Ricky Harris scored 24 points, and Massachusetts pulled ahead late for a 59-56 victory over host Charlotte on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Harris hit three from 3-point range and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line - including 4-of-4 during a key stretch in the final minute - to send the 11th-seeded Minutemen (12-19) on to face third-seeded Richmond in a quarterfinal game Friday night in Atlantic City, N.J.
An'Juan Wilderness had 11 points and Ian Andersen 10 for the sixth-seeded 49ers (19-12), who denied head coach Bobby Lutz a chance to win his 400th career game on his home court.
More A-10: In other first-round games, Dayton defeated George Washington 70-60; St. Bonaventure topped Duquesne 83-71; and Rhode Island stopped St. Joseph's 87-76.
In Friday's quarterfinals, Dayton will face Xavier; St. Bonaventure will meet Temple; and Rhode Island will take on Saint Louis.
Also Tuesday
More tournaments
Big East
South Florida 58, DePaul 49: Dominique Jones had 20 points as South Florida (20-11) beat DePaul (8-23) in the tournament opener at New York for its fourth straight victory.
St. John's 73, Connecticut 51: Sean Evans scored 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead St. John's (17-14) past Connecticut (17-15).
Seton Hall 109, Providence 106: Herb Pope had 27 points as Seton Hall (19-11) held off Providence (12-19).
Big Sky
Montana 68, Northern Colorado 63: Anthony Johnson scored 19 points, and Will Cherry scored 10, including a jumper with 24 seconds left, as Montana (21-9) scored the final six points to defeat Northern Colorado (24-7) in the tournament semifinals at Ogden, Utah.
Weber State 69, Portland State 60: Damian Lillard had 23 points, Franklin Session added 13 points and eight rebounds and top-seeded Weber State (20-9) held off Portland State (13-19) to advance to the tournament final against Montana.
Horizon
No. 12 Butler 70, Wright State 45: Shelvin Mack scored all 14 of his points in the first half, and Matt Howard had 14 points as Butler (28-4) routed Wright State (20-12) in the title game at Indianapolis.
Butler extended the nation's longest winning streak to 20 and heads into NCAA play as the only Division I team to complete a perfect conference season.
MEAC
Bethune-Cookman 64, Florida A&M 53: C.J. Reed had 23 points and five assists, and Bethune-Cookman (17-15) defeated Florida A&M (9-22) in the first round at Winston-Salem.
N.C. A&T 65, Howard 55: Nic Simpson scored 21 points as N.C. A&T (11-21) defeated Howard (7-25) in the first round of the tournament.
Summit
Oakland, Mich. 76, IUPUI 64: Derick Nelson scored a career-high 36 points and slow-starting Oakland, Mich., (26-8) defeated IUPUI (24-10) in the championship game at Sioux Falls, S.D., to advance to the NCAA tournament.
Sun Belt
North Texas 66, Troy 63: Josh White's shot from near the free-throw line with 22 seconds remaining gave North Texas (24-8) a win over Troy (20-12) in the tournament championship game at Hot Springs, Ark.
