Dayton, OH (Sports Network) – Matt Dickey sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer and J.P. Primm won it at the free throw line, as UNC-Asheville came back and beat Arkansas-Little Rock, 81-77, in the first game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
As many contests in March Madness are wont to do, this one came down to the wire.
Both Primm and Dickey scored 22 points for UNC-Asheville (20-13), and no shot was bigger than Dickey’s step-back three from the left corner that tied the game, 72-72, with 10 seconds left in regulation.
Matt Mouzy’s three-pointer off the back iron sent the game to an extra five minutes, and the Bulldogs, who trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, held a 79-77 lead after Primm made 1-of-2 from the line with 51.6 second left.
Primm picked off D’Andre Williams’ soft pass along the right wing, then sealed the Bulldogs’ second-ever tourney win and a date with top-seeded Pittsburgh in the Southeast Region on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Alex Garcia-Mendoza scored 21 points to lead Arkansas-Little Rock (19-17), while Solomon Bozeman, who made a late three-pointer to win the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title for the Trojans, scored 18 points before fouling out with a minute remaining in regulation.