NCAA tournament 2012: BYU, Western Ky. comebacks highlight first play-in night
President Obama and his special guest British prime minister David Cameron were in attendance Tuesday night in Dayton, Ohio for the first NCAA tournament play-in game between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State.
The two leaders saw the Hilltoppers to edge the Delta Devils, 59-58. At that moment, it was the biggest margin overcome in the final five minutes of an NCAA tournament game in the event's history, .
The President and Prime Minister left after the first game to return to Washington. Too bad for the 'First Hoopster', for he missed a record-setting comeback in the nightcap. BYU, behind Noah Hartsock's 23 points, down to defeat Iona, 78-72. The Cougars will meet Marquette in Thursday's second round in Louisville, Kentucky.
The was held by Duke, which came back from a 21-point deficit to beat Maryland in a 2001 NCAA national semifinal contest, according to the Washington Post.
In the evening's first game, both teams had a tough time . The second half saw Mississippi Valley State build a 16-point lead with just over five minutes to go. The Hilltoppers then went on a 22-5 run to advance to a second round matchup with South No. 1 seed Kentucky, also in Louisville.
Western Kentucky guard Derrick Gordon said his team felt pressure playing in the glare of the NCAA tournament spotlight and in front of President Obama.
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In the nightcap, Iona raced out to a 15-point halftime lead on . But BYU methodically chipped away in the second twenty minutes and took the lead with just under on a Hartsock 3-point shot.
Cougars head coach Dave Rose said they could make a run at the Gaels in the second half.
"Coming back from 25 points down is really satisfying now that we've won. At the time it wasn't that satisfying being down 25," he joked. "But I don't think that any of us, especially the coaching staff or our players, doubted the fact that we could chip into that lead," Rose told SI.com.
Wednesday night, there are two more NCAA 'First Four' play-in games. Vermont plays Lamar in the first contest to determine the 16th seed in the South region. South Florida takes on California in the second game to find out who will be the South's 12th seed. Both games will be televised on truTV beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.
