Grizzlies top Weber St. for Big Sky, NCAA berth
<p>Montana forward Derek Selvig (24) goes up for 2 points against Weber State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Big Sky tournament in Missoula, Mont., on Wednesday, March 7, 2012.(AP Photo/ Michael Albans</p>
* BIG SKY
Kareem Jamar scored 23 points and Montana beat Weber State 85-66 on Wednesday night at Missoula, Mont., to win the Big Sky Conference tournament and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Mathias Ward added 23 points as Montana (25-6) set a team record with 14 straight wins and closed with its best record since the 1992 season. The Grizzlies' last loss was Jan. 14 at Weber State.
Damian Lillard, the nation's second-leading scorer, scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Weber State (24-6), which lost in the regular season finale at Montana to give the Grizzlies the regular-season title.
Montana will make its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010 and ninth overall. Jubilant fans stormed the floor after the game.
Jamar, a sophomore guard, sank went 9 of 12 from the floor, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and added seven assists. Derek Selvig scored 16 points and Will Cherry added 13 for the Grizzlies.
Montana has made 15 title game appearances and won eight times.
* PAC-12
Stanford 85, Arizona State 65: At Los Angeles, Chasson Randle scored 27 of his 30 points in a dynamic first half, surpassing his previous career high before halftime in Stanford's (21-10) victory over Arizona State (10-21) in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Stanford will face second-seeded California tonight.
UCLA 55, Southern California 40: At Los Angeles, Lazeric Jones scored 15 points and UCLA (19-13) rallied past rival Southern California (6-26) in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament.
The fifth-seeded Bruins advanced to a quarterfinal game today at Staples Center against fourth-seeded Arizona, which got a first-round bye.
Colorado 53, Utah 41: At Los Angeles, Andre Roberson had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead Colorado (19-11) past Utah (6-24) in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament.
Colorado plays Oregon today in the quarterfinals.
* TOP 25
No. 13 Georgetown 64, Pittsburgh 52: At New York, senior Henry Sims and freshman Otto Porter each scored 20 points to lead Georgetown past Pittsburgh (17-16) in the second round of the Big East tournament.
Sims grabbed 13 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Hoyas (23-7), who will play fourth-seeded Cincinnati in the quarterfinals today at Madison Square Garden.