NIT Roundup

Louisville nips pesky Princeton 66-65 in wild finish

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Reece Gaines banked in a jumper with 5.3 seconds left and scored 23 points to lift Louisville to a 66-65 win over Princeton in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday night.

The Cardinals (19-12) led by as many as 10 in the second half, but Princeton used 3-point shooting to set up a frantic finish.

Louisville pushed a two-point halftime lead to 10 points in the second half, before Princeton hit four consecutive 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to 59-58 by the three-minute mark.

The Tigers, who lead the nation in scoring defense, held Louisville without a field goal for 6 minutes, but the Cardinals shot 11-for-14 from the line to keep the lead.

Bryant Northern made a 3-pointer with 1:54 left to give the Cardinals a 62-58 lead.

Ray Robins hit two free throws with 1:35 remaining, but Luke Whitehead countered with a pair 20 seconds later.

Erik Brown fouled Mike Bechtold on a 3-point attempt with a minute left, and Bechtold hit all three free throws to make it 64-63.

Persia scored on a backdoor layup with 11.9 seconds left to give Princeton a 65-64 lead.

Gaines then dribbled the length of the floor and banked in an off-balance jumper.

Ahmed El-Nokali's desperation shot from midcourt bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

The Tigers finished 12-for-25 from 3-point range - the most 3-pointers made by a Louisville opponent this season. Princeton went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc in the second half.

Bechtold shot 6-for-11 from 3-point range and scored 24 points to lead Princeton, which was making its seventh straight postseason appearance.

Freshman point guard Carlos Hurt, out since Jan. 9 with a bulging disk in his back, entered the game with 11:57 left in the first half to a loud ovation. He finished with six points in 10 minutes.

Louisville will play the winner of Wednesday's Temple-Fresno State game in the second round.

UNLV 96, Arizona St. 91

Marcus Banks added 23 points, and Lou Kelly scored 19 for the Rebels (21-10).

Awvee Storey led Arizona State (14-15) with 29 points. Curtis Millage added 21 points and Jason Braxton 17. Chad Prewitt finished with 16 rebounds.

UNLV shot 13-for-14 from the line in the last 2 minutes to hold off a comeback bid by the Sun Devils, who rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second half.

UNLV shot 53 percent (32-of-60) from the field and 82.8 percent (24-of-29) from the line. Arizona State shot 34-for-76 from the field (44.7 percent) and 2-for-12 from 3-point range.

UNLV will next play the winner of Wednesday's game between South Carolina and Virginia.

Saint Joseph's 73, George Mason 64

Saint Joseph's (19-11) advances to a first round game against Ball State, a 98-92 winner over South Florida.

George Mason, which lost in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, finished the season 19-10.

Nelson scored 15 of Saint Joseph's last 19 points. He shot 11-for-12 from the line in the final 3:51.

Marvin O'Connor scored 14 points, and Bill Phillips added 10 points and 14 rebounds for the Hawks.

John Larranaga led George Mason with 22 points. Jesse Young scored 13 of his 19 points in the first half and finished with eight rebounds.

Saint Joseph's played without starting guard Na'im Crenshaw, who was suspended for one game by coach Phil Martelli for disciplinary reasons. Crenshaw, the Hawks' second-leading scorer, averages 14.3 points.

Ball St. 98, South Florida 92

Theron Smith added 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals (21-11), who trailed by 10 early in the second half, but tied it at 60 midway through. Williams was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all the free throws for a 63-60 lead.

Patrick Jackson hit a 3, then Williams added two free throws and a basket and the run was on. Billy Lynch and Smith both hit 3s during the spurt as the Cardinals put the disappointment of being left out of the NCAA tournament behind them.

Ball State's next NIT game is against Saint Joseph's, which beat George Mason on Tuesday night.

Lynch added 10 points and Lonnie Jones grabbed 10 rebounds for Ball State, which snapped a seven-game postseason losing streak. It was the Cardinals' first victory since advancing to the round of 16 in the 1990 NCAA tournament.

Altron Jackson scored a season-high 30 points for the Bulls (19-13) and Reggie Kohn had 18, including six 3-pointers. B.B. Waldon had 18 points and Will McDonald 12.

Williams, whose previous high was 31, sealed the win with two free throws. He went 10-for-19 from the field and made 14 of 16 free throws.

Montana St. 77, Utah St. 69

Aaron Rich added 17 points and Damir Latovic scored all nine of his points in the second half as Montana State (20-8) avenged two earlier defeats to USU (23-8) and won its first NIT game ever.

Conway, a reserve who played only 22 minutes, was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and countered the Aggies' inside dominance.

The USU interior players, Desmond Penigar (25 points) and Jeremy Vague (18 points), combined for 43 points but the Aggies could not stop the Bobcat jump shooters and slashes to the basket.

The Bobcats shot 53 percent, the first time an Aggie opponent has shot over 50 percent in 17 games.

Utah State got within 72-69 with 29.5 seconds left but the Aggies were assessed a technical foul two seconds later when the crowd threw debris onto the court.

James Erickson made both free throws and the Bobcats sealed the victory with three more foul shots down the stretch.

The Aggies lost for just the second time in their last 47 home games and have not won an NIT game since 1960.

The Aggies beat the Bobcats twice early in the season, but the second contest wasn't decided until the final minute and MSU has posted a 17-5 record since the Utah State losses.

On Friday, Montana State, which lost to Arkansas 101-76 in its only other NIT appearance in 1987, will play the winner of Wednesday's Wagner-Richmond game.

 

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