The loudest ovation in the first game of the West Regional on Saturday afternoon was when the Hampton University band entered the Boise State University gym with 6:10 left in the first half of Maryland's trouncing of Georgia State.

Indeed this growing town in southern Idaho had adopted the small, predominantly African-American school from Virginia with the quirky Caucasian coach. As the fourth school in NCAA history to enter the tournament as a 15th seed and upset a second seed as they did Thursday night by sending Iowa State home, the players, the band, the cheerleaders ... all of them had stolen the hearts of the sellout crowds.

LeSean Howard hugs coach Steve Merfeld at the end of Hampton's memorable tourney run.(AP)

The band and cheerleaders were even invited to perform between periods at the West Coast Hockey League game of the Idaho Steelheads on Friday night, then in the lobby of the Grove Hotel downtown.

It was enough of an issue to even intimidate Georgetown coach Craig Esherick before Saturday's game.

"I was scared to death," Esherick said. "I was scared last night ... I woke up at 1, I woke up at 3, I woke up 4, at 5 and finally had to wake up at 7. But I was scared to death because I was rooting for Hampton when they played Iowa State. I thought the game was exciting, I thought the band was great, the cheerleaders were great and the crowd was into the game. That's what the NCAA Tournament is about. But I didn't want to play Hampton."

He and the Hoyas had to, and when the Pirates bounced back into a 16-16 tie with mighty Georgetown nearly halfway through the first half, the place was on the verge of implosion. Tarvis Williams had six blocks by the end of the half, and Marseilles Brown drained a couple of treys ... but Esherick, to put it mildly, was no longer intimidated. He was, well, a bit on the angry side when he called timeout with 10:46 left in the half.

"We were getting yelled at," Georgetown point guard Kevin Braswell said. "We weren't getting the ball inside right. He was right. Once we spread the floor and picked up the defensive intensity, things opened up."

And the romp was on. The Hoyas went on a 20-4 run, led by 18 at halftime and the result was a 76-57 victory. The Hoyas (25-7) move on to the West Regional semifinals on Thursday against Maryland. The Pirates ended their season 25-7.

Williams, the Hampton star who averaged 22 points a game and was second in the country with 4.4 blocks, was exhausted by the continual run of huge Hoyas -- from Ruben Boumtje Boumtje to Mike Sweetney to Lee Scruggs and Wesley Wilson banging inside. All were considerably taller, wider and stronger than the 6-foot-9, 210-pound Williams, the biggest and best Pirate of all.

"They were a pretty big team that we hadn't really faced in the past," Williams said in an obvious understatement coming from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

"Early in the game I tried to go to the hole and didn't get some calls I thought I might get. Then it just wore me down a bit."

Boumtje Boumtje is at least 260 pounds and is 7-feet tall. Every time Williams moved, Boumtje Boumtje's imposing figure was looming.

"I tried to be physical with him," Boumtje Boumtje said. "He's so quick off his feet, he's only about 210 pounds and he can jump out of the gym. I just tried to get him tired. We knew he wasn't used to playing against teams this big or with this many players."

Williams finished with 16 points and eight blocks, but just four rebounds. Brown had 12 points, as the oversized guard pummeled him as well.

Ultimately, Braswell's 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals controlled the floor game after Esherick's tongue-lashing.

"Last night before we went to sleep in the hotel, we were going around talking to each other," Braswell said. "We didn't want to regret losing this game."

Now they don't have to. They'll be playing their buddies from down the street, Maryland.

But the Hampton squad wasn't going anywhere Saturday night. The school decided not to let them fly on the charter so they can get the proper greeting upon their return late Sunday. That leaves one more night for the lovefest with Boise, even if they failed to become the first No. 15 seed to ever advance to the Sweet 16.

"The Boise fans have been remarkable," Williams said. "We had a great time here and a great experience. For me, Marseille and LaSean (Howard), all seniors, it was a great way to leave. It would have been better with a win. It just wasn't meant to be."

Fortunately, everything else was.