Howard holds off UMBC in First Four for its first March Madness win

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Howard holds off UMBC in First Four for its first March Madness win

2026-03-18 12:23 Last Updated At：13:00

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Bryce Harris had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and he sank a turnaround jumper with 13 seconds remaining that sent Howard to its first NCAA Tournament victory in program history, 86-83 over UMBC in the First Four on Tuesday night.

Ose Okojie scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Bison (24-10), who entered with an 0-4 record in March Madness and had to hold off a late rally by the Retrievers (24-9).

DJ Armstrong Jr.‘s 3-pointer with 43 seconds left got UMBC within 83-81. After Harris’ jumper as the shot clock expired gave Howard a four-point lead, Jah’Likah King made a layup to make it 85-83.

Isaiah Brown made one of two free throws and Armstrong couldn’t convert a 3 at the buzzer, sealing a trip to Buffalo, New York, for the Bison, who enter the Midwest Region bracket as the No. 16 seed and will face top-seeded Michigan on Thursday.

Coach Kenneth Blakeney also led Howard, one of the country’s premier historically Black universities, to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and ’24.

UMBC was seeking its first March Madness win since it shocked top overall seed Virginia in 2018, becoming the first No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1. The Retrievers lost in the second round that year and this was the first NCAA Tournament appearance since for the suburban Baltimore school, located 31 miles north of the Howard campus in Washington.

King led UMBC with 19 points, Armstrong had 17 and Caden Diggs scored 15.

Cedric Taylor III scored 16 points for Howard, going 9 of 10 at the free-throw line before fouling out in the final minute

TEXAS 68, NC STATE 66

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Tramon Mark hit a fadeaway jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 1.1 seconds left, and Texas survived a late rally to beat N.C. State in a First Four matchup of power-conference teams that limped into March Madness.

Mark scored 17 points to lead the Longhorns (19-14), who had lost five of six entering the NCAA Tournament. Texas moved into the bracket as the No. 11 seed in the West region and will face sixth-seeded BYU on Thursday night in Portland, Oregon.

Coach Sean Miller’s Longhorns led 62-53 on Chendall Weaver’s two free throws with 2:56 left, but the Wolfpack (20-14) — who also lost five of six before getting sent to Dayton — scored 10 points in a span of 1:12. Paul McNeil Jr. hit two 3s before Mark beat the shot clock with a fadeaway.

Darrion Williams connected from deep to get N.C. State within one. The Wolfpack then forced a turnover by Dailyn Swain, and Tre Holloman made one of two free throws to tie it at 66-all.

Texas ran down most of the game clock before Mark connected from 19 feet, and N.C. State couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer.

Mark finished with 17 points, Matas Vokietaitis scored 15 and Swain added 13 for the Longhorns. Weaver recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Darrion Williams led the Wolfpack with 21 points. Quadir Copeland scored 16 and McNeil finished with 11.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate

CHICAGO (AP) — Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won Tuesday's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, edging out two sitting members of the U.S. House to advance to a November general election against Republican nominee Don Tracy, the former state party chair.

The retirement of U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, the Senate’s longtime No. 2 Democrat, triggered a competitive campaign on the Democratic side, drawing as candidates Stratton and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, among others. Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the race, which tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The governor, whose name has been floated as a 2028 presidential contender, backed Stratton.

The races were testing grounds for some of the biggest issues facing the Democratic Party, from support for Israel to immigration enforcement and the cryptocurrency and AI industries, as super PACs poured millions of dollars into the hotly contested primaries.

Most primary winners in the Democratic stronghold are expected to win in November, shaping a new generation of leadership in the state’s congressional delegation.

Stratton lagged in fundraising but had the powerful backing of Pritzker, who campaigned with her around the state.

He introduced her Tuesday night before her victory speech, in which she pledged to push for Medicare for all and higher wages, abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “bring this fight straight to Donald Trump’s door.”

“We are ready to take our democracy back into our own hands,” Stratton told supporters gathered in Chicago.

The race featuring 10 Democrats was expensive. Krishnamoorthi dominated fundraising and was the first on television with ads in July. He started 2026 with over $15 million on hand compared with Stratton's $1 million, according to campaign finance records. Late last year, Pritzker put $5 million into a super PAC aimed at electing her.

Stratton lit into Krishnamoorthi at debates, particularly on the five-term Democrat’s voting record and donations from an ICE contractor.

Krishnamoorthi, who has called to dismantle the agency, said he donated the money to immigrant rights groups. In a concession speech Tuesday, he brought up his roots as an immigrant who born in India and raised in central Illinois.

“Only in this country can a kid like me serve in the halls of Congress,” he said. “And now we must come together as Democrats and as Americans to make sure that we return to the principles that made us a beacon of freedom and opportunity for the world.”

Rochelle Brockenborough, 64, said she voted for Stratton at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago.

“I wanted to make sure there was no AIPAC money. That’s important to me,” she said, adding that U.S. tax dollars shouldn’t be used to support Israel.

Candidates touted ties to iconic Chicagoans including former President Barack Obama and the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month. However, an endorsement touted posthumously by Stratton caused a snag as Jackson’s family withdrew it Monday, saying the draft was not meant for public release.

In the GOP primary, Tracy, an attorney who led the Illinois Republican Party from 2021 to 2024, bested five other candidates. The state last had a Republican in the Senate a decade ago, when Mark Kirk was defeated by current Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

Election officials hoped to see busy polls after statewide turnout in the 2024 primary was 19%, the lowest in more than five decades. Initial turnout estimates in Chicago were around 25%, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.

Dozens of candidates ran for five open seats in the Chicago area.

In Kelly’s 2nd district, which spans parts of the South Side and suburbs and dips into the central Illinois farmlands, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller emerged as the winner of a crowded Democratic field that included former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the late civil rights leader. Miller will face off in November against Republican Michael Noack, who was unopposed.

Miller was backed by AIPAC, and that support prompted retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, of the 9th District, to withdraw her endorsement of Miller.

The open seat in Krishnamoorthi’s suburban 8th District attracted eight Democrats and four Republicans. Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean won the Democratic nomination and advances to face Republican Jennifer Davis.

“People are ready for change, they want to see a functional Congress,” Bean told The Associated Press. “We haven’t had one in quite some time.”

Two other House members are retiring after long careers.

The 7th District of Rep. Danny Davis, who was first elected in 1996, covers parts of downtown, the West Side and suburbs. The candidate he endorsed, state Rep. La Shawn Ford won the nomination over a pool of candidates that included Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. Chad Koppie won for the GOP.

The primary for Schakowsky's 9th District seat was the most crowded. Among the 15 Democrats, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss edged out digital creator Kat Abughazaleh and state Sen. Laura Fine, who was also backed by AIPAC. Republican John Elleson won the party's nomination.

Speaking to supporters, Biss called Schakowsky, who endorsed him, his “political hero” and said the contest to replace her raised fundamental questions about Democratic Party priorities.

“Are we going to double down on our progressive values, or are we going to shrink away from protecting the most vulnerable?” Biss said. “We are going to stand up, we are going to fight.”

Another open Chicago area seat was that of Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who announced that he would not seek reelection citing health and personal reasons. The Democratic primary for the 4th District was uncontested after Garcia quietly schemed to place his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, on the ballot without any Democratic competition.

Patty Garcia, who is not related to the congressman, will face Republican Lupe Castillo, who also ran unopposed, in November.

Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune who was unopposed in his primary, is the first governor to seek a third term since the 1980s.

One of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics, Pritzker used his victory speech to tout his efforts to oppose the aggressive federal immigration crackdown in Chicago last year. He criticized Republicans' agenda, called Trump's presidency an “unmitigated disaster” and vowed to help Democrats across Illinois win in November.

“This is the fight of our lives,” he told supporters at a downtown Chicago hotel. “Everything we care about is under siege from Washington.”

Pritzker also made digs at Republican candidate Darren Bailey, a former state senator whom he handily defeated in 2022.

Bailey, who bested three other Republicans vying for the nomination, said he did things differently this time, including focusing more on Chicago voters.

On the campaign trail and in his victory speech, Bailey criticized Pritzker’s leadership, including blaming him for rising costs. Heading into November, he vowed to include Democrats “who felt left behind.”

“I want to work together to make Illinois government work again at all levels,” he said.

Associated Press journalists Mike Householder in Chicago and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.