NIT Roundup : Oregon State Overcomes New Mexico
Sophomore guard Eric Knox banked in a three-point shot with one second left Friday night to give Oregon State an 85-82 victory over New Mexico in an opening-round game of the National Invitation Tournament at Albuquerque, N.M.
The Beavers (19-10) snapped a six-game losing streak. New Mexico (25-10) lost an NIT opener for the third time in four years.
New Mexico’s Kelvin Scarborough hit a driving layup with 12 seconds left to tie the score, 82-82. Knox brought the ball across midcourt and double-pumped as New Mexico’s Hunter Greene came at him before releasing the shot.
Gary Payton scored 18 points for Oregon State, and Jose Ortiz added 17. Scarborough and Greene each scored 29 for the Lobos.
St. Louis 76, St. Peter’s 60--Monroe Douglass scored 23 points, and the Billikens ousted the Peacocks (21-8) at St. Louis.
The Billikens (25-9) set a school record for victories.
A sellout crowd of 9,029 at Kiel Auditorium saw the Billikens’ first postseason appearance since 1964-65.
Niagara 74, Seton Hall 65--Alex Agudio had 34 points and 11 rebounds as the Purple Eagles (21-9) eliminated the Pirates at Buffalo, N.Y.
The Pirates (15-14) got to within 68-65 on Mark Bryant’s three-point shot with 1:02 left, but Agudio hit four free throws and Gary Bossert added two for Niagara.
Bryant had 19 points for the Pirates and Ramon Ramos added 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Arkansas 67, Arkansas State 64--Freshmen Cannon Whitby and Ron Huery brought the Razorbacks (19-13) from 21 points down in the last 10 minutes, and Mario Credit, another freshman, scored six points in overtime to beat State (21-13) at Fayetteville, Ark.
Huery had 10 of his 14 points and Whitby all of his 8 points in the rally. Credit finished with 15 points.
It was the first basketball game between the schools in 39 years.
Southern Mississippi 93, Mississippi 75--John White scored 21 points as the Golden Eagles trounced the Rebels at Hattiesburg, Miss., in the first game between the schools in 18 years.
Randolph Keys added 20 points for Southern Mississippi (19-11), and Ronnie Sims had 20 for Ole Miss (15-14).