COLLEGE BASKETBALL / POSTSEASON TOURNAMENTS : NIT ROUNDUP : Virginia Beats New Mexico Behind Stith, 76-71

Bryant Stith’s sore neck wasn’t as bad as Will Scott’s back spasms.

As a result, Scott mostly watched from the bench as Stith scored 24 points to lead Virginia to a 76-71 victory over New Mexico in a National Invitation Tournament quarterfinal game Friday night at Richmond, Va.

Stith, sore from a fall he took against Tennessee on Monday night, had only six points at halftime.

But Scott, the Lobos’ leading scorer and defensive stopper, played only six minutes because of his back.

“We worked hard on Stith,” Coach Dave Bliss of New Mexico said. “Scott usually takes the best player. Ike Williams did a good job but got in foul trouble. Willie Banks is not expected to guard a player that strong or tall.”

The Cavaliers (18-13) made their first 21 free throws and made 24 of 26 for the game, their best performance of the season.

Virginia broke from a 32-32 halftime tie for a 46-38 lead on Stith’s three-point play with 14:49 to play.

New Mexico (20-13) closed the gap to two points on Banks’ two free throws with 8:18 to play.

But Virginia pulled away again when Stith scored six points in an 8-1 run to make it 64-55 with 6:12 remaining. The Lobos could get no closer than five points after that.

Utah 84, Rhode Island 72--Paul Afeaki scored a personal-best 32 points and Jimmy Sto added 20 to lead the Utes at Salt Lake City.

Antoine Davison added 17 points for Utah (23-10). Rhode Island (22-10) was led by Abdul Fox’s 14 points.

Afeaki scored seven points in a 10-0 run to give Utah a 70-62 lead with 3:52 remaining.