DAYTON, Ohio, March 22 (UPI) -- Khalif Wyatt scored 31 points and ninth-seeded Temple held off a late North Carolina State charge Friday for a 76-72 NCAA tournament victory.
Temple was up by 18 in the second half before the Wolfpack, seeded eighth, came back to get within 3 points with 2:18 to go -- but the Owls were able to put the game away with free throws.
Temple (24-9) advanced to Sunday's East Region third round against No. 1-seeded Indiana, which rolled over No. 16 James Madison in its game Friday. North Carolina State was sent home with a 24-11 record.
The Owls used a 9-0 run in building a 24-15 first-half lead and pushed that to 38-22 by halftime. A Jake O'Brien jump shot gave Temple a 44-26 bulge with 17:19 to play before North Carolina State began to work its way back into the game.
The Wolfpack chipped away and got within one possession at 65-62 when C.J. Leslie hit two free throws. But Temple hit 11-of-14 free throws, with Wyatt going 6-for-6, the rest of the way to seal the victory.
Wyatt ended up hitting 12-of-14 from the free-throw line en route to the 31-point total while O'Brien added 18 points.
North Carolina State was led by Lorenzo Brown, who had 22 points and Leslie, who had 20. Richard Howell scored 14 points and had 15 rebounds for the Wolfpack.
