Bigger crowd watches Jacksonville's afternoon session

Close games and large crowds: Jacksonville sports officials likely can't ask for much more from Thursday afternoon's games.

The afternoon session of LSU vs. Yale and Maryland vs. Belmont drew an official attendance of 12,429, with the arena filling up during the course of the day.

That's roughly a 5 percent increase from the total of 11,780 for the Thursday early session in 2015, the last time the NCAA Tournament came to Jacksonville. The afternoon slate that time included Baylor, Georgia State, Xavier and Ole Miss.

Bolles grad Williams makes return

It wasn't a lot of action, but Bolles graduate Austin Williams did get the chance to play NCAA Tournament basketball in his hometown.

The Yale junior came off the bench and played four minutes during the second half of the Bulldogs' 79-74 loss to third-seeded LSU in the East Regional.

Williams did not attempt a shot and recorded only one statistic, a defensive rebound, but his stint helped spark a Yale comeback from a deficit of 18 points.

His plus/minus of plus-1 ranked behind only Paul Atkinson and Azar Swain on the Yale roster.

LSU nullifies All-Ivy pick

Among Yale’s starters, guard Miye Oni had the most difficulty trying to make an impact offensively.

Despite coming into the NCAA Tournament with a team-leading 17.6 scoring average, the Ivy League player of the year was held to five points on 2-of-16 shooting, 1-of-10 from 3-point range. LSU's Marlon Taylor did a good job crowding Oni, forcing him take difficult shots.

"I thought Marlon did a good job really being there on the catch and making it difficult for him to get to the rim," LSU acting coach Tony Benford said.

Scoreboard switch annoys fans

What unites LSU, Yale, Maryland and Belmont fans?

Changing the channel. They don't like it.

The boo-birds came out in force when the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena scoreboard cut away from the dramatic finish to No. 5 Auburn's Midwest regional against No. 12 New Mexico State in Salt Lake City.

Instead, the scoreboard returned to on-court action of the Belmont-Maryland game after giving fans a brief — too brief — glimpse of the closing stages of Auburn's thriller.

With Auburn leading 78-76 and 1.7 seconds to go, the Tigers fouled New Mexico State's Terrell Smith on a 3-point try. Smith missed the first free throw, sank the second and missed the third, which ricocheted off Auburn to give the Aggies one more chance at the victory.

But the video board abruptly returned to Belmont and Maryland as they returned from a media timeout, and fans who had become engrossed in the 5-12 contest voiced their displeasure.

As it turned out, New Mexico State's Trevelin Queen missed a 3-point attempt as time expired, allowing the SEC champion Tigers to escape 78-77.

Around the arena

All media members escaped injury after LSU forward Emmitt Williams careened into the press row against Yale, knocking down at least one reporter and sending snacks, beverages and equipment flying. ... LSU's victory over Yale was the only one of the Jacksonville matchups to occur previously. Yale had beaten LSU 97-94 in the 1969 Rainbow Classic in Hawaii, overcoming 34 points by Pete Maravich. ... Team gear spotted in and around the arena wasn't limited to schools playing in Jacksonville. In addition to the predictable Florida and Florida State, teams including Oklahoma State, Santa Clara and Xavier were represented in fans' apparel choices. ... With three blocks in his first five and a half minutes against Yale, Kavell Bigby-Williams was temporarily on pace to break LSU's single-game block record of 12, set by Shaquille O'Neal in 1990. Bigby-Williams finished with four blocks.