Random Walk to Montgomery, Day 1
The exciting action got off to an early start thanks to the decision to play games at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The overall top seed A1 tipped things off at 8:00 AM Eastern with an easy win over A16. The following game in North Region action was quite close all the way, with a freshman guard for A8 sinking a three with 2.1 seconds left to beat A9.
The second Ramstein session, part of the East Region, also played to form with C3 beating C14 and C6 crushed C11. Perhaps it was the jet lag, but C11 struggled to make it up the court in the second half. They played terrible.
The rocky weather at the Rockingham Motor Speedway delayed the first outdoor tournament game for 15 minutes. The court was covered from the rain, but dangerous winds shook the roof for a good hour earlier in the morning, delaying shoot around. D2 had no trouble with D15, though. There was controversy in the second game, however, when D10 was trailing D7 by two with ten seconds remaining. Their point guard drove the ball up the side of the court and slipped and lost the ball out of bounds. He yelled at the referer and pointed to the floor as though there was a puddle, but it was difficult to see one as the ball boy wiped the floor so quickly, and his technical foul sealed the victory for D7.
Also at Rockingham, B3 trailed B14 by one at halftime, but they scored the first 17 points of the second half and never looked back. B6 and B11 proved that a double overtime game can still be terrible as the teams set a record for combined turnovers in an NCAA tournament game. Also, B11 managed only one point in the second overtime as B6 won by eleven.
There was more chalk at the Wharton Field House in Moline, IL, as C2 beat C15, C7 beat C10, D3 beat D14, and D6 beat D11 in essentially forgetable games.
Clearly the luckiest fans of the day were the dozens able to find their way into the rec center at West Lake Community College in Scottsville, MI. In a back-and-forth opening game, D5 edged D12 in a game in which neither team led by more than six points. Then, D4 led comfortably midway through the second half before going as cold as Lake Michigan outside and couldn't score for eight minutes. D13 clawed back and even cut the lead to only one with two minutes left, but D4 held on and avoided the upset.
In the nightcap session, A2's leading scorer sprained his ankle corraling the opening tip. From his seat at the end of the bench, he saw upstart A15 jump out to a 21-4 lead midway through the first half. He limped to his coach and begged to go back in. Clearly in pain, he was left wide open in the corner and sank a three-pointer. It was his only points of the game, but the spark got his team going. A2 remains mum on his status for the next round.
The night's last game proved to be the best. A7 led most of the game, but they could never put A10 away. A10 kicked it into a higher gear in the final five minutes, slowly chipping away until they tied it for the first time since 2-2 with a 25-footer as the buzzer to send the game to overtime. A10 took their first lead of the game with a minute left in overtime and held on for the only upset of the first day of the opening round.
The second Ramstein session, part of the East Region, also played to form with C3 beating C14 and C6 crushed C11. Perhaps it was the jet lag, but C11 struggled to make it up the court in the second half. They played terrible.
The rocky weather at the Rockingham Motor Speedway delayed the first outdoor tournament game for 15 minutes. The court was covered from the rain, but dangerous winds shook the roof for a good hour earlier in the morning, delaying shoot around. D2 had no trouble with D15, though. There was controversy in the second game, however, when D10 was trailing D7 by two with ten seconds remaining. Their point guard drove the ball up the side of the court and slipped and lost the ball out of bounds. He yelled at the referer and pointed to the floor as though there was a puddle, but it was difficult to see one as the ball boy wiped the floor so quickly, and his technical foul sealed the victory for D7.
Also at Rockingham, B3 trailed B14 by one at halftime, but they scored the first 17 points of the second half and never looked back. B6 and B11 proved that a double overtime game can still be terrible as the teams set a record for combined turnovers in an NCAA tournament game. Also, B11 managed only one point in the second overtime as B6 won by eleven.
There was more chalk at the Wharton Field House in Moline, IL, as C2 beat C15, C7 beat C10, D3 beat D14, and D6 beat D11 in essentially forgetable games.
Clearly the luckiest fans of the day were the dozens able to find their way into the rec center at West Lake Community College in Scottsville, MI. In a back-and-forth opening game, D5 edged D12 in a game in which neither team led by more than six points. Then, D4 led comfortably midway through the second half before going as cold as Lake Michigan outside and couldn't score for eight minutes. D13 clawed back and even cut the lead to only one with two minutes left, but D4 held on and avoided the upset.
In the nightcap session, A2's leading scorer sprained his ankle corraling the opening tip. From his seat at the end of the bench, he saw upstart A15 jump out to a 21-4 lead midway through the first half. He limped to his coach and begged to go back in. Clearly in pain, he was left wide open in the corner and sank a three-pointer. It was his only points of the game, but the spark got his team going. A2 remains mum on his status for the next round.
The night's last game proved to be the best. A7 led most of the game, but they could never put A10 away. A10 kicked it into a higher gear in the final five minutes, slowly chipping away until they tied it for the first time since 2-2 with a 25-footer as the buzzer to send the game to overtime. A10 took their first lead of the game with a minute left in overtime and held on for the only upset of the first day of the opening round.
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