Thursday, March 15, 2012 | 12:34 p.m.
PITTSBURGH — Welcome to March Madness, Las Vegas style.
Rodney McGruder scored 30 points and Jordan Henriquez added 15 points, nine rebounds and six blocks to lead eighth-seeded Kansas State over ninth-seeded Southern Miss 70-64 in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.
With six seconds remaining, Kansas State's Angel Rodriquez made two free throws for the final margin to give Kansas State its second win of the day — at Las Vegas sports books. The Wildcats (22-10) were laying 5.5 points at most books and the total points was 133.5, meaning Rodriquez's shots gave Kansas State the cover and put the game over the total.
The Wildcats advanced past their opening tournament game for the third straight year and will face either Syracuse or UNC-Asheville in the third round on Saturday.
Neil Watson led Southern Miss (25-9) with 16 points, LaShay Page had 15 and Kentucky transfer Darnell Dodson scored all 14 of his points in the second half. But the Golden Eagles let a chance to win their first-ever tournament game slip away in the final minutes.
Southern Miss led by as many as five points in the second half but had no answer when McGruder and freshman point guard Angel Rodriguez keyed a late surge.
Sun Sports Editor Ray Brewer contributed to this report
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