No. 14 UAB upsets No. 3 Iowa State, 60-59
UAB 60, Iowa State 59: Robert Brown led the way with 21 points as the Blazers stunned the Cyclones in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Louisville, Ky.
William Lee added 14 points, 12 rebounds and the clinching free throws for No. 14 seed UAB (20-15), which will get sixth-seeded SMU or 11th-seeded UCLA in the round of 32 on Saturday. Tyler Madison contributed nine points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Blazers, who advanced past the round of 64 for the first time since 2005.
Monte Morris scored 15 points and Jameel McKay collected 10 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks for No. 3 seed Iowa State (25-9), which shot 36.9 percent from the field. Star forward Georges Niang was held to 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting and Naz Long went 2-of-9 from 3-point range, including a miss on a wide-open look from the right wing that would have tied it in the final seconds for the Cyclones.
Brown’s putback with just over five minutes left put UAB in front 51-49 before Iowa State converted transition layups on back-to-back possessions to sneak in front 53-51. Brown buried a 3-pointer out of a timeout to give the Blazers a 56-55 lead with 50.5 seconds remaining, and Morris and Lee traded baskets before Niang came up empty and Lee hit two at the line with 12.1 seconds left to make it 60-57.
UAB missed 11 of its first 13 shots and fell behind by 10 points five minutes into the game before Brown got hot and helped the Blazers go up 31-28 at the half. UAB went over 5 1/2 minutes without scoring to start the second half but the Cyclones only managed to push in front 34-31 before Tyler Madison’s jumper ended the drought.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Cyclones were denied their fourth straight trip to the round of 32. … UAB dominated the glass 52-37, including 19 offensive rebounds. … Brown went 3-of-7 from 3-point range while the rest of the Blazers struggled to 0-of-11 from beyond the arc.
