• DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Keenan Evans #12 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives against Ty Charles #4 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) Photo: Ronald Martinez / 2018 Getty Images
Photo: Ronald Martinez
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DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Keenan Evans #12 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives against Ty Charles #4 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) less
DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Keenan Evans #12 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders drives against Ty Charles #4 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball ... more
Photo: Ronald Martinez

Dallas

Keenan Evans scored 19 of his 23 points after halftime and third-seeded Texas Tech surged late to top Stephen F. Austin 70-60 Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Big 12 runner-up Red Raiders (25-9) closed the game on a 13-2 run. Evans drove for a layup with 3:58 left, putting Texas Tech ahead to stay in the East Region game.

When Evans split defenders with just more than a minute left, he paused briefly to give a quick pose to the camera under the basket.

Evans had only four points in the first half, all on free throws while going 0-for-4 from the field. But he also ignited the highlight play of the night, chasing down an offensive rebound past midcourt and then throwing an alley-oop pass to 6-foot-5 freshman Zhaire Smith, who made a 360-degree spin in the air while completing the dunk.

SFA (28-7), the Southland Conference Tournament champion, led by eight points early in the second half and was trying to take down a Big 12 opponent in an NCAA opener for the second time in three seasons. The Lumberjacks beat West Virginia in their previous tournament appearance two years ago before losing to Notre Dame.

Ivan Canete had 17 points to lead SFA, while Shannon Bougues had 14, Kevon Harris 12 and TJ Hoyfield 10.

Loyola-Chicago 64, Miami 62: Donte Ingram hit a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer, lifting Loyola-Chicago to a thrilling South Region win over Miami in its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 33 years. Ingram's shot from well above the key — from the edge of the March Madness logo that spans midcourt, in fact — came after Lonnie Walker IV missed a free throw with a chance to give the Hurricanes a three-point lead with nine seconds remaining.

Tennessee 73, Wright St. 47: Admiral Schofield had 15 points and 12 rebounds as Tennessee advanced to the second round in the South Region. Lamonte Turner had 19 points and a career-high nine assists for Tennessee (26-8), SEC co-champions in the regular season after being picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the 14-team league.