Men's Hoops Goes Down to Hampton, 58-57

BOISE, Idaho - Some homecoming for Larry Eustachy. His team came out flat, the fans cheered for his opponent and Iowa State became another first-round upset victim.

Tarvis Williams flipped in a 4-footer in the lane with 6.9 seconds remaining as 15th-seeded Hampton stunned second-seeded Iowa State 58-57 in the NCAA West Regional on Thursday night.

Jamaal Tinsley took the ball downcourt but missed a layup with 1.2 seconds to go, setting off a celebration as the Pirates (25-6) and their fans swarmed the floor in celebration.

As soon as the buzzer sounded, the Hampton players sprinted off the bench for a wild, midcourt celebration, joined by their band, cheerleaders and fans. David Johnson carried coach Steve Merfeld halfway around the court as Merfeld furiously pumped his fists.

The Cyclones (25-6), who came within one game of the Final Four last season, left the court in shock.

Hampton advanced to play Georgetown, which beat Arkansas 61-60 on another late basket.

Hampton is fourth 15th seed to beat a No. 2 seed since the tournament expanded to 16 seeds per region in 1985.

"It was a great win. I thought our kid persevered," Merfeld said. "They took control of the game, but we just hung in there and hung in there ... Tarvis played with four fouls the last 12 minutes, and it's fitting he got the game winner."

Asked what he thought about Georgetown, he said: "I didn't know anything about them."

The Pirates trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half but pulled to 57-54 with 2:53 remaining on a basket by Isaac Jefferson, then forced a turnover at the other end.

It was 57-56 with 1:44 to go when Marseilles Brown split the lane for a layup, capping a fastbreak that started when Williams blocked a shot by Iowa State's Martin Rancik.

The crowd, sensing another upset, came alive for the Pirates. The last two minutes were tense, with each team missing opportunities to pull ahead. But Williams ended all the drama with the biggest shot in Hampton history.

Poor Eustachy. He got his first head coaching job at Idaho from 1990-93, and he couldn't have felt too welcome when the Boise fans cheered for Hampton most of the night.

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Pirates were making their first NCAA tournament appearance. Until now, Hampton wasn't known for much other than being the school that produced NBA tough guy Rick Mahorn.

You can bet everyone back in Iowa, from Council Bluffs to Davenport, knows more about the Pirates now.

The Cyclones didn't start like the team that reeled off winning streaks of 10, eight and seven games and won the Big 12's regular-season title. They came out listless, shooting 9-of-27, and trailed 31-27 at halftime.

Things stabilized early in the second half, as the Cyclones using a 9-0 run to erase Hampton's lead. Iowa State led 38-32 after Tinsley fed Paul Shirley for a fastbreak dunk to force a timeout by Pirates coach Steve Merfeld.

It didn't help. The Cyclones came out of that break with a 10-3 spurt, capped by Tinsley's steal for a layup at the other end. Just like that, Iowa State held a 46-35 lead seven minutes into the half and Eustachy could almost relax.

Hampton pulled within 48-43 on a jumper by Tommy Adams with 10:33 to play and 50-44 after Williams made one of two free throws. Tinsley made a 3-pointer and Shane Power got free for a dunk to give the Cyclones a 55-44 lead.

Hampton had two transfers with NCAA tournament experience.

LaSean Howard was part of Syracuse's run to the round of 16 in 1998 and Marseilles Brown played the point for Richmond the same year when the 14th-seeded Spiders stunned third-seeded South Carolina.

Players Mentioned

Shane Power

Shane Power

Martin Rancik

Martin Rancik

Paul Shirley

Paul Shirley

Jamaal Tinsley

Jamaal Tinsley

Sponsors

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