LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Bryce Alford made four 3-pointers in the final 3:40, his last on a rare goaltending call with 13 seconds remaining, to push 11th-seeded UCLA to a 60-59 upset of sixth-seeded SMU on Thursday in the teams' NCAA opener.
With UCLA trailing 57-59 in the final seconds of the game, Bruin guard Bryce Alford made a long three-point attempt, however before the ball could hit the rim it was touched by an SMU player, resulting in a goaltending call. UCLA was awarded the basket to go up 60-59.
The Mustangs (27-7) had two shots to win in the final seconds, but Nic Moore missed a 3-pointer and then a 2-point attempt that sent the Bruins (21-13) into a wild celebration.
"That's the definition of March Madness for you right there, the last two minutes of this game," Bryce Alford said after the win. "I think that just shows how much this team has grown throughout the entire year. If that would have happened to us at the beginning of the year, I think we would have folded, and there's no chance we were going to win that game."
With the win, UCLA advances to Saturday's round of 32 against No. 14-seed UAB, an upset winner over No. 3-seed Iowa State.
Before Alford's heroics, SMU's Moore, who had 24 points and six 3s, seemed destined to hold that title after three 3-pointers keyed a 19-0 run over 6 1/2 minutes to put the Mustangs up by nine.
UCLA leading scorer Norman Powell, who had 19 points, broke the run with a layup and added two free throws that were sandwiched between a series of Alford's shots from behind the arc as he finished 9 of 11 from there and 9 of 13 overall.
SMU's first tournament appearance since 1993 meanwhile ended with some players walking around in disbelief and others pounding the court in frustration and disappointment. The loss spoiled Hall of Famer Brown's first college postseason since leading Kansas to the 1998 title.
That it came against a UCLA squad he coached to the 1980 championship game before the Bruins lost to Louisville was even more ironic. Then again, the Bruins came in with something to prove and showed it even when the game seemed to slip away from them.
But nothing about Alford was shocking considering he made 4 of 5 from behind the arc for 12 first-half points to complement Powell's 11, earned mostly at the free throw line.
Moore kept SMU close with three long-range baskets on five attempts, but the Mustangs struggled to score inside the line (6 of 22) and made just 1 of 11 during a 5-minute stretch.
SMU began the second half even worse making just 1 of 12 over the first 10 minutes on Brown's layup with 14:09 left. That left the Mustangs down and nearly out with a 44-35 deficit with 9 1/2 minutes left before Moore made the first of consecutive 3-pointers to begin their huge rally.
TIP-INS
UCLA: The Bruins shot 43 percent from the field including 10 of 20 on 3-pointers and outrebounded the Mustangs 34-33.
SMU: Markus Kennedy added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Mustangs, who finished at 36 percent from the field.
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