SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI 71, MISSOURI 63
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Neil Watson scored 18 points and Aaron Brown added 16 to help Southern Mississippi beat Missouri in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Southern Mississippi (29-6) has won eight of its past nine games and will play at No. 1 seed Minnesota on Tuesday with the winner going to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Ross scored 22 points while Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson both added 13 for Missouri (23-12), which fell to 2-8 all-time in NIT games.
CLEMSON 50, ILLINOIS 49
CLEMSON, S.C. - Rod Hall made a driving layup with 9.3 seconds left to lead Clemson to a victory over Illinois.
Clemson will host Belmont on Tuesday and the winner will go to New York for the NIT semifinals.
K.J. McDaniels led Clemson (22-12) with 12 points, while Landry Nnoko had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Illinois (20-15) was led by Rayvonte Rice’s 15 points, while Jon Ekey added 11. MINNESOTA 63, ST. MARY’S 55
MINNEAPOLIS - Joey King scored 18 points and top-seeded Minnesota spotted St. Mary’s a big early lead before surging to victory.
Minnesota (22-13) on Tuesday hosts Southern Mississippi with the winner there headed to the tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
DeAndre Mathieu scored 14 and Austin Hollins added 10 for Minnesota (22-13).
Stephen Holt scored 24 points for St. Mary’s (23-12).
Sports, Pages 17 on 03/24/2014