KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Jerrell Wright made three foul shots in the final 30 seconds, and No. 13 seed La Salle survived after blowing an 18-point halftime lead to beat fourth-seeded Kansas State 63-61 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Wright, who scored a game-high 21 points for the Explorers (22-9), made the first two free throws to give La Salle a 62-61 lead. Kansas State's Jordan Henriquez missed in the paint at the other end, and Wright made the first of two more free throws with 9.6 seconds to go.
The Wildcats (27-8) raced down court, but point guard Angel Rodriguez got hung up in the corner by the Kansas State bench, and his off-balance shot over the corner of the backboard missed everything as the final buzzer sounded and the Explorers leaped off their bench to celebrate the upset.
Henriquez and Shane Southwell scored 17 points each for Kansas State.
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