DAYTON, Ohio -- Two missed shots, two quick fouls. T.J. Warren's second chance at the NCAA tournament didn't start very well at all.
It ended with the ACC's top player putting on a show.
The hard-to-guard sophomore forward scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half on Tuesday night, showing why he was chosen as the ACC's player of the year, and North Carolina State led most of the way in a 74-59 victory over Xavier in the NCAA tournament's First Four.
NC State (22-12) didn't have much time to celebrate. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack headed to the airport for a two-hour flight to Orlando, Fla., and a game on Thursday against St. Louis in the Midwest Regional.
Warren had the most to do with it. He made up for a freshman tournament flop on the same floor a year earlier and prevented Xavier (21-14) from getting any traction in the second half.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive," said Warren, who was 10 of 18 from the field. "My shots wouldn't fall in the first half, but my teammates did a great job of finding me," (see full story).
Albany tops Mount St. Mary's to advance in Big Dance
DAYTON, Ohio -- D.J. Evans is charitably listed at 5-foot-9. His coach and teammates tease him that he looks a foot shorter.
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Yet he stood awfully tall for Albany on Tuesday night.
Evans scored 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 12.6 seconds left, to lead the Great Danes to their first NCAA tournament victory, 71-64 over Mount St. Mary's in the First Four.
Evans, an often overlooked component in Albany's lineup, belied his height with nine rebounds to go with three assists.
"He's about 4-foot-8, so he's really impressive," laughed his running mate at guard, Peter Hooley, who had 20 points. "I don't think there's another 4-8 guard who could go in there and get that many boards. He did what he needed to do to get this win."
It was a signature victory for the America East Conference tournament champs, who had come up empty in three previous trips to the big dance.
"It means a lot," said an emotional coach Will Brown. "There's no better feeling. Like I told our kids, we're going to be in the history books at the University of Albany forever," (see full story).