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EVENTS
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BOISE, Idaho (Ticker) -- One of the first upsets of the NCAA Tournament was turned in by a coach who has been there many times before. Shernard Long banked home the go-ahead jumper with 11 seconds left and Mark Vershaw missed two free throws a few moments later as Georgia State edged sixth-seeded Wisconsin, 50-49, in the West Region for its first NCAA Tournament victory. Pulling the strings for Georgia State (29-4) was Lefty Driessel, who became just the second individual in NCAA history to coach four teams in the NCAA Tournament. "I've had some other big wins, but I just like this team," Driessel. Other teams he has taken to the "Big Dance" include Davidson, James Madison and Maryland, which is his second-round foe at the Boise State University Pavillion on Saturday. Georgia State, champion of the Trans America Athletic Conference, rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit and ended any chance of a second straight Final Four appearance by Wisconsin (18-11). Kevin Morris had 18 points, 12 in the first half, and Long 13 for Georgia State. Bam Campell added 11 rebounds. The Badgers were able to dictate the slow pace and appeared to be headed to victory when Andy Kowske sank a pair of free throws with 1:08 left to make it 49-44. But Darryl Cooper turned the tide of the game by sinking a 3-pointer with 47 seconds left and drawing a foul from Roy Boone. Cooper completed the four-point play to cut the lead to one. On the Badgers' next possession, Boone stole a pass from Travon Davis and fed Long, who banged in a shot off the glass for the go-ahead score. Vershaw was soon able to draw a foul inside, but nervously missed both free throws. Wisconsin regained possession with nine-tenths of a second left, but a desperation shot by Kirk Penney fell short, completing the upset. Long scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Cooper finished with 11. The Panthers played an aggressive defense and the Badgers never responded, recording just four asssists all afternoon. The Badgers made just 5-of-18 shots in the second half. "We have some incompleteness," Wisconsin coach Brad Soderberg said. "Lefty did a good job of isolating the problem and we couldn't overcome it." Morris hit a 3-pointer before the first-half buzzer to cut the lead to 30-19 at intermission. Georgia State slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half, drawing even at 42-42 when Long completed a three-point play with 7:11 left. The loss concludes a disappointing season for Wisconsin, which included the surprising resignation of coach Dick Bennett in November. The Badgers lost four of their last five games. |
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