It was Sherwood Brown and the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles who shocked the college basketball world last season with an inspiring run in the NCAA tournament, though Fort Myers, Fl., now known as “Dunk City” by the Twitterverse and beyond, isn’t the only place where the A-Sun is making noise.
At least, that was the case this past weekend, where four more members of the conference’s best gave traditional powers more than they might have been asking for.
KSU’s in-state rival, Mercer, lost by just three points in a 76-73 final against the Texas Longhorns. All A-Sun guard Langston Hall stood out with 22 points and five assists for the Bears.
Northern Kentucky wasn’t bashful either. The Norse, who joined the A-Sun last season, took Purdue to the buzzer in a 77-76 loss. The Boilermakers had to deter two last-second attempts to walk off their own floor sans an upset.
North Florida also was in a fight. After trailing by 18 early, the Ospreys fought back and came within a few possessions from beating No. 8 ranked Florida, losing 77-69.
But, the result of the weekend came from Blacksburg, where one of the conference’s top teams, USC Upstate, defeated Virginia Tech in dramatic fashion. Ty Greene led the team with 17 points, while Babatunde Olumuyiwa had more than just Virginia Tech’s sports information team in a scramble. Olumuyiwa hit a hook from the paint to put the Spartans ahead 64-62 with 1:52 left.
Virginia Tech’s Jarrell Eddie missed the second of his free throw attempts on the other end, and neither team managed a basket in the final minute.
It was USC Upstate’s first victory against an ACC opponent.
