European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 19, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 28 stars and stripes monday March 19 2007 Mcaa tournament East Reginai horns Durant delivers a message Texas super Frosh scores 27 in first round Victory Over new Mexico St by Gregg Bell the associated press Spokane Wash Kevin Durant had just finished beating new Mexico state in the Mcaa tournament his Lon armed Tippins smooth Pivot moves sudden pull up jumpers and blocked shots had Aba scouts chuckling court Side so what did the Texas longhorns Candi Date for National player of the year do immediately upon getting to the locker room even be fore sitting Down scream cry smile nope he checked his waiting text messages he is after All still Only 18 on the court no one could Tell Hes just a teenager Durant 27 Points eight rebounds key blocked shots rousing steals and general beyond Isears dominance led the no 4 seed longhorns to a 7967 Victory Over the Gritty let seeded aggie in the first round of the East regional on Friday night it feels great just to be a part of it i feel blessed Durant said of the Mcaa tournament that my friends had already played in and thanks to his seventh consecutive 25point game he gets to play again on Sun Day for the right to take his manchild game to East Rutherford no and the regional semifinals Hes a different freshman said Reggie Theus the former Aba Allstar who led new Mexico state into the Mcaa tournament Only two seasons after the aggie went 624 he has the Ball in his hand a lot Hes get Ting a look at the Basket at least every other time Down court and when you have that you create your own destiny even though he went the first 12 minutes of the second half without a Field goal he made 11 of 12 free throws in the second half and 15 of 16 Overall Texas 259 made 25 of 26 free throws so Durant screwed something up after All Well we expect him to make them All you know coach Rick Barnes deadpanned fittingly Durant who entered Friday As the Only player in the country to rank in the top 10 in scoring 256 Points per game and re bounding connected on two free Elaine Kevin Durant congratulates teammate a Abrams 3 after Texas beat new Mexico state 7967 in the first round off the East regional on Friday in Spokane Wash Durant had 27 Points throws after his rebound with left that put Texas ahead 7566 and essentially ended the game after new Mexico state 259 ral lied from 12 Down to take a 6057 Lead on two free throws by hat Ila Passos with to go Durant a pro Theus said and pros know How to adjust i will Tell you from my own personal experience that when youre Able to draw fouls you will be a great scorer and of course you know lets be honest the referees take care of him a Little bit and Hes earned that right Durant classmate do Augustin had 19 Points and seven assists and Sophomore a Abrams added 16 Points for the longhorns who Start four freshmen and have seven on their 12man roster us has its own firs year Star in Gibson by Tim Booth the associated press Spokane Wash Taj Gib sons performance was a Strong argument for giving the lanky for Ward a shot against fellow fresh Man Kevin Durant with most of the country Al ready tuned out Gibson finished with 18 Points and eight rebounds in fifth seeded Southern califor Nias 7760 first round Mcaa tournament Victory Over Arkansas on Friday night now comes a sunday matchup with fourth seeded Texas in the East regional and a showcase for Gibson against Durant the player Many consider the Best in the country us coach Tim Floyd wanted a full night of sleep or night mares before figuring out How to contain Texas talented firs year Star Gibson was yield ing to his coach wishes whatever coach says goes Gibson said so if that Chance comes it Doest really matter Gibson the Brooklyn kid who joined Floyd on the West coast controlled the Interior As us 2411 overcame the 12thseed de decided height advantage he scored 12 in the first half and roamed the Lane defensively with three blocks while altering a handful of other shorts Gibson was the Best player on the court for most of the first round game he got a lot of easy stuff and didst Force it Arkansas Center Steven Hill said they had some Success in the Post and continued to ride it out and we never could really put a Seal on that the Razorbacks 2114 got 15 Points from their own Star fresh Man guard Patrick Beverley but saw a second straight season end unhappily in the first round of the tournament this was Arkansas Chance to build More Job Security for coach Stan Heath and prove it really be longed in the tournament after being picked As one of the final Bubble teams in a decision that enraged fans at Syracuse Drexel and elsewhere the Razorbacks failed on both measures getting off to a Quick Start and out hustling us for the first couple minutes but falling behind by double digits after 15 minutes then never making a serious run it left Heath to answer some predictable questions i know there Are sources and speculations and people who have All the answers he said but the Guy who is in charge my Boss he Hast changed since Ive first been Here Gibson was front and Center while us was taking the Lead for Good with a 16footer a Dunk a Layup and a couple free throws during an Early 100 run he finished 7for10 from the floor he was helped plenty by Junior swing Man Nick Young who hit for 20 Points Young answered every charge by the Razorbacks scoring 11 Points in the second half and never letting Arkansas climb Back in the game Youngs Dunk and free throw for a three Point play put us up 5743 with minutes left and the rest of the game was just a matter of playing out the string Gabe Pruitt another Junior who might test the Aba Waters had 11 Points and four assists we started the game off right at Taj and he usually does some thing with it Pruitt said he set the tone on both ends playing de sense and offence and we just fed off it Sonny Weems had 13 Points for Arkansas and teammate Charles Thomas who came off the Bench after spraining his ankle in the Southeastern conference tournament had 10 Arkansas was widely consid ered one of the last a Large bub ble teams to make the tournament along with Stanford those two lost first round games by a combined 37 Points sometimes you have those games where it just Doest work out Heath said tournament glance opening round at Dayton Ohio tuesday March 13 Niagara 77 Florida 69 East regional first round thursday March 15  Boston College 84 Texas tech 75 Georgetown 80 Belfont 55 Michigan St 61 Marquette 49 North Carolina 86 e Kentucky 65 at Sacramento Calif Washington state 70 Oral Roberts 54 Vanderbilt 77 George Washington 44 Friday March 16 at Spokane Wash Texas 79 new Mexico state 67 Sou California 77 Arkansas 60 second round saturday March 17 at Winston Stem no Georgetown 62 Boston College 55 North Carolina 296 is Michigan St 2311 at Sacramento Calif Washington St 267 is Vanderbilt 2111 sunday March 18 at Spokane Wash Texas 259 is Sou California 2411 regional semifinals at East Rutherford no Friday March 23 Georgetown 286 is Washington St Vanderbilt regional championship sunday March 25 South regional first round thursday March 15 at Lexington by Louisville 78 Stanford 58 Texas 68 Penn 52 Ohio St 78 Central Connecticut 57 Xavier 79 Brigham Young 77 Friday March 16 at Columbus Ohio Virginia 84 Albany 57 Tennessee 121 Long Beach St 86 at new Orleans Memphis 73 n9rth Texas 58 Nevada 77 Creighton 71 second round saturday March 17 at Lexington by Ohio St 78 Xavier 71 of Texas 72 Louisville 69 sunday March 18 at Columbus Ohio Virginia 2110 is Tennessee 2310 at new Orleans Memphis 313 is Nevada 294 regional semifinals at san Antonio thursday March 22 Ohio state 323 is Texas 276 regional championship saturday March 24 Midwest regional first round thursday March 15 at Buffalo by Maryland 82 Davidson 70 Butler 57 old Dominion 46 Friday March 1c at Chicago univ 67 Georgia tech 63 Wisconsin 76 Texas 63 at Spokane Wash Winthrop 74 notre Dame 64 Oregon 58 Miami Ohio 56 at new Orleans Purdue 72 Arizona 63 Florida 112 Jackson St 69 second round saturday March 17 at Buffalo by Butler 62 Maryland 59 sunday March 18 at Chicago Wisconsin 305 is at Spokane Wash Oregon 277 is Winthrop 294 at new Orleans Florida 305 Purdue 2211 regional semifinals at St Louis Friday March 23 Butler 296 is Florida Purdue regional championship sunday March 25 West regional first round thursday March 15 at Buffalo nyva Commonwealth 79 Duke 77 Pittsburgh 79 Wright state 58 at Sacramento Calif Urcla 70 Weber state 42 Indiana 70 Gonzaga 57 Friday March 16 at Chicago Kansas 107 Niagara 67 Kentucky 67 Villanova 58 at Columbus Ohio Virginia tech 54 Illinois 52 s Illinois 61 holy Cross 51 second round saturday March 17 at Buffalo by Pittsburgh 287 is a Commonwealth at Sacramento Calif Urcla 275 is Indiana 2110 sunday March 18 at Columbus Ohio s Illinois 286 is a tech 2211 at Chicago Kansas 314 is Kentucky 2211 regional semifinals at san Jose Calif thursday March 22 regional championship saturday March 24 final four at Atlanta National semifinals saturday March 31 East Champion is South Champion Midwest Champion is West Champion National championship monday april 2