NCAA West: VCU Rams (Who Knock Out Beavers) Advance To Round of 32; Sooners, Aggies, UNI Panthers, Ducks, St. Joe's Likewise

Action from the first round of the West Regional of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament continued on Friday with six games.

Four of the contests took place at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

In the opener, LeQuan Lewis scored 21 points, dished out eight assists, and grabbed seven rebounds while Mo Alie-Cox added 20 points as the tenth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth Rams (25-10) outlasted the seventh-seeded Oregon State Beavers (19-13) 75-67.

In what turned out to be his swan song for the Beavers (who played in their first NCAA tourney game since 1990----still looking for their first such win since 1982), Gary Payton II led OSU with 19 points.

In the second contest, Buddy Hield scored 27 points as the second-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (26-7) topped fifteenth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield (24-9) 82-68.

Aly Ahmed scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Roadrunners, who were making their NCAA Division I Tournament debut.

In the opening game of the evening session, Danuel House scored 20 points as the third-seeded Texas A&M Aggies (27-8) throttled the #14-seeded Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix (23-13) 92-65.

Khalil Small, one of only two Green Bay players to score in double figures (compared to five for the Aggies), paced the Phoenix with 22 points.

In the finale, Paul Jesperson (who scored 14 points) banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to carry #11-seeded Northern Iowa (23-12)  to a 75-72 victory over the sixth-seeded Texas Longhorns (20-13).

Wes Washpun paced the Panthers with 17 points, while Isaiah Taylor (whose layup with 2.7 seconds left had tied the game at 72) topped the Horns with 22.

Two games were contested at the Seattle Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington.

In the opener, Chris Boucher scored 20 points as the top-seeded Oregon Ducks (29-6) from the start showed sixteenth-seeded Holy Cross (15-20) who was boss in their 91-52 dressing down of the Crusaders.

Robert Champion was the only real bright spot for Holy Cross as he scored 22 points.

In the nightcap, Isaiah Miles sank a three-point shot with nine seconds remaining to lift #8-seeded Saint Joseph's (28-7) to a 78-76 victory over the #9-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats (22-11).

DeAndre Bembry paced the Hawks with 23 points while Jacob Evans III led the Bearcats with 26 (to go with his nine rebounds).