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Late Night Snacks: Cal Poly, Tennessee advance in NCAA tournament

richardson

GAME OF THE NIGHT: Towson 63, USC Upstate 60

It isn’t often that a game ends on a half-court shot as time expires, but that was the case in Spartanburg as Four McGlynn’s shot gave Towson the win in the CIT first round matchup. Jerrelle Benimon led the way offensively for the Tigers with 20 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists, helping Towson come back from a 13-point halftime deficit. USC Upstate’s Torrey Craig, who accounted for 14 points and 12 rebounds in the defeat, leaves the school ranked in the top five in Atlantic Sun history in both points (2,128) and rebounds (944).

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES

1) Midwest No. 11 Tennessee 78, Midwest No. 11 Iowa 65

Cuonzo Martin’s Volunteers took control of this one in the extra session, outscoring the Hawkeyes 14-1 in overtime to advance into the 64-team bracket where they’ll play six-seed UMass on Friday. Jarnell Stokes finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds, but the key in the second half was the play of Josh Richardson. Richardson gave the Volunteers a needed spark in the second half, and his 17 points helped supplement the efforts of Stokes and Jordan McRae (20 points). As for Iowa what’s been a very tough week for the program came to a difficult ending in Dayton, and they end the season having lost seven of their final eight games.

2) Midwest No. 16 Cal Poly 81, Midwest No. 16 Texas Southern 69

Make it four in a row for a team that just a week ago was 10-19, having lost nine of their last 11 regular season games. Chris Eversley scored 19 points and David Nwaba added 17 for the Mustangs, who will play one-seed Wichita State in St. Louis on Friday. As a team Cal Poly shot 56.9% from the field, making 64% of their shots inside of the arc against a Texas Southern team that struggled mightily defensively. Aaric Murray led the Tigers with 38 points.

3) SMU 68, UC Irvine 54

For teams who fall short of their goal to reach the NCAA tournament, the question before they begin postseason play in another event is what their motivation will be. For SMU, it took awhile to get going against Big West regular season champion UC Irvine. But after sleepwalking through much of the first half Larry Brown’s team got going in the second, putting together a 23-7 run to take control of the game. Cannen Cunningham scored 17 points and Ben Moore added 11 for SMU, which will host LSU in the second round.

STARRED

1) Rayvonte Rice (Illinois)

Rice accounted for 28 points, eight rebounds and two assists in Illinois’ 66-62 win over Boston University in the first round of the Postseason NIT.

2) Charles Mann (Georgia)

29 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, five rebounds and three assists in the Bulldogs’ 63-56 win over Vermont in the Postseason NIT.

3) Aaric Murray (Texas Southern)

Murray shot 14-for-23 from the field, scoring 38 points in the Tigers’ 81-69 loss to Cal Poly.

STRUGGLED

1) Texas Southern’s other four starters

While Murray proved to be a handful for Cal Poly, the Mustangs were able to keep his fellow starters under wraps. Those four players combined to score nine points on 3-for-13 shooting.

2) Aaron White and Roy Devyn Marble (Iowa)

Marble’s jumper with 18 seconds remaining forced overtime, but overall it was a rough night for Iowa’s leading scorers. Marble and White combined to shoot 4-for-20 from the field, with the former going 3-for-15.

3) Jonathan Williams (Toledo)

Shot 0-for-8 from the field in the Rockets’ 66-59 loss at Southern Miss in a Postseason NIT first round matchup.

NOTABLES


  • Kenneth “Speedy” Smith’s basket with 2.2 seconds remaining gave Louisiana Tech an 89-88 win over Iona in the Postseason NIT. Jaron Johnson and Kenyon McNeail scored 15 points apiece to lead five Bulldogs in double figures.
  • Playing without Richard Solomon, who was forced to sit due to a concussion, California advanced in the Postseason NIT with a 77-64 win over Utah Valley. David Kravish finished with 14 points, ten rebounds and five blocks.
  • Ya Ya Anderson scored 23 points and Javonte Green and R.J. Price added 20 apiece to lead Radford to a 96-92 win at Oregon State in the CBI. The Highlanders scored 57 points in the first half, and their win ends the college career of Roberto Nelson (26 points).
  • Kourtney Roberson scored 14 points and grabbed ten rebounds in Texas A&M’s 59-43 win over Wyoming, with the Aggies limiting the Cowboys to 16 first-half points.
  • D.J. Newbill scored 19 points and Brandon Taylor added 14 as Penn State moved one game closer to the .500 mark with a 69-65 win over Hampton in the CBI.
  • Evan Conti scored 17 points to help lead Quinnipiac to a tight 69-68 win over in-state rival Yale in a CIT matchup. Ousmane Drame added 12 points and 17 rebounds for the winners.
  • Jarvis Williams scored 20 points and grabbed ten rebounds in Murray State’s 66-63 win at Missouri State in a CIT matchup. Steve Prohm’s Racers are now 19-11 on the season.

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