NIT: UMass slips past Alabama

Chris Lowe’s pull-up jumper with 1.6 seconds left in overtime gave Massachusetts an 89-87 victory over Alabama in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday in Amherst, Mass.

Stephane Lasme led UMass with 21 points and nine blocked shots, while Lowe added 19 points. Mykal Riley had 24 points to lead Alabama, including a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer to force overtime.

Alabama (20-12) took an 85-84 lead early in the extra session, but Gary Forbes converted a three-point play to put UMass ahead 87-85 with 1:15 to go. After both teams missed shots, Demetrius Jamison scored inside to tie it before Lowe hit his game winner.

The Minutemen (24-8) advanced to play at West Virginia in the second round Thursday night.

Marist 67, Oklahoma State 64: At Stillwater, Okla., Will Whittington scored 30 points and the Red Foxes (25-8) upset the Cowboys (22-13).

Marist, seeded seventh in the East Regional, became the third non-conference opponent to win at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the Cowboys’ last 140 games against such teams. The Red Foxes advanced to play North Carolina State in the second round.

Florida State 77, Toledo 61: At Tallahassee, Fla., Al Thornton scored 24 points to lead the Seminoles (21-12) to a victory over the Rockets (19-13).

The Seminoles will host Michigan on Thursday.

North Carolina State 63, Drexel 56: At Philadelphia, Engin Atsur and Ben McCauley each scored 16 points to lead the Wolfpack (19-15) to a win over the Dragons (23-9).

Brandon Costner’s three-point play late in the game sealed the win for the Wolfpack.

West Virginia 74, Delaware State 50: At Morgantown, W.Va., Frank Young scored 17 points and Alex Ruoff added 14 as the Mountaineers (23-9) rolled over the Hornets (21-13).

West Virginia had a 16-0 run at the end of the first half and led 39-13 at the break.

Jahsha Bluntt led Delaware State with 19 points.

Michigan 68, Utah State 58: At Ann Arbor, Mich., Jerret Smith scored 15 points and freshman DeShawn Sims had a career-high 14 to help the Wolverines (22-12) top the Aggies (23-12).

Mississippi State 82, Mississippi Valley State 63: At Starkville, Miss., Charles Rhodes had 21 points and four blocks as the Bulldogs (19-13) cruised past the Delta Devils (18-16).

Carl Lucas had a game-high 22 points for MVSU, the regular-season Southwestern Athletic Conference champs.

The Bulldogs will play the winner of today’s Providence-Bradley game.