Sports

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ― Privately, some Siena players wondered in recent days if their counterparts on the Vanderbilt roster knew any of their names. If the Commodores didn't, they surely do now.

Kenny Hasbrouck and Tay Fisher personally saw to that, and the Saints have another colossal upset to add to their tiny school's NCAA tournament legacy.

Hasbrouck scored 30 points, Fisher added 19 on 6-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, and 13th-seeded Siena stunned No. 4 Vanderbilt 83-62 Friday night in the first round of the Midwest Regional. The Saints (23-10) never trailed, became the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team to reach the second round since Manhattan in 2004, and will play either Villanova or Clemson on Sunday.

Until now, Siena's program was best-known for a first-round upset of Stanford in 1989 -- a 14 seed over a 3. This one might have been just as shocking, considering it came against a Southeastern Conference team in Vanderbilt that reached the round of 16 last year and had aspirations of doing at least that much this year.

But this might not have been a surprise.

After all, it was in Tampa, which might now have a reputation as a bracket-busting sort of town. Earlier Friday, two other unheralded underdogs pulled off upsets on the same floor where Siena won: No. 12 Western Kentucky beat fifth-seeded Drake and No. 13 San Diego ousted fourth-seeded Connecticut.

A.J. Ogilvy scored 18 points for Vanderbilt (26-8), which got 13 from SEC player of the year Shan Foster -- who became the 22nd player in SEC history to eclipse the 2,000-point career mark -- and 10 from Ross Neltner. The Commodores came into the tournament more than a little miffed that they were widely picked to be a first-round upset victim and insisted they wouldn't look past Siena.

Vanderbilt simply couldn't stop Siena, either.

The Commodores got two straight baskets from Keegan Bell and drew within 50-43 with 13:20 to play, but never got any closer the rest of the way. Vanderbilt never got its perimeter game going, shooting 4-for-20 from 3-point range, and didn't exploit its size advantage inside.

When Alex Gordon airballed a 3-point try with 1:25 left and Vandy in a 19-point hole, the Commodores knew it was over and stopped fouling, allowing the Siena celebration to begin in earnest.

When it was over, Siena coach Fran McCaffery picked Fisher up in a hug, hoisted him in the air and held him there for several seconds. A team that was 6-24 three years ago when McCaffery arrived is now in the round of 32, a timetable that even the coach finds mildly surprising.

Foster didn't get his first shot until 15:55 remained in the first half, and by then, the Saints were already off and running.

Moore hit a 3-pointer and Franklin scored inside for a quick 15-6 Siena lead, prompting the green-and-gold-clad backers who made their way from New York's capital region to start roaring.

And then Fisher -- who hit six 3-pointers in the MAAC championship game, which was Siena's ticket to the NCAAs -- began coming up big.

The smallest player on either roster, generously listed at 5-foot-9 and 162 pounds, hit three straight 3s in a span of 3:45 to stretch Siena's edge to 26-13, and when he made free throw with 8:15 left in the half, the Saints had a 31-15 lead.

Vanderbilt kept finding ways to draw closer.

Siena kept finding ways to seem unfazed.

The Commodores peeled off five straight points to get their crowd into it; Hasbrouck silenced them with a three-point play. Neltner and Foster scored consecutive baskets; Hasbrouck answered with a 3-pointer, steal and dunk in a 13-second span. When Vanderbilt drew within nine on a pair of free throws by Ogilvy with 40 seconds left in the half, Siena answered yet again.

Naturally, it was Fisher. Siena's only senior hit his fourth 3-pointer of the half -- on as many attempts -- with six seconds left, and the Saints marched into intermission with a 46-34 lead.

The Saints came in oozing with confidence, in large part because they know the Commodores just aren't the same away from home.

On their own floor this season, Vanderbilt was 19-0, averaging 85.1 points and outscoring opponents by 11.7 per game. Away from home, Vandy dropped significantly in every department -- a 7-7 record, a 74.4 scoring average and it was actually outscored by 1.2 points per outing.

The road jinx struck Vandy again Friday.

And now the Commodores are heading home for the season.

Oklahoma 72, Saint Joseph's 64
East Region, Birmingham

David Godbold scored a career-high 25 points, including Oklahoma's first 11 of the second half, and the Sooners survived a late rally for a 72-64 win over Saint Joseph's on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Godbold and the Sooners (23-11), who had a 25-year postseason streak end last season, built a 19-point lead and watched most of it dissipate against a Hawks team eager to prove it belonged.

North Carolina 113, Mount St. Mary's 74
East Region, Raleigh

North Carolina played every bit like the top overall seed to start the NCAA tournament.

Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson each had 21 points Friday night to help the Tar Heels cruise by Mount St. Mary's 113-74 in the first round of the East Regional, a game that quickly turned into a crowd-pleasing romp for the thousands of blue-clad fans who filled an arena located a short drive from the Chapel Hill campus.

Mississippi State 76, Oregon 69
South Region, Little Rock

Charles Rhodes scored a career-high 34 points and the eighth-seeded Bulldogs came back from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat the Ducks.

Mississippi State trailed 41-28 after Malik Hairston's 3-pointer at the start of the second half, but Oregon didn't make another 3 until the final seconds, finishing 9-for-38 overall.

Barry Stewart's third 3 pulled the Bulldogs within one at 52-51. Rhodes then put Mississippi State (23-10) ahead with a dunk, and the Bulldogs finally took control.

Arkansas 86, Indiana 72
East Region, Raleigh

Sonny Weems scored a career-high 31 points and Darian Townes added 17 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Razorbacks to the victory.

Weems hit 12 of 14 shots for Arkansas (23-11), which shot 54 percent and snapped a five-game losing streak in NCAA tournament games dating to a first-round victory against Siena in 1999.
D.J. White had 22 points in his third straight 20-point game for Indiana (25-8).

The Hoosiers lost their tournament opener for the first time since 2001, went one-and-done in both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments and ended their once-promising season on a free fall.

Louisville 79, Boise State 61
East Region, Birmingham

Earl Clark scored 15 points and Juan Palacios had 13 as Louisville cruised to the easy victory.

The third-seeded Cardinals rushed to a 10-1 lead and Derrick Caracter's slam made it 42-26 late in the first half.

Leading scorer David Padgett didn't even take a shot before the break and Louisville still breezed, helped by a dozen 3-pointers.

Coming off a disappointing one-and-done performance in the Big East tournament, the Cardinals (25-8) punctuated the rout with several late jams. They next play Sunday against Oklahoma.

Villanova 75, Clemson 69
Midwest Region, Tampa

Scottie Reynolds scored 21 points, Corey Fisher added 17 and the 12th-seeded Wildcats gave this NCAA tournament pod its fourth upset in four games.

Villanova, which has more wins as a lower-seeded team in the tournament than any program since 1979, overcame an 18-point deficit for this win.

The Wildcats trailed 36-18 with 5 minutes to play in the first half. But they made their 3-pointers-Reynolds made his first three after the break-and slowly sliced into the big lead.

Reynolds' bucket gave Villanova its first lead of the game, 50-49 with 11:56 remaining.

Memphis 87, Texas-Arlington 63
South Region, Little Rock

Chris Douglas-Roberts led five Tigers in double figures with 23 points, and he also had seven rebounds and four assists. Derrick Rose and Antonio Anderson added 17 points each, and Robert Dozier had 12 for Memphis, which improved to 34-1 with its eighth straight victory. Next up is eighth-seeded Mississippi State (23-10).

Anthony Vereen led the Mavericks (21-12) with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Jermaine Griffin had 11 points and eight rebounds, and Rog'er Guignard added 10.

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