Conference Tournament Recap: McNeese, Lehigh, Idaho Earn NCAA Spots

Sixth-year senior Javohn Garcia poured in a career-high 31 points as second-seeded McNeese beat top-seeded Stephen F. Austin 76-59 to clinch its third straight Southland Conference title and a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Garcia drilled 11 of 18 shots from the field and was 5 of 8 from 3-point range as the Cowboys (28-5) never trailed as they extended their winning streak to 10 games. Larry Johnson added 18 points and Tyshawn Arch had 17 points, five assists and five steals.

Keon Thompson scored 18 points to lead the Lumberjacks (28-5), who split the regular season series with McNeese. Kam Burton added 10 points as SFA shot 37.3% from the field and 5 of 21 (23.8%) on 3-point attempts.

Patriots: Lehigh 74, Boston U. 60

Nasir Whitlock led a balanced attack with 18 points as the second-seeded Mountain Hawks defeated the fourth-seeded Terriers and earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2012.

Joshua Ingram and Edouard Benoit each had 15 points for Lehigh (18-16), while Hank Alvey piled up 14 points and had a game-high nine rebounds and five assists. The Mountain Hawks led by double digits for the final 13:20.

Ben Defty had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Boston U. (17-17), Michael McNair had 14 points and Chance Gladden had 11 points. The Terriers ranked 5th in the nation in 3-point shooting today at 40.0%, but only made 1 of 16 3-pointers.

Big Sky: Idaho 77, Montana 66

Isaiah Brickner had 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Vandals toppled the Grizzlies in Boise and earned their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1990.

Seventh-seeded Idaho (21-14) fell behind by three points early in the second half before pulling back with a 21-8 run. Brody Rowbury scored nine of his 12 points in the period, including a 3-pointer with 8:35 left to give the Vandals a 53-43 lead.

Te’Jon Sawyer and Money Williams each scored 19 points for fourth-seeded Montana (18-16).

–Field level media