Hoopville - Atlantic Sun Conference

Belmont Gives Coach Five-Year Extension: After leading the school to three straight Atlantic Sun Conference tournament titles and NCAA Tournaments, Belmont gave basketball head coach Rick Byrd a five-year contract extension. Byrd's 541 wins make him one of 15 active Division I men's basketball coaches with 500 or more career victories. His Bruins nearly upset Duke in the first round of this year's tournament. The Blue Devils, however, survived 71-70. [4/13/08]

West Region - First Round: No. 1 UCLA annihilated No. 16 Mississippi Valley State 70-29 in the most lopsided game of the first round. Freshman center Kevin Love was the only player from either team to score in double figures, posting 20 points and nine rebounds. The Bruins' starters played no more than 26 minutes in the blowout. The Delta Devils made only nine shots the entire game and collected 29 rebounds to UCLA's 50. Junior forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute did not play for the Bruins after injuring his ankle during the Pac-10 Tournament last weekend.

No. 15 Belmont almost became the fourth No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to beat a No. 2 seed. No. 2 Duke needed a coast-to-coast layup by sophomore guard Gerald Henderson to give the Blue Devils a decisive 71-70 lead with 11 seconds remaining. The Bruins had two opportunities to win in the closing seconds but turned it over with four seconds remaining and missed a half-court desperation shot at the buzzer. Henderson led the Blue Devils with 21 points and eight rebounds. The Blue Devils will play West Virginia in the second round.

No. 14 Georgia finally ran out of gas against No. 3 Xavier but not before giving the Musketeers a scare. Xavier won 73-61 after erasing an 11-point deficit in the second half. The Bulldogs struggled to score in the final minutes of the game while Xavier was solid from the free throw line, finishing 27-of-33. Senior forward Josh Duncan led Xavier with 20 points. Georgia reached the NCAA Tournament by winning four SEC Tournament games in three and a half days, including two games in one day after a tornado forced the SEC to cancel a night game between the Bulldogs and Kentucky.

The young Boilermakers played enough defense to hold down No. 11 Baylor and give No. 6 Purdue a 90-79 win. Five Boilermakers reached double figures, led by sophomore guard Keaton Grant with 17 points. The Bears struggled in the first half and fell behind by 20 points early in the second half before making a run to trim the lead to about 10 points. Purdue was 15-of-18 from the free throw line, which helped prevent Baylor from seriously threatening down the stretch. The Boilermakers will play Xavier in the second round.

Only five different Wildcats scored for No. 10 Arizona, which ran out of gas in a 75-65 loss to No. 7 West Virginia. The Mountaineers were on fire from long range, hitting 11-of-19 three-pointers to extend their lead every time Arizona threatened to take the lead. Junior guard Alex Ruoff was especially timely with his five three-pointers and team-high 21 points. Sophomore forward Chase Budinger led the Wildcats with 23 points, and Arizona's bench contributed only three pointers as the starters played nearly the entire game.

No. 9 Texas A&M won a tight match up with No. 8 BYU 67-62 as junior swingman Josh Carter dumped 26 points on the Cougars. He hit six three-pointers and finished 10-of-16 from the field. Senior forward Joseph Jones contributed a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Aggies shot better than 50 percent from the field and collected most errant shots with a 36-23 rebounding advantage. [3/20/08]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship: No. 1 Belmont captured the Atlantic Sun championship for the third consecutive year by beating No. 2 Jacksonville 79-61. The Dolphins fell behind by double digits early in the first half and never recovered. Junior guard Shane Dansby led four Bruins in double figures with 16 points. Jacksonville shot 36.8 percent from the field. [3/08/08]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 2 Jacksonville built a 22-point lead in the second half and cruised to an 89-80 win against No. 6 Gardner-Webb. Sophomore guard Ben Smith scored 27 points to lead the Dolphins. Jacksonville will play No. 1 Belmont after the Bruins beat No. 4 East Tennessee State 69-65. Junior forward Matthew Dotson led Belmont with 17 points, and the Bruins came back in the final minute to move into the Atlantic Sun championship game. [3/07/08]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 6 Gardner-Webb delivered the first upset of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament with an 82-63 victory against No. 3 Stetson. The Runnin' Bulldogs, who will play No. 2 Jacksonville Friday, shot 65 percent in the second half to outscore the Hatters 54-34. In the other quarterfinal game of the night, No. 4 East Tennessee State survived a three-point barrage against No. 5 Lipscomb to win 81-74. The Bisons hit 15 three-pointers, but the Buccaneers shot nearly 50 percent overall. Senior guard Travis Strong led the Bucs with 16 points. East Tennessee State will play No. 1 Belmont in the Semifinals. [3/06/08]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 1 Belmont protected its home court in a quarterfinal 75-66 victory against No. 8 Campbell. The defending Atlantic Sun champs were led by senior guard Justin Hare with 17 points. The Bruins will play the winner of No. 4 East Tennessee State and No. 5 Lipscomb.

Junior forward Marcus Allen was a rebound short of a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 2 Jacksonville to a 65-57 win against No. 7 Mercer. The Dolphins will play the winner of No. 3 Stetson and No. 6 Gardner-Webb. [3/05/08]

Runnin' Bulldogs Deliver Season's First Major Upset: Gardner-Webb will be playing in New York next week after the Runnin' Bulldogs shocked Kentucky 84-68 in Lexington in the second round of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Sophomore guard Grayson Flittner was unstoppable for Gardner-Webb, leading the team with 22 points. Senior forward Thomas Sanders added 21 points and 10 rebounds -- despite measuring several inches shorter than all of the Wildcats' frontcourt players. Gardner-Webb will play the winner of Connecticut and Buffalo.

Kentucky shot only 35.5 percent from the field and allowed the Bulldogs to grab eight more rebounds. Senior guard Ramel Bradley joined two freshman as the only Kentucky players to score in double figures. Forward Patrick Patterson had a strong game with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and fellow freshman Alex Legion contributed 13 points. [11/08/07]

East Region - First Round: No. 1 North Carolina built a 27-point lead in the first half before letting No. 16 Eastern Kentucky claw its way back into the game. But sophomore Tyler Hansbrough and senior Reyshawn Terry repelled the Colonels for an 86-65 victory. Hansbrough looked more comfortable in his new, tight-fitting mask. He was 9-of-11 from the field for 21 points and 10 rebounds. Terry added 18 points for the Tar Heels, who shot nearly 65 percent from the field. But North Carolina's defense allowed Eastern Kentucky to keep pace for part of the game, shooting 50 percent. Junior Darnell Dialls led the Colonels with 17 points in the loss.

No. 2 Georgetown weathered an early storm against No. 15 Belmont, quickly erasing an 11-4 deficit and rolling to an 80-55 victory to move into the second round. The Hoyas will play No. 7 Boston College Saturday. Jessie Sapp was 8-of-10 from the field en route to 20 points to lead the Hoyas. Georgetown's superior height wore down the Bruins, who couldn't keep pace and shot only 35.7 percent from the field.

No. 3 Washington State made nine of their first 11 shots to begin the second half and used an 18-4 run to turn a two-point first-half deficit into a resounding 70-54 victory vs. No. 14 Oral Roberts Thursday in the East Regionals. The Cougars, who were led by senior reserve Ivory Clark with 19 points, shot a blistering 59 percent from the field after halftime and committed only one turnover. The Golden Eagles, who shot only 36 percent from the field for the game, led at the end of the first period but trailed 44-32 with 13:41 left after the Cougars' second-half outburst. Washington State controlled the pace thereafter. They will face No. 6 Vanderbilt in the next round.

No. 6 Vanderbilt got 18 points from junior forward Shan Foster and held No. 11 George Washington to 27 percent shooting from the field en route to an easy 77-44 victory Thursday in the East Regionals. The Commodores got off to a surprisingly fast start and led 45-20 by halftime behind a strong defensive effort. SEC player of the year Derrick Byars scored 12 points for Vanderbilt but shot only 5-of-14 from the field. No Colonial registered more than nine points for the game.

No. 7 Boston College got 26 points from sophomore Tyrese Rice and 21 from senior Sean Marshall to lead the Eagles past No. 10 Texas Tech 84-75. The Eagles shut down the Red Raiders' Jarrius Jackson, holding him to only 10 points. Martin Zeno led Texas Tech with 21 points.

No. 9 Michigan State took care of No. 8 Marquette 61-49 as the Spartans opened the game on an 11-0 run. The Golden Eagles never found their shooting touch, hitting less than 32 percent of their shots. Freshman Raymar Morgan led Michigan State's balanced offense with 14 points, and junior Drew Neitzel scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished five assists. The Spartans shot better than 50 percent for the game. [3/15/07]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship: No. 2 Belmont waxed No. 1 East Tennessee State 94-67 on the Bucs' home court to win the Atlantic Sun title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins hit 14 three-pointers to fuel the upset and defend their conference title. Justin Hare led Belmont with 17 points. East Tennessee State, which trailed by 19 points at halftime, was led by Courtney Pigram, the conference's player of the year, with 21 points. [3/03/07]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Semifinals: No. 1 East Tennessee State survived an impressive effort by No. 4 Lipscomb, winning 77-72 to earn a spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game Saturday. Sophomore guard Courtney Pigram led the Bucs with 21 points, including two three-pointers to bookend halftime and give East Tennessee State the lead. The Bisons had an opportunity to tie the game in the closing minutes but couldn't hit a free throw to pull even. East Tennnessee State will play No. 2 Belmont in the championship game Saturday.

Belmont took care of No. 6 Campbell 79-63 to earn a spot in the championship game and the right to defend its Atlantic Sun title. The Bruins built a double-digit lead as Justin Hare finished with 13 points. But the Camels made a second-half run to pull within six points. Belmont closed the door on Campbell with an 18-9 run that sealed the victory. [3/02/07]

Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinals: No. 2 Belmont protected its house in Nashville, Tenn., beating No. 7 Gardner-Webb 79-61. The home court was friendly for Belmont, which shot nearly 60 percent from the field, and five players reached double figures in scoring, led by junior guard Justin Hare's 14. The Bruins advance to the semifinals to play No. 6 Campbell. Senior guard Eric Smith delivered in the clutch, hitting two three-pointers in overtime to fuel the Camels' 90-85 upset against No. 3 Jacksonville.

Sophomore guard Courtney Pigram proved why he is the Atlantic Sun Player of the Year in East Tennessee State's 77-61 victory against No. 8 Stetson. The 6-foot Pigram scored 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He fueled a second-half run that allowed East Tennessee State overcome Stetson's upset bid after the Hatters grabbed a one-point lead midway through the second half. The Bucs will need to play better from start to finish against No. 4 Lipscomb, which blasted No. 5 Mercer 85-49 in the final Atlantic Sun Tournament quarterfinal. Lipscomb sprinted to a 21-point halftime lead and never looked back. [3/01/07]

Walters Finishes Owls' Staff: New Florida Atlantic coach Rex Walters added his third assistant coach in Wendell Moore. Moore served as an assistant at Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla., for the past three seasons. Moore played two seasons at Georgia Southern and went to the NCAA Tournament in 1992. [6/27/06]

Atlantic Sun Star Hopes NCAA Success Translates Well: Despite playing only two collegiate seasons, former North Florida forward Alain Laroche will continue his career in the professional ranks. Laroche signed with the MPC Capitals in Groningen, Holland, where he will compete in the European professional circuit. Last season, Laroche earned second team All-Atlantic Sun, averaging 18.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game in his only season after transferring from York College (Neb.). [6/23/06]

Florida Atlantic Staff Almost Complete: Florida Atlantic coach Rex Walters nearly completed his first Owls' staff after naming Justin Bauman director of basketball operations. Bauman started his coaching aspirations while he was a student at Kansas from 2000t to 2006. At Kansas, he performed various duties for both Roy Williams and Bill Self. Walters has one remaining assistant position to fill. [6/23/06]

Conference Expansion Back in the News: The Atlantic Sun Conference will expand to 12 teams for the 2007-08 season after adding South Carolina Upstate to its membership list. Upstate's most successful men's basketball season took place in 1982 when the then-NAIA Spartans won the national championship. [6/23/06]