NCAA Tournament: Marquette loses to New Mexico in first round
Kam Jones drives to the basket between Nelly Junior Joseph and Mustapha Amzil of the New Mexico Lobos. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND - Donovan Dent scored 21 points and No. 10 seed New Mexico took control late in the second half to defeat seventh-seeded Marquette 75-66 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
By the numbers:
Richard Pitino joined his father in the second round after New Mexico (27-7) snapped a four-game NCAA Tournament losing streak and won its first game since 2012. Rick Pitino has No. 2 seed St. John's playing its next game Saturday against Arkansas.
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Dent, the Mountain West Player of the Year, had six points in the first half but found his rhythm in the second half. He had four points during a 10-0 Lobos run that broke the game open.
Nelly Junior Joseph added 19 points for New Mexico, which will play second-seeded Michigan State or 15 seed Bryant on Sunday in the second round of the South Region.
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Joseph made a layup with 6:17 remaining that put the Lobos up 59-58. The second half went back-and-forth with three ties and eight lead changes before New Mexico took control.
David Joplin led Marquette (23-11) with 28 points, including six 3-pointers. Kam Jones added 15 points.
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Joplin bounced back after going 1 for 7 from beyond the arc in the Big East Tournament semifinal game against St. John’s. In the three games previous to that, he was 9 of 17 on 3-pointers.
Big picture view:
It is the first time since 1999 that the Lobos have won a first-round game as the lower seed.
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The Golden Eagles made the Sweet 16 last year but went one-and-done this time. They are 1-3 in the tournament as the seventh seed.
What's next:
The Lobos will be looking to reach a regional semifinal for the first time since 1974 on Sunday.
The Source: The Associated Press provided this report.