CHARLOTTE, N.C. — UMBC made NCAA tournament history Friday night.

The University of Maryland-Baltimore County, the America East tournament champion, became the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed with a 74-54 victory against Virginia.

Nick Ward of Michigan State lands on his head Friday night after colliding with Kimbal Mackenzie of Bucknell during the second half of Michigan State's 82-78 victory at Detroit. Associated Press/Paul Sancya

Maryland-Baltimore County players celebrate during the second half of their 74-54 win over top-ranked Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night in Charlotte, N.C. Associated Press/Gerry Broome

This was a shocker.

Virginia (31-3) was the unanimous No. 1 team in the AP poll.

They were no match for the Retrievers (25-10), especially after halftime. The score was 21-21 at the half.

UMBC wasn’t even the America East regular-season champion, finishing second to Vermont, then stunning the Catamounts with a last-second 3-pointer in the tournament final last Saturday.

Virginia couldn’t get anything generated on offense, and the nation’s top-ranked defense allowed its most points this season.

Senior guard Jairus Lyles was the catalyst.

He diced up Virginia’s defense in the second half, getting to the basket easily on six different occasions and making easy layups. He also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as UMBC built a 16-point lead.

Lyles scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half, and Joe Sherburne finished with 14 points.

The game was tied at halftime, but the Retrievers came out confident and motivated in the second half and built a double-digit lead that Virginia could never erase.

Sherburne scored on an and-one drive and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key after a behind-the-back pass from KJ Maura. After Virginia made a foul shot, the shifty 5-foot-8, 140-pound Maura drove the lane for uncontested layup.

A Tony Bennett timeout couldn’t stop the bleeding, as Lyles hit two more 3’s and Sherburne hit one to extend UMBC’s lead to 14 with 14:57 left in the game. Lyles was fouled on a 3-point shot and suddenly the Retrievers led by 16.

A corner 3-pointer and a layups off a fastbreak by Arkel Lamer gave UMBC its biggest lead at 67-48. From there, the party was on as chants of “UMBC” rang through the arena.

It was yet another early exit for the Cavaliers in a season that seemed to hold so much promise.

KANSAS STATE 69, CREIGHTON 59: Barry Brown scored 18 points and ninth-seeded Kansas State (23-11) beat No. 8 Creighton (21-12) at Charlotte, North Carolina.

NEVADA 87, TEXAS 83: Caleb Martin scored 18 points and made two huge 3-pointers in overtime as Nevada (28-7) rallied to beat Texas (19-15) at Nashville, Tennessee.

CINCINNATI 68, GEORGIA STATE 53: Jarron Cumberland had 27 points and 11 rebounds as second-seeded Cincinnati beat 15th-seeded Georgia State (24-11) at Nashville, Tennessee.

EAST

PURDUE 74, CAL STATE FULLERTON 48: Carsen Edwards scored 15 points and second-seeded Purdue (29-6) eventually shook off the rust from a long layoff and routed 15th-seeded Cal State Fullerton (20-12) at Detroit.

WEST VIRGINIA 85, MURRAY STATE 68: Jevon Carter scored 21 points, had eight assists and six steals, Teddy Allen added 16 points and No. 5 seed West Virginia (25-10) overwhelmed 12th-seeded Murray State (26-6) at San Diego.

BUTLER 79, ARKANSAS 62: Kelan Martin scored 27 points and Kamar Baldwin added 24 to lift 10th-seeded Butler (21-13) over seventh-seeded Arkansas (23-12) at Detroit.

MIDWEST

MICHIGAN STATE 82, BUCKNELL 78: Miles Bridges scored 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help second-seeded Michigan State (30-4) over 15th-seeded Bucknell (25-10) at Detroit.

AUBURN 62, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 58: Jared Harper made a clutch 3-pointer with 1:17 to go – his only basket – and fourth-seeded Auburn (26-7) held off No. 13 seed College of Charleston (26-8) at San Diego.

WEST

TEXAS A&M 73, PROVIDENCE 69: Tyler Davis had 14 points and 15 rebounds, and Robert Williams added a double-double to help Texas A&M (21-12) beat Providence (21-14) at Charlotte, North Carolina.

NORTH CAROLINA 84, LIPSCOMB 66: Kenny Williams scored 18 points and second-seeded North Carolina (26-10) took its time before opening up, beating 15th-seeded Lipscomb (23-10) at Charlotte, North Carolina.

XAVIER 102, TEXAS SOUTHERN 83: J.P. Macura scored a career-high 29 points as top-seeded Xavier (29-5) routed No. 16 seed Texas Southern (16-20) at Nashville, Tennessee.

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