Drew Gordon had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the No. 5 seed New Mexico Lobos to a 75-68 win over the No. 12 Long Beach St. 49ers in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament at the Rose Garden in Portland. The Lobos advanced to face the No. 4 seed Louisville Cardinals on Saturday.
Casper Ware led Long Beach State (25-8) with 17 points and dished out six assists in his final college game. Fellow senior T.J. Robinson had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds for the 49ers, who shot 43.1% for the game. Long Beach State shot 39.5% in the second half.
New Mexico led at halftime 33-29. Kendall Williams had 16 points and five assists for the Lobos (28-6), who shot 50% for the game.
Guard Larry Anderson, also a senior for Long Beach State returned after missing three games with a sprained right knee, but had just five points in 17 minutes of play.
For more on the Long Beach 49ers, visit our team page. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.