DAYTON, Ohio -- One of the country's best home teams can start packing for the ultimate road show.
Sean Finn scored a career-high 20 points Saturday as No. 22 Dayton put the finishing touch on its best home season, beating Temple 79-72 for its first Atlantic 10 Tournament title.
It was Dayton's first tournament championship of any sort since 1990, giving the Flyers (24-5) their first NCAA berth since 2000. It came in the most appropriate setting.
The Flyers went 17-1 at home, their highest victory total in any of UD Arena's 33 seasons. Most of the fans in the crowd of 11,537 on Saturday wore red shirts and provided the home-court advantage that was a mainstay all season.
For Temple, it was a case of too little, too late, leaving the Owls (15-15) looking for a second straight NIT appearance instead of a spot in the tournament they frequented from 1990-2001.
After opening with five losses for the first time in their 107 years of basketball and stumbling to 3-11, the Owls found their mettle and their famed matchup zone defense. Full story
AMERICA EAST
BOSTON -- David Hehn hit a 10-foot jumper with 5.6 seconds left to give Vermont the win over Boston University for its first NCAA Tournament bid.
Matt Sheftic scored 23 points to lead the Catamounts (21-11), who became the league's first No. 2 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the tournament title game.
Chaz Carr came up short on a 3-pointer as time expired for the Terriers (20-10), last year's tournament champions. About 700 Vermont fans who made the trip to Boston rushed the court to celebrate.
Paul Seymour scored 16 points to lead BU, and Jason Grochowalski added 11.
Germain Njila scored 12 points for the Catamounts.
BIG WEST
Utah State 57, Cal Poly-SLO 54
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Cardell Butler made four free throws in the final seconds and scored 17 points to lead Utah State over Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo and into the NCAA Tournament.
The third-seeded Aggies (24-8), who won the tournament for the third time in four years, will enter the NCAA Tournament with a five-game winning streak.
Butler was fouled by Steve Geary with 15.1 seconds to go and made both ends in the one-and-one situation to give Utah State a 55-52 lead.
Cal Poly's Jason Allen made two free throws to make it 55-54 with 10 seconds left. But Butler responded with two more foul shots with 8.1 seconds to go. Allen's 3-point attempt with two seconds left missed.
MID-AMERICAN
Central Michigan 77, Kent State 67
CLEVELAND -- Chris Kaman had 25 points and T.J. Meerman scored 16 as Central Michigan defeated Kent State to earn its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1987.
Kaman, the MAC player of the year, added 13 rebounds for Central Michigan (24-6), which blew the game open with a 16-2 run to open the second half.
The Chippewas, who finished 9-19 a year ago, were picked to finish sixth before the season started. But after winning the MAC West title, they added their first tournament crown since Dan Majerle led them in 1987.
MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC
South Carolina State 72, Hampton 67
RICHMOND, Va. -- Thurman Zimmerman scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, helping South Carolina State rally to end Hampton's two-year reign as conference tournament champion.
The top-seeded Bulldogs (20-10) will make their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2000.
Dustin Braddick led South Carolina State with 25 points.
Devin Green led Hampton (19-11) with 20 points.
MOUNTAIN WEST
LAS VEGAS -- Brian Greene scored 22 points and hit a jumper with 5.7 seconds left as Colorado State made a stunning rally to beat UNLV.
To the surprise of nearly everyone at the Thomas & Mack Center, the sixth-seeded Rams (19-13), who had a seven-game losing streak during conference play, are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990.
They held UNLV scoreless over the final 4:16, ending the game on a 14-3 run in front of the Rebels' flabbergasted home crowd. Colorado State also won without star center and tournament MVP Matt Nelson, who left midway through the second half with a head injury.
It was the third upset victory in three days for the Rams, who beat third-seeded Wyoming on Thursday and second-seeded BYU on Friday. Colorado State hadn't even won a game in the first three years of the Mountain West Tournament, but the Rams are headed to the postseason for the first time under third-year coach Dale Layer.
SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC
Texas Southern 77, Alcorn State 68
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Allan Lovett scored 23 points and Ra'Kim Hollis had 18 points and nine assists as Texas Southern beat Alcorn State to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers (18-12), who went to the NCAA Tournament in 1990, '94 and '95, also got 12 points from Lionel Willis.
Brian Jackson had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead Alcorn State (14-19), last year's conference champion. Tori Harris added 19 points and seven rebounds, and Jason Cable and DeAndre Jones had 10 points apiece.
WESTERN ATHLETIC
TULSA, Okla. -- Dante Swanson had 23 points and Kevin Johnson scored 18 as Tulsa beat Nevada, giving the Golden Hurricane their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in four seasons.
The tournament bid salvages a season for Tulsa (22-9) that seemed ruined a month ago after three consecutive losses dropped its record to 11-7. Since then, Tulsa has won 11 of 13 games.
Swanson scored 14 points in a 21-3 first-half run when Tulsa erased a nine-point Nevada lead and made it 35-26 with 2:23 left in the period. The Golden Hurricane, who lost the previous three championship games, never trailed again.
Terrance Green led Nevada (18-13) with 16 points, and Kirk Snyder had 14. The Wolf Pack missed an opportunity to get their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1985.
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