FLORIDA STATE 58, FLORIDA GULF COAST 53
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Aaron Thomas scored 22 points as top-seeded Florida State opened the National Invitation Tournament with a victory against Florida Gulf Coast, last year’s NCAA Tournament darling. Bernard Thompson led the Eagles with 16 points and Jamail Jones chipped in 11. Florida Gulf Coast won two NCAA Tournament games as a 15 seed last season. Okaro White scored 17 for Florida State and Montay Brandon finished with eight.
MISSOURI 85, DAVIDSON 77
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Jabari Brown scored 30 points and Earnest Ross added 16 to help Missouri hold off Davidson. After trailing most of the game, Brown converted a free throw with 1:17 remaining to cap a 10-2 Missouri (23-11) run and give the Tigers an 81-74 lead. Davidson’s Tyler Kalinoski hit a three-pointer to end the streak, but the Wildcats could get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
De’Mon Brooks led Davidson (20-13) with a career-high 29 points. The Wildcats ended their season with two consecutive losses after winning 13 in a row to win the Southern Conference regular-season title.
CLEMSON 78,
GEORGIA STATE 66
CLEMSON, S.C. — K.J. McDaniels tied his career high with 30 points and had 14 rebounds to lead Clemson to a victory over Georgia State and its 10th consecutive home NIT victory.
Georgia State (25-9) came in having won the Sun Belt Conference regular-season crown and 22 of its past 24 games. But like other Clemson opponents, the Panthers couldn’t ground McDaniels.
R.J. Hunter led the Panthers with 15 points.
ROBERT MORRIS 89, ST. JOHN’S 79
NEW YORK — Karvel Anderson scored 38 points and Lucky Jones added 25 to help Robert Morris beat St. John’s. Robert Morris improved to 22-13 and will play Belmont in the second round. Jamal Branch scored 22 points to lead the Red Storm (21-13).
GEORGETOWN 77, WEST VIRGINIA 65
WASHINGTON — D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera had a season-high 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Georgetown topped West Virginia in a cozy matchup of former conference rivals. Markel Starks added 14 points, and Jabril Trawick scored 12 for the Hoyas (18-14), who pulled away in the second half in the cramped confines of Georgetown’s 2,500-seat practice gym. The game was played on campus because the circus is in town, occupying the Hoyas’ usual home court, the Verizon Center. Juwan Staten scored 23 points to lead the Mountaineers (17-16).
BELMONT 80, GREEN BAY 65
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Craig Bradshaw scored a career-high 25 points and Drew Winkler added 15 as Belmont (25-9) beat Green Bay (24-7). The Phoenix were without leading scorer and Horizon League player of the year Keifer Sykes, who hurt his left ankle in the conference semifinal loss on March 8. Greg Mays scored 15 points to lead Green Bay.
MINNESOTA 88, HIGH POINT 81
MINNEAPOLIS — Maverick Ahanmisi scored a career-high 21 points, and Minnesota defeated High Point. Joey King had 14 points and seven rebounds. Mo Walker and Andre Hollins each added 13 points for the Gophers (21-13).