NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT : Virginia Puts It on the Line, Beats Notre Dame in Overtime

Bryant Stith, held scoreless for most of the second half, made five free throws in overtime as Virginia beat Notre Dame, 81-76, Wednesday night to win its second National Invitation Tournament title.

The Cavaliers (20-13), who won the NIT with Ralph Sampson in 1980, overcame a career-high 39 points by Notre Dame’s Elmer Bennett, who sent the game into overtime on a leaning three-point basket with 3.8 seconds left in regulation.

After Virginia took a 69-66 lead in overtime on two free throws by Cory Alexander and one by Anthony Oliver, Notre Dame tied the score on a free throw by Bennett and two free throws by LaPhonso Ellis.

Virginia took the lead for good, 70-69, on a free throw by Stith with 2:17 to play and increased the margin to 79-73 on two free throws by Oliver with 17.8 seconds remaining.

Notre Dame (18-15), which lost to Virginia by 27 points at Charlottesville on Jan. 18, cut it to 79-76 on a long three-pointer by Bennett with 10.3 seconds left. But Stith clinched it by making two more free throws with 9.5 seconds to play.

Stith, Virginia’s career scoring leader, finished his last game for the Cavaliers with 24 points after going scoreless for the first 18 1/2 minutes of the second half. Alexander finished with 21 points and Oliver 18.

Ellis scored 20 points for Notre Dame, which entered the NIT with a 14-14 record. Daimon Sweet, the team’s second-leading scorer with a 17.1 average, was held to six points, tying his season low.

The victory made Virginia Coach Jeff Jones the first to win the NIT as both player and coach. He was a guard on the 1980 Virginia team that beat Minnesota for the title.

It was the first NIT final to go into overtime since Tulsa beat Syracuse, 86-84, for the 1981 championship. Notre Dame, which has never won the NIT or NCAA title, lost the 1973 NIT final in overtime to Virginia Tech.

Stith’s short jumper put Virginia ahead, 64-61, with 1:28 to play in regulation. After Ellis made a follow shot with 30 seconds remaining, Stith made two free throws to give the Cavaliers a 66-63 advantage with 15.1 seconds to go.

After a timeout, Notre Dame came downcourt and Bennett made an acrobatic three-pointer over Alexander with 3.8 seconds left to tie the score, 66-66.