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Spartans Survive 1st Round Scare, Oakland Falls To Pitt UNDATED (Associated Press) -

Kalin Lucas scored a career-high 25 points and Raymar Morgan emerged from a quiet night by hitting key shots down the stretch as fifth-seeded Michigan State edged No. 12 New Mexico State 70-67 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Morgan broke a late tie with four straight points, then made two free throws with 18.6 seconds remaining with the aid of a lane-violation call.

Still, it was an uneven game for the Spartans (25-8), a microcosm of their at-times dazzling, other times dumbfounding season following a loss to North Carolina in last year's national
championship game.

Troy Gillenwater scored 17 points, including a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left that got New Mexico State (22-12) within 68-67. Jonathan Gibson added 16.





Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown scored 17 points apiece and Pittsburgh avoided becoming the latest Big East powerhouse to get knocked off in the first round of the NCAA tournament, overcoming a slow start to rout Oakland 89-66 on Friday in the West Regional.

Brown's strong performance off the bench was a boost for the third-seeded Panthers (25-8), who are making their ninth straight NCAA appearance and have advanced to the round of 16 in five of the previous eight. They'll try to continue that streak Sunday against no. 6 seed Xavier, which defeated 11th seed Minnesota 65-54 earlier Friday.

Big center Keith Benson scored 28 points for the 14th-seeded Golden Grizzlies (26-9), who played much of the first half without starting forward Derick Nelson after an elbow from Panthers center Gary McGhee opened a cut over his left eye. © Copyright 2012, Associated Press