Tournament Roundup

March got under way with a busy day of tournament action Sunday. And Murray State, Davidson and Richmond join the ever-growing ranks of NCAA Tournament-bound teams by winning their conference tournaments.

A roundup of Sunday's tournament action:

Ohio Valley Conference

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Isaac Spencer had 20 points and 11 rebounds as Murray State routed Tennessee State 92-69 Sunday to win the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship and its third trip to the NCAA tournament in the past four years.

The Racers (29-3) already had their 10th regular season title in 11 years, but they earned their sixth trip to the NCAA tournament in the 1990s with one of their best shooting performances of the season.

Colonial Athletic Association

RICHMOND, Va. -- The constant jeering and catcalling from North Carolina-Wilmington's fans is nothing new for Jonathan Baker. His brother went to school there, and the Seahawks fans never let him forget about it.

The way he responded to it Sunday was new, though, not only for Baker, but also for the Spiders seniors who made good on their final chance to reach the NCAA Tournament and become part of Richmond's basketball tradition.

Southern Conference

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Ben Ebong is described by his coach and teammates as instant energy when he comes off the bench for Davidson.

The junior forward was every bit of that and more Sunday as he matched his career high with 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Wildcats held off Appalachian State 66-62 for its first Southern Conference championship in 12 years.

Missouri Valley Conference

ST. LOUIS -- Rico Hill had 19 points and seven rebounds as top-seeded Illinois State beat Wichita State for the third time this season, 75-54 Sunday in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.

Illinois State (23-5) is 5-0 against Wichita State the last two seasons. The Redbirds, who are attempting to become the first Valley school to repeat as regular season and conference tournament champions, will carry a five-game winning streak and well-rested starters into the final Monday night.

SW Missouri 67, Bradley 58

ST. LOUIS -- Danny Moore led a second-half charge with 12 of his 18 pints as Southwest Missouri State advanced to the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament with a 67-58 victory over Bradley Sunday.

Southwest Missouri State (16-15), the No. 3 seed, will play top-seeded Illinois State (23-5) in the final Monday night. Southwest Missouri handed Illinois State its only two losses in the conference race.

Sun Belt Conference

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Toby Madison had 21 points as South Alabama notched an easy 79-48 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock in the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Tournament Sunday night.

South Alabama (19-6) led by as much as 17 points in the first half and was so far ahead late in the game that coach Bob Weltlich could make sure his starters would be well rested for the championship game.

SW Louisiana 81, Lamar 65

LAFAYETTE, La. -- Chris Manuel scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds as Southwestern Louisiana rallied in the second half to beat Lamar 81-65 in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals, ending the Cardinals' first tournament run in a decade.

Southwestern (18-12) got hot to start the second half, breaking up a 28-28 tie and shaking off a very persistent Lamar with two straight baskets and 15 points in the first four minutes -- nine of them by Casey Green, who was 0-for-7 from the field in the first half.

America East

NEWARK, Del. --Tyrone Perry scored all 14 of his points in the second half as the University of Delaware rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Hofstra 60-51 in the semifinal round of the America East tournament on Sunday.

Perry connected on four 3-pointers as top-seeded Delaware (19-9) advanced to Saturday's tournament championship game.

Boston U. 53, Drexel 51

NEWARK, Del. -- Walter Brown hit a layup with three-tenths of a second left to give Boston University a 53-51 edge over Drexel in Sunday's semifinals of the America East tournament.

Center Joey Beard missed a tip-in before Brown grabbed the rebound and followed with his winning layup. Drexel, which led 37-19 at intermission, threw the ball out of bounds on its final possession.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

ALBANY, N.Y. -- John McDonald's scored eight of his 17 points down the stretch to help Iona defeat Loyola of Maryland 69-58 Sunday in the semifinal of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament.

With fifth-seeded Loyola (12-16) trailing 58-53 with 3:45 remaining, McDonald scored two straight baskets and two free throws in a two-minute span to put Iona ahead 64-56 with 1:27 to play.

Siena 77, Manhattan 71

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Marcus Faison steadied Siena when it looked like his team would blow a 14-point second-half lead Sunday night as the Saints advanced to its first-ever Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament championship game by beating Manhattan 77-71.

Siena (17-11) will meet top-seeded Iona for the tournament championship.

West Coast Conference

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Bakari Hendrix scored 22 points and Matt Santangelo had 21 as top-seeded Gonzaga beat San Diego 74-59 in a West Coast Conference tournament semifinal Sunday.

Ryan Williams scored 20 points to lead seventh-seeded San Diego (14-14), which reached the semifinals for the third consecutive year. The Toreros have never won a conference tournament title.

San Francisco 85, Santa Clara 83

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Jamal Cobbs sank two free throws with six seconds left to give San Francisco an 85-83 victory over Santa Clara in a West Coast Conference tournament semifinal Sunday night.

San Francisco will play top-seeded Gonzaga on Monday night to determine the automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament.

Midwestern Collegiate Conference

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- B.J. LaRue scored 26 points as Wisconsin-Green Bay overcame an early 14-point deficit to upset Detroit 68-65 Sunday in the semifinals of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament.

With the game tied 62-62 with 24 seconds left, Wisconsin-Green Bay (17-11) got the game-winning basket from LaRue, who then hit four straight free throws to secure the victory over Detroit (24-5), the tournament's top seed.

Butler 67, Wright St. 48

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Rolf van Rijn scored a career-high 19 points to lead Butler past Wright State 67-48 in a Midwestern Collegiate Conference semifinal game Sunday.

Butler (21-10) jumped out to an early 12-point lead and maintained a comfortable margin over Wright State (10-18) throughout the game.

Patriot League

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Sip Victor and Ryan Lookabill keyed scoring explosions that enabled Navy to defeat Bucknell, 80-61, Sunday in the semifinals of the Patriot League tournament.

Lookabill scored a career-high 16 points and assisted in a 12-0 spurt that put Navy (18-10) ahead 38-22 with 3:53 left in the half.

Lafayette 83, Colgate 77

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Tim Bieg's first half 3-point shooting enabled Lafayette to build a huge lead which the Leopards used to defeat Colgate 83-77 in Sunday's semifinal of the Patriot League tournament.

Lafayette (19-8) will meet Navy in the championship game Thursday afternoon. The two teams shared the regular season title, each winning on the other's home floor.

Mid-Continent Conference

MOLINE, Ill. -- In the era of the 3-point shot, it was a pair of three pointers the old fashioned way that ignited Buffalo to an 81-74 first-round victory Sunday over Western Illinois in the Mid-Continent post-season tournament.

After Western Illinois had drawn to 60-57 with 8:24 remaining, Matt Clemens and Rashaun Young scored back-to-back baskets down low and drew fouls. The ensuing free throws helped the Bulls open a 10-point spread that was not threatened the rest of the way.

Oral Roberts 94, S. Utah 84

MOLINE, Ill. -- Tim Gill, who missed a game-winning jump shot at the end of regulation play and a game-winning 3-pointer in the first overtime, scored six points in the second overtime to lift Oral Roberts to a 94-84 victory over Southern Utah in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament Sunday.

Southern Utah (7-20) led most of the game and were up 74-70 with a little less than two minutes left when Gill hit a three-pointer to bring Oral Roberts to within one.

Youngstown St. 75, Mo.-Kansas City 59

MOLINE, Ill. -- DeVon Lewis and Anthony Hunt scored 13 points each late Sunday as Youngstown State defeated Missouri-Kansas City in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament.

Third-seed Youngstown State advances to the semifinals of the tournament and on Monday will take on Oral Roberts.