Miami (FL) 75, Arkansas 71

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- With the same determination it used to gain an NCAA Tournament berth, No. 11 seed Arkansas almost pulled out a victory with the same resiliency. <br><br>Sixth-seed Miami

Saturday, March 18th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- With the same determination it used to gain an NCAA Tournament berth, No. 11 seed Arkansas almost pulled out a victory with the same resiliency.

Sixth-seed Miami held off a late charge by Arkansas and picked up the second NCAA Tournament victory in school history with a 75-71 triumph in a South Region first-round contest.

The Hurricanes (22-10) led 72-59 with 94 seconds left when the Razorbacks made their charge. T.J. Cleveland and Charles Tatum each buried 3-pointers and Teddy Gipson's layup with 18 seconds remaining closed the gap to 72-69.

Mario Bland hit 1-of-2 free throws to put Miami ahead by four with 23 seconds left. Following a missed 3-pointer by Joe Johnson, James Jones' breakaway dunk with 4.7 seconds left put the game away for the Hurricanes.

Miami, which defeated Lafayette last season for its first NCAA Tournament win, will face Ohio State on Sunday in the second round.

Johnny Hemsley paced the Hurricanes with 20 points, John Salmons added 16 and Bland 14.
Arkansas (19-15) would not have qualified if it did not pick up four victories in as many days to capture the Southeastern Conference tournament title.

Sergerio Gipson scored 14 points and Johnson added 13 for the Razorbacks, who had their streak of nine straight first-round victories in the NCAA Tournament snapped.