Might as well stick around a while.
Kyle O’Quinn had 26 points and 14 rebounds, making several key plays in the closing minutes, and the gritty No. 15 seed Spartans held on through a tense final minute to topple second-seeded Missouri 86-84 on Friday in the West Regional.
Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin each added 20 points for the MEAC champion Spartans (26-9), who made their first trip to the NCAA tournament a memorable one. They became the fifth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and the first since fellow conference member Hampton in 2001.
O’Quinn had a chance to take some of the drama out of the finish when he went to the free throw line with 3.8 seconds to go, but the 70-percent foul shooter missed both tries.
Missouri coach Frank Haith called a timeout with 2.9 seconds left to set up a final play, and the ball wound up in the hands of Phil Pressey. He took a couple of hard dribbles and let loose a 3-pointer from the wing that clanked off the back iron as the buzzer sounded.
O’Quinn leaped for joy. Pressey fell to the court in disbelief.
And the roar that rose inside CenturyLink Arena from anybody wearing anything other than black and gold may have drowned out the sound of brackets getting torn up all over America.
Michael Dixon led Missouri (30-5) with 22 points, and Pressey and fellow guard Marcus Denmon finished with 20 points each. Pressey also contributed eight assists.
(ESPN)
