Lewis leads tourney-tested VCU past Oregon State, 75-67

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) JeQuan Lewis had 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as 10th-seeded Virginia Commonwealth won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2013 with a 75-67 first-round victory over No. 7 seed Oregon State on Friday.

The tournament appearance is the sixth straight for VCU (25-10), and the experience showed as the Rams led by eight points at halftime and held off a charge by the Beavers in the second half.

Mo Alie-Cox added 20 points and was 7 of 8 from the field in the win, while Melvin Johnson also finished in double figures with 12 points.

Gary Payton II scored 19 points to lead the Beavers (19-13), who were making their first tournament appearance in 26 years, while Derrick Bruce finished with 15 and Drew Eubanks 13.