RUSTON, La. -- Raheem Appleby (Jacksonville) scored 22 points and Jacobi Boykins added 18 and Louisiana Tech beat Central Michigan 89-79 in the opening round of the NIT on Tuesday night.
Appleby led Louisiana Tech (26-8) to its third consecutive NIT opening round victory. The senior trio of Appleby, Michale Kyser and Kenneth Smith won their 100th game, the most of any senior class in school history.
NIT at glance
FIRST ROUND
TUESDAY’S GAMES
George Washington 60, Pittsburgh 54 Miami 75, NC Central 71 Rhode Island 88, Iona 75 Louisiana Tech 89, Central Michigan 79 Tulsa 70, William & Mary 67 Alabama 79, Illinois 58 Murray State 81, UTEP 66 Texas A&M 81, Montana 64 UC Davis at Stanford, (n)
TODAY’S GAMES
All times Central
Arizona State at Connecticut, 6 p.m. Bucknell at Temple, 6 p.m. Charleston Southern at Old Dominion, 6:15 p.m. St. Francis (NY) at Richmond, 6:30 p.m. Green Bay at Illinois State, 7 p.m. Vanderbilt at Saint Mary’s (Cal), 8 p.m. South Dakota State at Colorado State, 9 p.m.
Central Michigan (23-9), which has never won a game in the NIT, made its first postseason appearance since 2003. The Chippewas made 6 of 23 three-pointers (43.8 percent) after averaging 10.2 per game.
Louisiana Tech won its 30th consecutive game at home in front of the school's eighth-largest all-time crowd of 6,904.
Central Michigan was led by Chris Fowler's 21 points while Braylon Rayson added 20 and Rayshawn Simmons had 18.
In other NIT games Tuesday night, Levi Randolph had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to help Alabama (19-14) beat Illinois (19-14) 79-58 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Alabama played its first game without coach Anthony Grant, who was fired Sunday afternoon and replaced by interim coach John Brannen. The Crimson Tide shot 59.6 percent from the field overall, including 8 of 15 from threepoint range. Rodney Cooper added 19 points. Malcolm Hill led Illinois with 22 points and six assists. Alabama trailed for only 13 seconds in the game, falling behind 4-3 early in the first half. The Crimson Tide will face Miami in the second round. … Jalen Jones scored 25 points and Texas A&M (21-11) ran away with an 81-64 victory over Montana (20-13) in College Station, Texas. Texas A&M will host Louisiana Tech in the second round. … Jarvis Williams had 25 points and 14 rebounds to lead Murray State (28-5) to a 81-66 victory over Texas-El Paso (22-11) in Murray, Ky. … Marquel Curtis scored a career-high 21 points and Tulsa (23-10) held off William & Mary (20-13) 70-67 in Tulsa. … E.C. Matthews and Jared Terrell each scored 18 points and Rhode Island (23-9) beat Iona (26-9) 88-75 in Kingston, R.I. … Manu Lecomte made 10 of 11 free throws and scored 18 points, Shelton McClellan added 15 and Miami (22-12) moved into the second round by beating North Carolina Central (25-8) 75-71 in Coral Gables, Fla. … Kethan Savage scored 17 points and Patricio Garino had 14 to lead George Washington (22-12) to a 60-54 victory over Pittsburgh (19-15) in Pittsburgh.
GEORGE WASHINGTON 60, PITTSBURGH 54
PITTSBURGH — Kethan Savage scored 17 points and Patricio Garino had 14 to lead George Washington to a victory over Pittsburgh. George Washington (22-12) advances to face the winner of Temple and Bucknell. Cameron Wright had 11 points for Pittsburgh (19-15) and Jamel Artis added 10.
MIAMI 75, N.C. CENTRAL 71
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Manu Lecomte made 10 of 11 free throws and scored 18 points, Sheldon McClellan added 15 and Miami moved into the second round of the NIT by holding off North Carolina Central. Tonye Jekiri scored 11 points and Deandre Burnett had 10 for Miami (22-12), who saw a 14-point lead with 6:43 left cut to two on three occasions in the final seconds. Jordan Parks scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half for N.C. Central (25-8). Nimrod Hilliard scored 19 and Karamo Jawara finished with 10 for the Eagles.
RHODE ISLAND 88, IONA 75
KINGSTON, R.I. — E.C. Matthews and Jared Terrell each scored 18 points and Rhode Island beat Iona. Biggie Minnis had 13 points for the Rams (23-9) while T.J. Buchanan and Jarvis Garrett each scored 10. Garrett had 10 assists, and Hassan Martin and Earl Watson grabbed 11 rebounds apiece. A.J. English led Iona (26-9) with 28 points and David Laury added 26.
Sports on 03/18/2015