The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK — When he got near the pinnacle of the NCAA basketball world with a trip to the Final Four, Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn Jr did what any Bahamian would do under the spotlight on national television - he called his mom.

Nairn and the No.7 Spartans won the East Region and advanced to the Final Four with a 76-70 overtime win yesterday over the No.3 Louisville Cardinals at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The 20-year-old from New Providence is only the third Bahamian to reach the Final Four after Rick Fox (1991) and Magnum Rolle (2006).

“It felt good to hear her voice and I was just listening to her cry. I told her we’re here. We made it to the Final Four,” he said. “I was so hyped, so excited. I just wanted her to see me on TV and let her know I miss everybody back home.”

Nairn, the freshman point guard, finished with three points, three rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes.

Noticeably more aggressive than he had been in previous tournament games, Nairn said his job was to execute the game plan coach Tom Izzo and the staff laid out.

“My coaches told me to be more aggressive. I do whatever they tell me to do. If they need me to facilitate, if they need me to play defence, whatever they need from me, I’ll do,” he said. “It feels good just being able to play the game and to play the game with people I love. It means even more to me to represent my country, shout out to everybody back home. It’s just tough to put words into it, all glory goes to God. We still have a lot of work to do but this is definitely a milestone.”

The Spartans advance to face the Duke Blue Devils, the No.1 seed in the South Region, at 6:09pm in Indianapolis, Indiana, on April 4. The game will be broadcast live on TBS. The Spartans, at No.7, are the lowest seeded team in the field.

Number one seeds Kentucky and Wisconsin will complete the other half of the Final Four bracket.

Travis Trice led the Spartans with 17 points, Denzel Valentine added 14, Bryn Forbes scored 14 and Branden Dawson finished with nine points and a game high 11 rebounds.

It was Dawson’s offensive rebound and putback that gave the Spartans a two-possession cushion, 74-70 with 28 seconds left to play.

“I give the credit to my teammates and I’m glad to be here with them. Everybody worked so hard for this moment,” Nairn said. “It’s been an unbelievable transition, they stuck with me to help me learn the game more and more. It wasn’t easy but we got the job done.”

From the opening tip, Nairn played his role as facilitator when his fastbreak led to a three pointer for Trice and the Spartans’ first score.

His assist to Valentine for an open three pointer gave the Spartans a 22-19 lead with just over eight minutes left to play in the half, but the Cardinals would eventually take a 40-32 lead at intermission.

With Nairn controlling the offence, his only basket of the game was a part of a 9-2 run to open the second half for Michigan State.

The game was tied at 51 at the 8:50 mark on a layup from Matt Costello, but Forbes and Trice followed with back-to-back threes to put the Spartans up six.

Nairn’s high school teammate at Sunrise Christian, Marvin Clark Jr, made the go-ahead layup to give the Spartans a 65-64 lead, but missed a pair of free throws on the next possession that could have put the game away in regulation.

Louisville’s Mangok Mathiang made one of two at the line to force overtime at 65.

Forbes opened the extra period with a three pointer and sparked the Spartans overtime scoring which they won 11-5.

Wayne Blackshear led Louisville with a game high 28 points, including 12-12 at the free throw line. Montrezl Harrell finished with 16 points and Terry Rozier added 13 points, eight rebounds and four steals.