MEN’S NIT

First triple-double helps TCU advance

TCU 86, RICHMOND 68

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Vlad Brodziansky scored 20 points, Kenrich Williams had the first triple-double in TCU history and the Horned Frogs rolled over Richmond 86-68 on Tuesday night to win their bracket of the NIT and advance to the Final Four for the first time.

Williams had 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for TCU (22-15), which was seeded fourth and knocked out top-seeded Iowa in the second round. Desmond Bane added 13 points and Alex Robinson had 12.

The Horned Frogs, under first-year Coach Jamie Dixon, will play the Central Florida-Illinois winner in Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.

T.J. Cline had 33 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for the sixth-seeded Spiders (22-13), De'Monte Buckingham had 11 points and Khwan Fore 10.

Brodziansky had six points in an early 11-0 run that put TCU up 21-9 and added another basket and two free throws to help push the lead to 32-15 with 4:39 left in the first half. He had 16 points and Williams had 9 with 10 rebounds as the Frogs shot 50 percent and led 41-26 at the break.

After six quick Richmond points cut it to nine, TCU went on a 13-1 run with Brandon Parrish, JD Miller and Bane hitting threes. Richmond never challenged after that, even though Cline scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting.

GEORGIA TECH 74,

MISSISSIPPI 66

OXFORD, Miss. — Ben Lammers had 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting and added 8 blocks, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to lead Georgia Tech to the final four with a victory over Mississippi. Josh Okogie led the Yellow Jackets (20-15), who were seeded sixth in their bracket, with 26 points and Quinton Stephens had 10 points with seven rebounds.

Georgia Tech never reached the semifinals in eight previous NITs and faces the winner of Cal State Bakersfield-Texas Arlington at Madison Square Garden next Tuesday.

Sebastian Saiz had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-14), who beat top-seeded Syracuse in the second round. Terence Davis added 15 points and Cullen Neal had 13. Georgia Tech scored the first four points and never trailed, leading 39-30 at halftime. Two free throws and a layup by Okogie had the Yellow Jackets up 56-42 with 12:36 to play. Ole Miss never got closer than four for the remainder of the game.

NAIA

TEXAS WESLEYAN 86, LIFE 76

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dion Rogers scored 28 points, Ryan Harris added 21 and Texas Wesleyan defeated Life University to win its second NAIA championship.

Naiel Smith had 17 points and six assists while Najeal Young had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the third-seeded Rams (29-7), who also won the championship in 2006. Rogers, who went 11 of 13 from the foul line and grabbed eight rebounds, received the Chuck Taylor Award as the tournament MVP.

Rogers opened the game with a three-pointer, followed with a steal, and Texas Wesleyan grabbed two offensive rebounds before Young scored for the Rams, who never trailed and led 35-23 at halftime.

Life (26-11) closed within 49-44 on a three-pointer by Jonathan Beausejour with 11:02 to play. The Rams responded with 10 consecutive points, the last four by Smith, and the lead remained in double figures.

Life, shooting for its fourth title but first since 2000, was led by Dalarian Williams with 25 points and Zach Landis with 21 and 11 rebounds. The Running Eagles knocked off top-seeded and unbeaten LSU-Alexandria 65-63 in the semifinals to reach its fifth championship game.

At a glance

QUARTERFINALS

TUESDAY’S GAMES

TCU 86, Richmond 68 Georgia Tech 74, Mississippi 66

TODAY’S GAMES

All times Central

Illinois (20-14) at UCF (23-11), 6 p.m. CS Bakersfield (24-9) at Texas-Arlington (27-8), 8 p.m.

SEMIFINALS

At Madison Square Garden New York TUESDAY, MARCH 28

TCU (22-15) vs. Illinois-UCF winner, 6 or 8:30 p.m. Georgia Tech (20-15) vs. CS Bakersfield-Texas Arlington winner, 6 or 8:30 p.m.

Sports on 03/22/2017

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