Lynn eliminates Findlay 75-66

3/24/2005

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Marcus Hayes scored eight of his 16 points in the final four minutes to help Lynn defeat Findlay 75-66 last night in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II tournament.

Austin Faber added 13 points for the Fighting Knights (29-5), James Cage had 12 and Sheldon Edwards 10.

Lynn jumped out to an early 10-point lead and was ahead 35-27 at the half. The Oilers (30-4) battled back to take their first lead when Matt Metzger's basket made it 46-45 with 12 minutes left.

Lynn put the game away with an 8-0 run.

Hayes scored the last field goal in that run, a layup with 2:41 left, to make it 67-59.

Marwan Gaines scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace Findlay. Dustin Pfeifer added 15 points and Metzger finished with 10.

Findlay shot a very respectable 48.1 percent from the field (25 of 25), including 7 of 23 on 3-point attempts. But Lynn was sharper, hitting 58.8 percent (30 of 51) and took just 13 treys, connecting on five.

Findlay had an off night at the foul line, hitting 9 of 18. Lynn hit 10 of 15.

Each team had 29 rebounds.

AMHERST, Mass. - Eastern Kentucky basketball coach Travis Ford was interviewed for the vacant job at Massachusetts.

School officials confirmed that Ford, a protege of UMass graduate Rick Pitino, was in town to discuss the position that became open when Steve Lappas was fired last week.

"He's here, but we do not expect an imminent announcement," said Jason Yellin, a spokesman for athletic director John McCutcheon.

Among those pushing Ford's candidacy are Pitino, who played for Massachusetts, coached Ford at Kentucky and now is the coach at Louisville.

Also on the short list are Tony Barbee, who played for the Minutemen and is now an assistant to former Massachusetts coach John Calipari at Memphis, Kent State coach Jim Christian, and Manhattan coach Bobby Gonzalez.

Ford guided the Colonels to a 22-9 record this season - the most wins in school history - and the team's first NCAA tournament bid in 26 years. The Colonels lost in the first round to Kentucky.