College Basketball Roundup : Bucknell Beats Lafayette to Win East Coast Title

Mike Joseph scored 12 points in the second half, including four free throws in the final minute Tuesday night, as top-seeded Bucknell defeated Lafayette, 71-65, to win the East Coast Conference Tournament championship at Towson, Md.

Bucknell (23-7) advances to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament for the second time in three years.

Missouri Valley Tournament

Creighton 79, Southern Illinois 77--Chad Gallagher scored 25 points and blocked a last-second shot to lead the Bluejays to the conference tournament title at Wichita, Kan.

James Farr made an eight-footer with three seconds left to give Creighton (20-10) the final margin.

Mid-Continent Tournament

Southwest Missouri State 82, Valparaiso--Chris Stange scored 15 points and Kelby Stuckey ignited a 25-8 run to start the second half, as Southwest Missouri State advances to tonight’s final against Illinois Chicago at Springfield, Mo.

Illinois Chicago 91, East Illinois 75--Freshman guard Brian Hill came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points as the Flames (13-16) advanced to the final.

Trans-America Conference

Houston Baptist 78, Georgia Southern 72--Reggie Gibbs scored a tournament-record 43 points, including six free throws in the final 1:12 as the Huskies upset the conference champion to advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament at Little Rock, Ark.

Centenary 76, Mercer 74--Marro Hawkins and Larry Robinson made 20 of 24 shots from the field as Centenary advanced to the semifinals tonight against Houston Baptist.

Stetson 106, Georgia State 63--Randy Anderson scored 13 points and had a tournament-record 17 rebounds to lead Stetson to the semifinals tonight against Arkansas Little Rock.

Arkansas Little Rock 82, Texas San Antonio 79--Derrick Owens scored 19 points, including two free throws with 17 seconds left, as Arkansas-Little Rock won.