The first game of the 2011 NCAA Tournament is over and now the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs advance in the March Madness bracket to face No. 1 Pittsburgh in the Southeast regional. They defeated the Ark.-Little Rock Trojans in overtime, 81-77.
The Bulldogs were down for most of the game, but recovered during the final 10 minutes of the second half to send the game to overtime. UNC-A's Matt Dickey hit the game-tying three-pointer with 13 second left in the game, while Ark.-Little Rock's Matt Mouzy missed a three as time expired.
With 1:16 left in overtime the Bulldogs were down 77-76, but the Trojans kept fouling J.P. Primm, who made five free throws at the end of the game. The Bulldogs were 23-of-28 from the line for the night. Primm had 22 points and made 12-of-14 from the line. Matt Dickey added 22 points as well.
Ark.-Little Rock had strong games from Alex Garcia-Mendoza (21 points) and Soloman Bozeman (18 points), but still fell short.
It's an uphill battle for the Bulldogs against Pitt.