SAN FRANCISCO -- Harold Arceneaux scored 34 points -- nearly half of his team's total to lead Weber State to a 72-66 overtime victory over Rice in the opening game of the Northwestern Mutual Classic.
The two-day basketball tournament is hosted by San Francisco in the War Memorial Gym. With the win, Weber advances to meet the winner of the Holy Cross-San Francisco game in Friday night's late game.Arceneaux scored eight of his points in the second overtime on three jump shots and a dunk. A pair of free throws by teammate Eddie Gill in the final 15 seconds were the only other Wildcat points and WSU outscored Rice 10-2 in the second five-minute overtime.
Weber improves to 4-1 overall, while Rice drops to 4-2.
Despite missing all eight of his 3-point shots, Arceneaux finished shooting 14-of-31 from the floor. Gill was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 14 points. Andy Jensen pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds.
With 2 minutes 11 seconds left in regulation, Weber held a seemingly commanding 54-46 lead. But the 'Cats went scoreless the rest of the way as the Owls sent the game into overtime.
In the first OT, a 3-point play by Arceneaux gave Weber a 62-61 lead with six seconds to play. Rice's Mike Wilks went to the line with for two free throws with a second to play, tying the score with his first and sending the game into a second overtime by missing the second.
Top 25
(3) NORTH CAROLINA 63, OLD DOMINION 61: At Charlotte, N.C., Ed Cota rescued sloppy North Carolina with 20 points, including a driving layup with 1.5 seconds left in the Food Lion MVP Classic on Friday night.
Cota added six assists and three steals as North Carolina (8-0) turned back the Monarchs' bid for their first 7-0 start since 1960-61.
OHIO 61, (12) SYRACUSE 55: At Syracuse, N.Y., Sanjay Adell and Shaun Stonerook each scored 16 points Friday night as Ohio University stunned Syracuse in the first round of the Carrier Classic.
It was the first loss for Syracuse (6-1) in the first round of its own tournament.