ST. LOUIS >> Rick Rickert and Maurice Hargrow each scored 15 points to lead Minnesota to a 62-52 victory against Saint Louis in the first round of the NIT last night. Minnesota wins,
will host HawaiiStar-Bulletin news services
Minnesota (17-12) advances to play Hawaii at home Monday. The win snapped a five-game losing streak for Minnesota.
Saint Louis, winner of its last five home games, finished its season at 16-14. The last time Minnesota and Saint Louis met was in a first-round NIT game in 1996, and Minnesota won that game 68-52.
Jerry Holman scored 13 points for the Golden Gophers. Chris Sloan led Saint Louis with 13 points.
Down by 16 in the second half, the Billikens used a 16-6 run to get back in the game and were down just 47-42 with 8:27 left. Drejaj make three 3-pointers during the run.
Saint Louis would only get as close as four points, at 51-47 with 4:10 remaining.
Iowa St. 76, Wichita St. 65: At Ames, Iowa, Jake Sullivan scored 23 points and Tim Barnes hit four 3-pointers to lead a 16-3 second-half run as the Cyclones (17-13) defeated the Shockers (18-12).
Western Michigan 63, Illinois-Chicago 62: At Kalamazoo, Mich., Mike Williams scored 10 of the Broncos' last 17 points and had a key rebound in the final minute in an opening-round game. Anthony Kann scored 19 points, leading four Western (20-10) players in double figures.
Cedrick Banks and Armond Williams each scored 18 for Illinois-Chicago (21-9).
Georgia Tech 72, Ohio State 58: At Atlanta, Chris Bosh scored 18 points as the Yellow Jackets (15-14) topped the Buckeyes (17-15).
St. John's 62, Boston U. 57: At New York, Willie Shaw scored 14 points and Marcus Hatten added 12 points for the Red Storm (17-13), who are making their 27th NIT appearance and have won it a record five times.
Rashad Bell scored 18 points for the Terriers (20-11).
UAB 82, Louisiana-Lafayette 80: At Birmingham, Ala., Eric Bush scored three baskets in the final three minutes to lead the Blazers (20-12) past the Ragin' Cajuns (20-10). Gabe Kennedy led UAB with 19 points.
Rhode Island 61, Seton Hall 60: At Kingston, R.I., Dawan Robinson made a 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to lead the Rams (20-10) to a come-from-behind victory over the Pirates (17-13).
College of Charleston 71, Kent St. 66: At Kent, Ohio, Thomas Mobley had 12 of his 20 points in the second half for the Cougars (25-7), who overcame a three-point halftime deficit to defeat the Golden Flashes (21-10).
Providence 67, Richmond 49: At Richmond, Va., Rob Sanders had 16 points, and the Friars (17-13) held the Spiders (15-14) to 29 percent shooting.
Texas Tech 66, Nevada 54: At Lubbock, Texas, Andre Emmett scored 18 points to help the Red Raiders (19-12) eliminate the Wolf Pack (18-14).
San Diego St. 67, UC Santa Barbara 62 OT: At San Diego, Tommy Johnson hit a 3-pointer with 1:14 left to put the Aztecs (16-13) ahead for good. Mark Hull scored a game-high 28 points for the Gauchos (18-14).
Virginia 89, Brown 73: At Charlottesville, Va., Travis Watson had 29 points and 12 rebounds and the Cavaliers (16-15) ended a 13-game postseason losing streak dating to 1995 with a win over the Bears (17-12).
