TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Sallie Leads Tigers Past Pesky Matadors

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: March 20, 2009

Updated: 03/20/2009 12:56 am

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - After battling heartbreak and tragedy just to reach the NCAA Tournament, the Matadors of Cal State-Northridge ran into the greatest game of Roburt Sallie's life.

Finally, something proved too much to overcome.

Sallie, averaging 4.5 points all year for Memphis, hit 10 3-pointers and scored 35 as the second-seeded Tigers beat the plucky Matadors 81-70 Thursday, dodging what would have been one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

"Coach said keep shooting," said Sallie, whose previous career high was 13. "None of my teammates would ever expect me to score 35 points. I never made 10 3-pointers before."

Neither did anyone else in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Sallie's onslaught erased the first-round record and enabled Memphis (32-3) to avoid the stigma of being just the fifth No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 15 since the tournament went to a 64-team format in 1985.

"I've had 13 points in four games in the morning before," Sallie said, "but I remained focused and stayed awake."

The Matadors (17-14) concentrated their defense on Memphis' more accomplished shooters and seized a six-point lead with a little more than 10 minutes to play, bringing a roar from a capacity crowd that had quickly become enchanted with the 19-point underdogs.

"Obviously, we didn't anticipate what Sallie was going to do today," said Northridge coach Bobby Braswell.

Sallie kept Cal State-Northridge at bay during a lackluster first half that earned the Tigers a halftime tongue-lashing.

"I called it arrogance at halftime," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "My job is to keep their swagger, but it moved into arrogance."

The Matadors, who lost one of their top players in a traffic accident during the season and another to a burglary charge, never seemed intimidated and led most of the second half.

The crowd went crazy when Vincent Cordell's bucket put the Matadors up 62-56. But then Sallie hit a 3-pointer and Antonio Anderson, hardly a factor most of the game, launched a decisive 9-0 run that saved the favorites.

Sallie's 10 3-pointers surpassed the first-round record of nine, set by Michigan's Garde Thompson in 1987.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT