Fighting Irish win on St. Pat’s Day

Luke Harangody scored four of his 22 points and had a blocked shot during a decisive 10-point run to lead Notre Dame to a 70-64 victory over Alabama-Birmingham in South Bend, Ind., in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday night.

Harangody’s basket inside gave the Irish (19-14) a 60-50 lead. Robert Vaden, who led UAB (22-12) with 24 points, hit back-to-back 3s to cut the lead to 60-56 with 3:50 left. But a three-point play by Harangody ended the run.

The Irish play New Mexico in the second round.

Davidson 70, South Carolina 63: Stephen Curry scored 32 points as the Wildcats (27-7) started their latest postseason tournament with a victory over the Gamecocks (21-10) in Columbia, S.C.

The stage may not have been as large as the Wildcats’ NCAA tournament run a year ago, but Curry was just as spectacular.

The game was tied 51-all after Devan Downey’s driving basket with 9:15 to go. Then Curry scored 13 of the next 15 points over 8 minutes as Davidson took control.

The Wildcats will play Saint Mary’s in the second round.

New Mexico 83, Nebraska 71: Daniel Faris had career highs with 28 points and 13 rebounds, lifting the Lobos (22-11) over the Cornhuskers (18-13) in Albuquerque, N.M.

Faris, a 6-foot-9 center, had a big night against Nebraska, the nation’s smallest Division I lineup. He scored 18 points and collected nine rebounds in the second half.

Kentucky 70, UNLV 60: Jodie Meeks scored 19 points and Patrick Patterson added 16 as the Wildcats (21-13) posted a win over the Rebels (21-11) in Lexington, Ky.

It was Kentucky’s first NIT appearance in three decades.

The Wildcats had appeared in 17 straight NCAA tournaments.

Kentucky will play the Creighton-Bowling Green winner in the second round.

San Diego State 65, Weber State 49: Lorrenzo Wade had 20 points and 10 rebounds as to lead the Aztecs (24-9) to a win over the Wildcats (21-10) in San Diego.

The Aztecs will play the winner of today’s Kansas State-Illinois State game.

Penn State 77, George Mason 73 (OT): Talor Battle scored eight of his game-high 24 points in overtime and tied the game with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation as the Nittany Lions (23-11) held on for a win over the Patriots (22-11) in State College, Pa.

Penn State will play Rhode Island in the second round.

Rhode Island 68, Niagara 62: Kahiem Seawright scored 20 points in the second half – including all 10 for Rhode Island during its critical run – and the Rams (23-10) notched a win over the Purple Eagles (26-9) in Lewiston, N.Y.

Anthony Nelson scored 14 for the poor-shooting Purple Eagles, who finished 21 of 59 from the field and 7 of 27 in 3-point attempts.