the arc.

SOUTH

Connecticut 85, Stanford 74

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Ben Gordon scored 29 points, and Emeka Okafor added 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead fifth-seeded Connecticut (23-9) into the round of 16.

Gordon, held to 14 points in an opening win over BYU, shot 8-for-14 and made all nine of his free-throw attempts.

Julius Barnes had 23 points, and Justin Davis bounced back from a scoreless opener to score 21 for Stanford (24-9).

East

Oklahoma 74, California 65

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Kevin Bookout scored a career-high 22 points and fellow freshman De'Angelo Alexander added 15 as the top-seeded Sooners (26-6) cruised into the regional semifinals.

Brian Wethers matched his career high with 27 points and Joe Shipp scored 20 for the eighth-seeded Golden Bears (22-9), but they didn't get much help.

Oklahoma star Hollis Price, the Big 12 player of the year, was still bothered by a left groin injury. He played 30 minutes but scored just five points.