National Invitation Tournament Roundup : Fresno State Wins in Triple Overtime

Fresno State defeated Santa Clara, 79-76, in triple overtime Thursday night at Fresno to advance to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Mark Gustin made two free throws with three seconds left in the third overtime to ensure the win.

The Bulldogs are expected to play UCLA in the second round next Tuesday or Wednesday.

There were 10 first-round games Thursday night, and there will be four more tonight--Butler at Indiana, Clemson at Tennessee Chattanooga, Fordham at Richmond and Houston at Lamar.

St. Joseph’s 68, Missouri 67--Rodney Blake tipped in a desperation shot at the buzzer as St. Joseph’s (19-11) won at Columbia, Mo. The Tigers (18-14) erased a 17-point halftime deficit and took the lead with five seconds to play when senior center Greg Cavener converted a three-point play. But the 6-8 Blake, who scored 20 points, tipped in a missed shot by guard Jeff Arnold.

Missouri assistant coach Gary Filbert, taking the place of head Coach Norm Stewart, claimed the basket occurred after the buzzer. Stewart had a strained neck and was forced to sit in the stands.

SW Louisiana 65, Florida 64--Cedric Hill hit the winning 16-footer with 2:33 left, and Donald Jacobs swatted away Florida’s second desperation shot with three seconds to go at Lafayette, La. Hill led the Ragin’ Cajuns (17-13) with 22 points. Florida ended its season at 18-12.

Virginia 56, West Virginia 55--Freshman reserve Darrick Simms’ three-point play with 35 seconds left gave the Cavaliers (16-15) the win at Morgantown, W. Va. The Mountaineers (20-9) committed 33 fouls. Virginia’s Jimmy Miller led all scorers with 16 points.

Tennessee 65, Tennessee Tech 62--At Cookeville, Tenn., the Vols’ Fred Jenkins scored on a tip-in with 14 seconds remaining, and then guard Michael Brooks added another field goal with three seconds left to account for the final margin.

Tennessee is 19-14, while Tennessee Tech, the regular-season Ohio Valley Conference champion, ended its season at 19-9.

South Florida 77, Wake Forest 66--Darryl Patterson scored a season-high 25 points as the Bulls (18-11) won at Tampa, Fla. Charlie Bradley added 21. The Deacons finished at 15-14.

Louisville 77, Alcorn St. 75--Barry Sumpter and Billy Thompson each scored 18 points, and Jeff Hall hit four straight free throws late in the game as the Cardinals (17-16) won at Louisville. Alcorn finished at 23-7.

Marquette 77, Bradley 64--Mandy Johnson scored 19 points and Kerry Trotter 17 as the Warriors (19-10) won at Milwaukee. Bradley (17-13) trailed, 34-25, at halftime. Voise Winters led the Braves with 17 points.

Cincinnati 77, Kent State 61--Freshman guard Roger McClendon scored 16 points as Cincinnati (17-13) won at home. Kent State finished 17-13.