Mattie Thompson scored on a layup just before time expired, and third-seeded Minnesota Duluth opened the NCAA Division II Central Region men’s basketball tournament with a 59-58 victory over sixth-seeded Fort Hays State on Saturday in Mankato.
Fort Hays State’s Elijah Nnanabu missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 7 seconds left, setting up the final sequence. UMD’s Charlie Katona rebounded the ball and fed guard Drew Blair, who drove to the three-point line before finding an open Thompson to his left with 3 seconds left. Thompson drove the baseline and layed it in for the winning basket.
“I thought our guys showed the same amount of toughness, just stayed with it, played super hard, stayed in the moment, and just never gave up and that is what March is all about,” UMD coach Justin Wieck said.
Blair and Katona each scored 13 points for the Bulldogs (26-6), who led by as many as 14 points in the first half and trailed by as many as five in the second. They will play second-seeded Northwest Missouri State on Sunday.
Nnanabu led the Tigers (23-8) with 19 points.
Minnesota State Mankato 75, Arkansas Tech 68: Dylan Peeters shot 5-for-5 from the floor and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line to score 18 points as the host and top-seeded Mavericks improved to 30-2 on the season by beating the eighth-seeded Wonder Boys (25-7).
Justin Eagins also scored 18 points, while Kyreese and Malik Willingham each scored 15. Elijah Hazekamp had eight points and 10 rebounds for MSU Mankato, which led 36-35 at halftime and never relinquished control in the second half.
Minnesota State Moorhead 73, Pittsburg State 55: JaMir Price and Dane Zimmer each scored 15 points, and the fourth-seeded Dragons (25-5) eliminated the fifth-seeded Gorillas (21-11). MSU Moorhead will play MSU Mankato on Sunday.
