DAYTON, Ohio
Lucky Jones scored 21 points, including a key free throw, Rodney Pryor had 20 and Marcquise Reed 19 to lead Robert Morris back from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat North Florida 81-77 on Wednesday night in the First Four.
The Colonials (20-14), who won the Northeast Conference Tournament to get into the field as a 16 seed, now meet top-seeded Duke in the second round on Friday in Charlotte.
As the final seconds ticked off, jubilant fans chanted, “We want Duke! We want Duke!”
Elijah Minnie added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Colonials, who scored 21 points off North Florida’s 19 turnovers.
Beau Beech finished with 28 points for the Ospreys (23-12), champs of the Atlantic Sun Tournament, but didn’t have a field goal over the last 11 minutes, 18 seconds. Jalen Nesbitt added 14 points and Dallas Moore 13 for North Florida, making its first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Beech, who had 13 at the break, hit two 3s to start the second half, increasing an eight-point advantage at the break to 41-27.
But the Colonials, who failed to score for 4:31 of the first half, turned the tables on the Ospreys. In an 11-0 run, they kept North Florida off the board for 4:44.
From then on, the game was an end-to-end battle.
Robert Morris took its first lead of the half on Jones’ jumper from the top of the key with 7:29 left.
With the teams tied later, Reed, a freshman, drove the lane and spun in a left-handed layup and was fouled with 3:49 left. He missed the free throw, but Jones was there to tip in the miss for a 70-66 lead.
Pryor then added a 15-foot jumper, and Kavon Stewart hit a free throw to push the lead to 73-66 with 2 minutes left.
The Ospreys drew within 78-76 with 10 seconds left on two free throws by Trent Mackey, but Stewart stepped to the line and made both to seal the win.
After Beech’s foul shot, Jones, the Colonials’ third-leading scorer who comes off the bench, hit a free throw with less than a second left to end the Osprey’s hopes.
Dayton 56, Boise State 55
DAYTON, Ohio – Kendall Pollard scored 17 points, and Dayton used every bit of its home-court advantage Wednesday night, rallying for a win over Boise State in the First Four.
The Flyers (26-8) will play sixth-seeded Providence on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
It was the first time since 1987 that a school played an NCAA Tournament game on its home court, an anomaly resulting from Dayton hosting the opening games. The Flyers went 16-0 at home during the regular season and have won 22 in a row at UD Arena, seventh-longest active streak in Division I.
The Flyers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and by seven with 3:43 to go. With the crowd of 12,592 behind them, the biggest attendance for a First Four game, Dayton closed with a 10-2 run.
Derrick Marks’ leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer was far off the mark, finishing it off. Marks had 23 points on 10-of-21 shooting.
The Broncos already snapped San Diego State’s 29-game home-court streak this season, and came up just short of another big road win. The Broncos missed seven of their last eight shots.
Jordan Sibert’s two free throws tied it at 53-53 with 1:02 left, and his long 3-pointer gave the Flyers a 56-55 lead with 34 seconds to go.
After Montigo Alford missed a driving bank shot, Pollard got the rebound, was fouled and missed both free throws with 14 seconds left, giving the Broncos a final shot.
