Frosh Picks A Fine Time For His Best

T.J. Vines picked the right time to play the best game of his freshman year for Georgia Tech.

Coming off the bench, Vines hit a 3-pointer to start a comeback from a 16-point deficit in regulation, then made a tie-breaking free throw with 11.8 seconds left in overtime Monday night in Atlanta, giving the Yellow Jackets an 80-79 win over Georgetown in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

“Sure, it has to be my best game,” Vines said. “I knocked down all my shots. I think I played good defense and I played hard.

That’s all I can do.”

Dion Glover led Georgia Tech (19-13) with 22 points and Matt Harpring added 20. The Yellow Jackets will play Penn State on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

“Vines was spectacular off the bench,” Tech coach Bobby Cremins said. “T.J. hit some great jumpers.”

Trailing by a point, Georgetown (16-15) had a final chance in overtime after Harpring missed two free throws with 8.7 seconds left, but Rhese Gibson missed a layup in the closing seconds.

“Georgetown completely outplayed us,” Cremins said. “We got the break tonight. The young man had a great shot. I thought it was going to go in. I thought the game was over. And the ball did not go in.”

Shernard Long had 24 points and Trez Kilpatrick 19 for the Hoyas.

Vines, who finished with 12 points, made two other 3-pointers when the Yellow Jackets came back from 16 down with 8:27 left in regulation, and Harpring forced OT when he converted a three-point play to tie it 69-69 with 29.6 seconds left.

In other games, it was Minnesota 79, Alabama-Birmingham 66; Penn State 77, Dayton 74; Marquette 75, Auburn 60 in overtime; and Fresno State 83, Memphis 80.

Minnesota 79, UAB 66

At Minneapolis, Quincy Lewis scored 21 points and Eric Harris had 11 of his 16 in the second half for the Golden Gophers (17-15).

Kevin Clark added 14 of his 17 points after halftime, including two key 3-pointers in the last five minutes. Minnesota plays host to Marquette on Wednesday.

Damon Cobb led the Blazers (21-12) with 15 points.

Penn State 77, Dayton 74

At Dayton, Calvin Booth scored 19 points and tied his school record with 10 blocks to lead the Nittany Lions (17-12).

Pete Lisicky scored 21 points and Jarrett Stephens added 16 and 10 rebounds for Penn State.

Ryan Perryman scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds for the Flyers (21-12).

Marquette 75, Auburn 60 (OT)

At Milwaukee, sparked by freshman Brian Wardle, Marquette erased a five-point deficit in the final 24 seconds of regulation, then scored all 15 points in overtime to beat the Tigers.

The Eagles (20-10) will play at Minnesota on Wednesday.

Freshman Scott Pohlman led Auburn (16-14) with 19 points.

Fresno St. 83, Memphis 80

At Fresno, Calif., Tremaine Fowlkes’ 3-pointer from the right corner as time expired gave the Bulldogs (20-11) the victory over the Tigers (17-12).

Memphis’ coaching staff argued at the scorers’ table that the ball did not leave Fowlkes’ hands until after the buzzer sounded. But the three referees left immediately after the game and the final score stood.