2026 March Insanity First 4: Miami (OH), Prairie View A&M Advance

[ad_1] Miami (OH) retains Cinderella hopes alive Eian Elmer scored 22 factors and Miami (Ohio) beat SMU 89-79 on Wednesday evening within the First 4 for its first NCAA Event victory in 27 years.

Elmer went 6 of 9 from 3-point vary because the Eleventh-seeded RedHawks (32-1), unbeaten through the common season, superior within the Midwest Area to play No. 6 seed Tennessee.

Brant Byers added 19 factors, together with 4 3s, and Luke Skaljac had 17 for Miami, making its first NCAA Event look since 2007. The RedHawks completed 16 of 41 from 3-point vary.

Jaden Toombs led SMU (20-14) with 20 factors and 11 rebounds. Jaron Pierre Jr. scored 18 factors and Boopie Miller had 15 for the Mustangs.

Prairie View A&M advances to play Florida Dontae Horne scored 25 factors and Cory Wells had 19 factors and 11 rebounds as Prairie View A&M earned its first NCAA Event victory, 67-55 over Lehigh on Wednesday evening within the First 4.

"Positively gratifying," coach Bryan Smith stated. "A heck of a basketball recreation. We’re positively excited to outlive and advance and transfer on to the primary spherical on Friday evening."

Lance Williams added 10 factors for the Panthers (19-17), making their third match look after going 5-27 final season. They advance because the No. 16 seed within the South Area to face prime seed and defending nationwide champion Florida.

"As basketball gamers you watch each NCAA Event, and simply to suppose that you just’re right here now and also you’ll be enjoying the staff who simply received final 12 months," Wells stated. "We’re going to go on the market and compete regardless."

Horne additionally had seven rebounds and 4 steals. Horne, Wells and Williams every performed all 40 minutes.

Lehigh main scorer Nasir Whitlock, the Patriot League Event MVP, went scoreless for greater than 26 minutes and completed with 5 factors. He was 2-of-15 taking pictures.

The final time Whitlock didn't attain double figures was Nov. 9, when he had two factors in a 69-47 loss at West Virginia.

"Positively not the best way I believe anyone up right here thought it was going to go," Whitlock stated. "However that’s simply basketball. Typically it goes your approach, generally it doesn’t. Right now is a type of days the place I believed we couldn’t actually get an excessive amount of going."

Hank Alvey led Lehigh (18-17) with 23 factors and 15 rebounds. He was the one scorer in double digits for the Mountain Hawks.

Prairie View A&M has received eight straight, together with a 72-66 victory over Southern within the SWAC championship recreation.

Lehigh, within the match for the sixth time, received the Patriot League Event by beating Boston College 74-60 within the title recreation. The lone NCAA Event victory for the Mountain Hawks was an upset of Duke in 2012.

Andrew Urosevic hit consecutive 3-pointers, the second benefiting from a form bounce, to provide Lehigh its largest lead at 23-15. However simply when it appeared Lehigh may begin to draw back, Wells scored 5 straight factors — together with a 3 — to assist the Panthers get again into the sport.

Lehigh led 29-27 at halftime regardless of Whitlock, who averages 21 factors per recreation, being scoreless. The Mountain Hawks had been 3 of 13 from 3-point vary within the opening half.

Whitlock missed his first 9 photographs earlier than connecting on a 3 with 13:12 remaining.

"We’ve bought a terrific participant in Nasir Whitlock, however he had any individual blanketed in entrance of him all evening lengthy," Lehigh coach Brett Reed stated. "It was more durable for him to get angles and alternatives to essentially end on the rim or get the separation that he wanted."

With the Mountain Hawks' prime scorer held in examine, the Panthers prolonged their result in 51-41 on a jumper by Wells with 8:34 left.

"I believe the primary time we had been right here in 2019, we bought off to a terrific begin," Smith stated. "I believe we had been up by 11 on Fairleigh Dickinson at halftime, however we didn’t end. The principle factor was to complete, and I believe we did that. I believe we defended. We flew round."

The Panthers largely credited Williams for shutting down Whitlock.

"We needed to shout out to Lance Williams, our pit bull," Horne stated. "Lance don’t care about stats. He don’t care about scoring. He did his job tonight. He is (Whitlock) averaging 21, so that claims quite a bit about Lance’s protection."