Melbourne United’s greatest March Madness moments - Part 1

Written by Melbourne United Media 

As the NCAA tournament fast approaches, let’s take a look back at some of the greatest March Madness performances from Melbourne United players.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Rayjon Tucker - 2017

Long before they joined forces to form one of the most exciting backcourts of NBL23, Rayjon Tucker and Xavier Rathan-Mayes battled it out in the First Round in 2017.

It was a close game throughout featuring a collection of future NBA talent such as Terrence Mann, Jonathan Isaac, Dwayne Bacon and Brandon Goodwin.

Despite being the underdogs, Tucker’s Florida Gulf Coast Eagles fought hard, with Tucker giving his side a 29-28 lead in the first half following a three-pointer.

In the end however, XRM and Florida State proved too good, with the Canadian guard scoring all 10 of his points in the final 10 minutes of action to complete an 86-80 win.

Rathan-Mayes - 10 points, five assists, five rebounds, one steal.
Tucker - Eight points, one block, one steal.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr - 2017

Despite it being his first taste of the NCAA tournament, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr didn’t shy away when presented with an opportunity to get buckets.

Taking the court as part of a talented Baylor team, which entered the tournament as a 3-seed in their region, JLA went right to work against New Mexico State.

The big man commanded the paint, scoring 16 points, pulling down five rebounds, three of which came on the offensive end, and sending away three shots.

The Bears went on to pick up another victory in the Round of 32, beating USC, before ultimately falling to South Carolina and their trio of future NBA players, Sindarius Thornwell, PJ Dozier and Chris Silva.

Lual-Acuil Jr - 16 points, five rebounds, three blocks.

Jock Landale - 2017

After spending his first two years at Saint Mary’s playing post-season basketball in the NIT, Jock Landale jumped at the opportunity to perform on the national stage when the Gaels faced off with VCU in the first Round of the 2017 tournament.

Landale was a force, playing all 40 minutes of the 85-77 victory and leading his side in scoring with 18 points.

Landale was equally impressive in the next round, however his side would fall short on continuing its tournament run, going down 60-69.

Landale - 18 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, two blocks.

Peter Hooley - 2015

While not technically occurring in the NCAA tournament, we couldn’t leave this off the list. After an emotional few weeks following the death of his mother, Hooley sank a spectacular last second shot to win Albany the America East Conference tournament and send the Great Danes to the big dance.

While he wasn’t able to repeat his heroics as Albany went down in the first round to Oklahoma, Hooley still had a strong showing, battling with future NBA star Buddy Hield in a hard-fought 60-69 loss.

Hooley - 15 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal.

Marcus Lee - 2014

As a freshman on a stacked Kentucky team for the 2013-14 season, Marcus Lee sparingly saw the court.

Heading into the Wildcats’ huge Elite Eight matchup with the Michigan Wolverines, Lee had only taken the court for a single minute across the course of the tournament.

His number was called quickly in the colossal battle and Lee didn’t disappoint, tallying 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in just 15 minutes off the bench, providing a much-needed boost for Kentucky as they claimed the win and moved onto the Final Four.

The Wildcats would reach the Championship game, but fell just short against the UConn Huskies, going down 54-60.

Lee - 10 points, eight rebounds, two blocks in 15 minutes.