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NCAA Tournament Recap (Weber St-North Carolina)
Posted: Fri March 12, 1999 at 2:04 a.m EST SEATTLE (Ticker) -- Weber State pulled off the biggest upset of the first day of the NCAA Tournament, shocking third seed North Carolina, 76-74, in a wild first-round West Region contest. Michael Arceneaux exploded for 36 points as the Big Sky Conference champion Wildcats (25-7) recorded their second upset as a 14th seed in four years. They beat Michigan State, 79-72, in the first round in 1995. The win continues a magical month for Weber State, which beat Northern Arizona in the regular-season finale to bring the Big Sky tournament to its home court in Ogden, Utah. The Wildcats then recorded an 82-75 victory over Lumberjacks in the tournament title game to clinch the NCAA berth. They also extended the season of coach Ron Abegglen, who reached an agreement with Weber State president Paul Thompson to step down after the season, one more game. The Wildcats, who have six of the Big Sky's 10 all-time NCAA Tournament wins, will play sixth-seeded Florida in the second round Saturday. "I think the players had more confidence than I did," said Abegglen. "I was a nervous wreck out there and I just tried to stay out of the way." North Carolina (24-9) lost in the first round for the first time since falling to San Francisco in 1978 and for just the third time since 1984 will not advance past the NCAA Tournament's first weekend. The Tar Heels also lost in the second round in 1994 and 1996. Ed Cota scored 20 points and dished out 10 assists for the Tar Heels, who were making their 25th straight appearance in the field of 64. North Carolina went to the Final Four the last two seasons, falling to Arizona in 1997 and to Utah a year ago. Weber State led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but North Carolina staged a furious comeback. Freshman Kris Lang was fouled while converting a follow shot, and although he missed the free throw, Vasco Evtimov was there for the tip-in to bring the Tar Heels within 68-65 with just under three mintues left. Eddie Gill twice made a pair of free throws, but Ademola Okulaja drilled a 3-pointer around Gill's trips to the line, and a 3-pointer from the right wing by Max Owens cut Weber State's lead to 72-71 with 23 seconds remaining. After North Carolina called a timeout, Noel Jackson connected on the first of two free throws to make it 73-71 with 22 seconds remaining. North Carolina quickly pushed the ball up court and Evtimov got it underneath. But he was fouled by Andy Jensen with 15 seconds to play and made only the second free throw. The Tar Heels fouled Arceneaux, who hit both his free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 75-72 lead. Owens had the ball in his hands when North Carolina crossed halfcourt, and as he went up for a 3-point attempt, instead decided to pass and threw the ball out of bounds. Inexplicably, Weber State's inbounds pass went right into the hands for Cota, who converted a layup with 4.5 seconds remaining. The ball was given to Jackson, who was fouled, and after a lengthy discussion by the referees, who watched replays before agreeing to leave 1.2 seconds on the clock. Jackson made the second of his two free throws, and fittingly, Arceneaux intercepted North Carolina's long inbounds pass and allowed Weber State to celebrate the biggest victory in school history. "We all knew we were going to win," said Wildcats guard Noel Jackson. "I don't call this an upset. We knew we were going to win, we just came in and played confidently." Gill contributed 16 points and Jackson grabbed seven rebounds for Weber State, which connected on 14-of-26 from 3-point range. Arceneaux was 14-of-26 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc as the Wildcats shot 47 percent (26-of-55). Okulaja hit five 3-pointers en route to a 17-point performance and Vasco Evtimov had 13 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, which held a 39-27 advantage on the boards but shot just 41 percent (28-of-68). The Tar Heels committed only 12 turnovers but forced Weber State into just 13.© 2000 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
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