Marquette survives scare from Utah State

Lazar Hayward scored 26 points and Marquette made 10 consecutive free throws down the stretch to defeat Utah State, 58-57, on Friday in the first round of the NCAA West Regional at Boise, Idaho.

Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews each scored 14 points for sixth-seeded Marquette (25-9), which squandered a 14-point lead and fell behind by six points before rallying to win.

Jared Quayle led Utah State (30-5) with 18 points. The 11th-seeded Aggies, the Western Athletic Conference champions, recovered from a dismal first half by making 12 of its first 20 to start the second half, but couldn’t hang on and suffered their fourth consecutive first-round loss.

Hayward put Marquette ahead, 52-51, on two free throws with 1:45 left, and the Golden Eagles led the rest of the way. They advanced to play Missouri in the second round.

No. 3 Missouri 78, No. 14 Cornell 59 -- DeMarre Carroll scored all but two of his 13 points in the second half to help the Tigers pull away from the plucky Big Red at Boise.

Leo Lyons finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (29-6), the Big 12 tournament champions who returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time in six years.

Ryan Wittman scored 18 points for Cornell (21-10), the Ivy League champion, which hung around for a half, trailing by only four.

But Missouri’s talent took over after the break, and the win gave the Big 12 a clean sweep -- six wins, no losses through the first round of the tournament.