NEW YORK -- Tony Carr scored 21 points, Shep Garner added 18 while breaking a school record for career three-pointers and Penn State routed Mississippi State 75-60 in the National Invitational Tournament semifinals Tuesday night.
The fourth-seeded Nittany Lions (25-13) will play No. 2 seed Utah for the championship Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
After the score was tied 9-9, Penn State ended the first quarter on a 9-2 run. From there, the Nittany Lions opened the second with a 19-0 spurt capped by Garner's three-pointer off an assist from Carr to make it 37-11.
Penn State was up 42-23 at halftime and led by as many as 27.
Mississippi State (25-12) wasn't able to get within 20 until there was 7:56 left in the game. Abdul Ado's dunk made it 65-47, but that was the closest the Bulldogs got before the waning moments.
Mississippi State was led by Tyson Carter's 19 points off the bench. Ado had 13 points and seven rebounds.
Lamar Stevens scored 17 points for Penn State. Carr had six assists and five rebounds.
While the Nittany Lions would have preferred to play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, they made the NIT for the first time under seventh-year Coach Pat Chambers. Penn State is back in the NIT title game for the first time since 2009, which it beat Baylor for the crown.
UTAH 69,
W. KENTUCKY 64
Justin Bibbins scored 19 points and Utah beat Western Kentucky in the other semifinal Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Sedrick Barefield added 14 points for the Utes (23-11), who advanced to the NIT championship game for the third time. They will play Thursday night against Penn State.
David Collette had 13 points and 7 rebounds for second-seeded Utah. Tyler Rawson scored 12, including a three-pointer that put the Utes ahead to stay with 38.1 seconds left.
Justin Johnson had 24 points for No. 4 seed Western Kentucky (27-11). Lamonte Bearden added 12 and Dwight Coleby scored 10.
The game went back and forth throughout and wasn't decided until the final seconds. Utah took a 66-64 lead when Rawson hit a three-pointer from the right side to snap an 0-for-7 shooting slump for the Utes, who went 8:23 without a field goal.
On the ensuing possession, Bibbins drew a charge against Bearden and knocked down two free throws. Johnson missed a straightaway three-pointer at the other end, and Barefield's free throw with five seconds to go made it 69-64.
At a glance
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT
At Madison Square Garden, New York
All times Central
TUESDAY'S SEMIFINAL GAMES
W. Kentucky vs. Utah, (n)
Penn State vs. Mississippi State, (n)
THURSDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
Sports on 03/28/2018