Oakland broke open a tight game behind Rawle Marshall's 29 points and Cortney Scott's 21 to beat Alabama A&M 79-69 Tuesday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the University of Dayton.

The Golden Grizzlies (13-18) won their sixth game in a row, including three upsets in as many days last week by a combined seven points to take the Mid-Continent Conference title, giving them a berth in the field of 65.

Now they have a first-round game against top-seeded North Carolina on Friday night — in Charlotte, no less.

Oakland became only the fifth team with a losing record to win an NCAA Tournament game, following Bradley in 1955 and the last three years at the Dayton opening round: Siena in 2002, UNC-Asheville in 2003 and Florida A&M a year ago.

Obie Trotter scored 24 points, and Joseph Martin added 22 for Alabama A&M (18-14).

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