N.C.A.A. Men’s Tournament: No. 2 Seed Kentucky Downed By St. Peter’s

The Memphis native Alex Lomax overcame an ankle damage within the first half to assist Coach Penny Hardaway lead the Tigers to their first N.C.A.A. event victory since 2014.

Lomax, a 6-foot senior guard, injured his left ankle when he landed on it awkwardly after making a 3-pointer within the first half, leaving him screaming in ache. However he returned to complete with 9 factors, 5 rebounds and 5 assists because the No. 9 Tigers fended off No. 8 Boise State, 64-53, in Portland, Ore. The Tigers will subsequent face the winner of Thursday’s sport between Gonzaga, the No. 1 general seed, and No. 16 Georgia State within the West area.

“Man, I’m feeling very nice proper now,” Lomax mentioned in a tv interview. “I’m very emotional, it’s been eight years since we have been in a position to get to the event, and simply being from Memphis and in a position to get our first win and being part of that, I can’t do nothing however really feel good proper now.”

After being ranked No. 12 in Division I within the preseason, Memphis began 9-8 amid viral setbacks and blended play. After a loss to Southern Methodist in a convention sport in January, Hardaway made nationwide information when he bombarded members of the media with expletives after the sport. Round that very same time, the extremely regarded freshman Emoni Bates briefly left the workforce to obtain remedy for again ache at residence in Michigan. With out him within the rotation, Memphis performed a lot better down the stretch, successful 13 of its final 15 video games.

The 6-foot-9 Bates, as soon as in comparison with a younger Kevin Durant, returned on Thursday for the primary time since Jan. 27. He made his sole try, a 3-pointer, and completed with 3 factors, no assists and no rebounds in three minutes.

DeAndre Williams led Memphis with 14 factors and 5 rebounds, Landers Nolley had 12 factors and 5 rebounds, and the freshman massive man Jalen Duren contributed 10 factors and 11 rebounds, scoring an enormous layup off a steal by Lomax to make it 60-53. The Oregon switch Abu Kigab saved Boise State, the Mountain West Convention regular-season and event champions, shut within the second half, ending with a game-best 20 factors.