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Florida State, SMU advance to Postseason NIT semifinals

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Wednesday’s two NIT quarterfinal contests came down to last-second shots, with one being missed and another being made. As a result of those outcomes Florida State and SMU advanced to the semifinals to be played Tuesday night in New York. The Seminoles, with George Clinton in attendance (he and FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton are friends), held on to beat Louisiana Tech 78-75 after nearly blowing an eight-point lead in the game’s final 38.9 seconds.

Aaron Thomas accounted for 21 points and nine rebounds and Okaro White added 20 points and eight rebounds for Florida State, which managed to limit the Bulldogs to 35.6% shooting from the field. What made things tougher than they needed to be for Florida State was their turnover count, with the Seminoles committing 15 against Louisiana Tech’s pressure defense. Next up for the Seminoles is Minnesota, which beat Florida State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on December 3.

Kenneth Smith led Louisiana Tech with 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, but he and fellow guard Alex Hamilton (nine points) combined to shoot 8-for-26 from the field.

SMU eliminated Cal 67-65, with Nic Moore’s three-pointer with 6.5 seconds remaining being the difference. Markus Kennedy paced the Mustangs, the last team left out of the NCAA tournament field, with 19 points to go along with ten rebounds. SMU won despite the fact that Cal shot 51.6% from the field due to their rebounding, as they managed to grab 51.5% of their misses on the night. SMU will face Clemson in Tuesday’s semifinals.

Cal once again played without senior center Richard Solomon, who missed his third straight game after suffering a concussion. Freshman Jabari Bird led the Golden Bears with 20 points and senior point guard Justin Cobbs added 18 along with seven assists in his final college game.

CBI: Siena, Fresno State advance to championship series

The three-game championship series is set, with Siena and Fresno State advancing with wins on Wednesday. Jimmy Patsos’ Saints defeated Illinois State 61-49 thanks to their solid defense and an standout performance from forward Brett Bisping. Siena limited Illinois State to 30% shooting from the field and 2-for-21 shooting from beyond the arc, and Bisping tallied 20 points and 13 rebounds. Siena will host games two and (if necessary) three of the series, which begins Monday at Fresno State.

The Bulldogs will host the opener, and they clinched their spot with a 71-64 win over Old Dominion. Marvelle Harris scored 20 points but the big difference was at the foul line, where Fresno State outscored the visiting Monarchs by 19 points (27-8). Four Bulldogs scored in double figures, and as a team Rodney Terry’s team shot 52.6% from the field.

CIT: Pacific, VMI and Yale reach semifinals

Three of the four spots in the CIT semis were determined Wednesday, with two of the games being decided by a total of five points. VMI held off Ohio 92-90, as Rodney Glasgow scored 30 points and D.J. Covington added 29 to go along with 11 rebounds to pace the Keydets. Nick Kellogg scored 30 points and Maurice Ndour added 26 to lead the way for the Bobcats. VMI’s opponent in Friday’s semifinal round will be Yale, which beat Ivy League rival Columbia 72-69 at Levien Gym. Javier Duren scored 33 points and nine rebounds to lead the visiting Bulldogs.

Pacific will play the winner of Thursday’s Murray State/Towson matchup as a result of their 75-60 win over WCC foe San Diego. Andrew Bock scored 23 points and Tony Gill added 18 and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, which lost to the Toreros by 15 points back on February 15 in Stockton (the road team won both regular season meetings). Duda Sanadze scored 16 points off the bench for San Diego.

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