Southern California and UC Davis won First Four games in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday. Here’s a recap of the night’s action:

USC 75, Providence 71

Bennie Boatwright scored 24 points, and USC rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat Providence, 75-71, in a First Four game of the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday night. The 11th-seeded Trojans advanced to face sixth-seed SMU in the East Region in Tulsa on Friday.

After trailing much of the game, Southern Cal (25-9) staged a huge rally, finally taking the lead, 61-60, with 6:46 left. Jordan McLaughlin had 18 points for the Trojans, who lost to the Friars in the opening round of last year’s tournament.

Emmitt Holt led Providence (20-13) with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Lindsey and Rodney Bullock scored 17 each.

UC Davis 67, North Carolina Central 63

North Carolina Central v UC Davis
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Chima Moneke scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as UC Davis beat North Carolina Central, 67-63, in a First Four game of the 2017 NCAA men’s basketball tournament in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday night. With the win, the 16th-seeded Aggies advanced to face top-seeded Kansas in the Midwest Region in Tulsa on Friday.

Brynton Lemar tallied 15 points and Lawrence White added 14 for the Big West champs (23-12).

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Eagles were within 64-63 with 1:49 left, but could not re-take the lead they held at halftime.

Dajuan Graf led North Carolina Central (25-9) with 15 points. Kyle Benton and Patrick Cole had 13 each.

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