Illini Lose; Henson Bids Farewell

NIT

Brian Williams made three free throws in the final 30 seconds to lead Alabama (17-11) past Illinois (18-13) 72-69 in a first-round National Invitation Tourmament game at Champaign, Ill.

The loss - Illinois’ second in a row in games where it had led by double digits - marked the last game for Lou Henson, who retired after 21 seasons at Illinois and 34 seasons overall.

“It’s kind of sad to go out the way we went out, but we’re not quite good enough to beat the clubs we’re going up against,” Henson said. “If we were, we’d win these games. The story of this ball club is great effort and a great bunch of guys.”

Henson finishes with a 423-224 record with the Illini and 663-331 overall.

Minnesota 68, Saint Louis 52

At Minneapolis, Bobby Jackson scored 17 points for Minnesota and David Grim added 15 as the Golden Gophers (19-12) overcame the disappointment of an NCAA snub to beat Saint Louis (16-14) 68-52.

The victory was the fourth straight for Minnesota, which was stunned and angry after being passed over by the NCAA despite winning seven of its final nine Big Ten games.

Tulane 87, Auburn 73, (OT)

At Auburn, Ala., LeVeldro Simmons scored 26 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime as the Green Wave (19-9) topped the Tigers (19-9).

Auburn, which trailed 42-28 at the half, staged an incredible comeback, going 8 of 17 from 3-point range and outscoring Tulane 43-29 after the intermission.

Charleston 55, Tennessee 49

At Knoxville, Tenn., the Cougars (25-3) held the Volunteers (14-15) to 31 percent shooting and got their first-ever postseason win.

The score was 37-37 with 10:02 left before Charleston outscored the Vols 8-2 over the next 3:07. Rodney Conner tipped in a missed shot, and Stacy Harris made a 3-pointer during the spurt. Tennessee got no closer than three the rest of the way.

Rhode Island 82, Marist 77

At South Kingstown, R.I., Tyson Wheeler scored 24 points and Antonio Reynolds added 18 for the Rams (19-13) in a win over the Red Foxes (22-7).

S. Carolina 100, Davidson 73

At Columbia, S.C., Larry Davis scored 33 points to propel the Gamecocks (18-11) past Wildcats (25-5).

Davis made 12 of 13 shots and was perfect on seven 3-pointers as the Gamecocks pulled away from Davidson, the winningest team in the NIT.

Ill. St. 73, Mt. St. Mary’s 49

At Normal, Ill., Maurice Trotter scored 18 points as the Redbirds (21-11) outshot and outran Mountaineers (21-8). < Wisconsin 55, Manhattan 42

At Madison, Wis., Sam Okey scored all 11 of his points in the second half as the Badgers (17-14) rallied from a nine-point deficit to beat the Jaspers (17-12).

Vanderbilt 86, Ark.-Little Rock 80

At Nashville, Tenn., Frank Seckar scored 25 points and Vanderbilt (18-13) went 12 of 14 at the free-throw line in the final 3:05 to beat Arkansas-Little Rock (23-7).

Malik Evans added 17 points for Vanderbilt, Pax Whitehead had 11 and Howard Pride 10.

Missouri 89, Murray St. 85

At Columbia, Mo., Sammie Haley scored a career-high 31 points, including the decisive basket with 16 seconds left for the Tigers (18-14) in a win over the Racers (19-10).

Fresno St. 58, Miami (Ohio) 57

At Fresno, Calif., Dominick Young scored 18 points, including a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left, and the Bulldogs (21-10) hung on to beat the Redskins (21-8).