CBI Quarterfinals are set

CBI Quarterfinals are set

March 16, 2016

It was a busy night in the CBI as the First Round came to a close.

Duquesne, Eastern Washington, Ohio, Nevada, Seattle, UNCG, and Vermont all won and will join Morehead State in the quarterfinals of the ninth annual College Basketball Invitational on Monday.

In what has become the norm in the CBI, all eight First Round games were decided by eight points or less with the average margin of victory 4.8 ppg.

In Pittsburgh, the CBI record book exploded as Duquesne and Omaha exchanged baskets before the Dukes emerged with a 120-112 win.

The 120 points scored by Duquesne and the 112 points scored by Omaha are the top two scoring outputs in the nine-year history of the CBI. The previous single game record was 102 points scored by Creighton in a 2011 match with Davidson. The record for combined points in a game was also set in that affair as Davidson tallied 92 points.

Duquesne (17-16) was led by Derrick Colter who registered 28 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Jordan Robinson came off the bench to tally 17 points while Eric James, L.G. Gill, and Micah Mason each netted 16 points.

The Dukes made the most of their chances, connecting on 37-of-59 (.627) field goals, including 12-of-24 from three. They also made 34-of-44 (.773) free throws.

Omaha (18-14), which trailed 51-32 at the half and proceeded to score 80 second half points (also a CBI record), received 37 points from Devin Patterson, who recorded the second-most points ever in a CBI game. Tim Smallwood had 20 points, Jake White scored 15 points, Randy Reed tallied 13 points, and Tra-Deon Hollins and Tre’Shawn Thurman had 11 points each with Hollins also posting seven rebounds and nine assists, and Thurman pulling down seven rebounds.

Duquesne will play at Morehead State, an 84-80 winner at Siena, on Monday.

In Athens, Ohio, Treg Setty scored nine of his 30 points in overtime as Ohio outlasted Albany, 94-90.

With Ohio leading 77-74 after a pair of Jaaron Simmons’ free throws, Albany’s Evan Singletary connected on a three-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation to knot the game at 77 and send it into overtime. Setty then took over, making two three-pointers and three free throws to carry the Bobcats to the victory.

Simmons had 15 points and 10 assists for Ohio (22-11), while Kenny Kaminski netted 14 points, Jordan Dartis had 12 points, and Antonio Campbell posted 11 points and eight rebounds.

Albany (24-9) was led by Singletary’s 19 points and six rebounds. Mike Rowley had 16 points and nine rebounds, Ray Sanders tallied 15 points, and Joe Cremo added 11 points.

Ohio will host UNCG on Monday.

In Greensboro, UNCG picked up its first-ever postseason tournament victory in recording a 69-65 win over Houston Baptist.

The win improves the Spartans’ record to 15-18 on the season, marking their most victories since posting a 19-12 record in 2007-08.

UNCG rallied from a six-point second half deficit and broke the game open with a 20-2 second half run before holding off the Huskies down the stretch.

Francis Alonso led the way with a game-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting to add to his UNCG freshman scoring record, currently at 435 points. Diante Baldwin added 16 points and four assists and R.J. White scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Houston Baptist (17-17) was limited to just 37.1 percent (23-of-62) shooting from the field, including 8-of-19 (.421) from three. Anthony Odunsi posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds while Colter Lasher added 12 points and Jourdan Stickler chipped in 10 points.

In Cheney, Wash., the only time Eastern Washington and Pepperdine played prior to the CBI was on March 14, 1946, when the Wave took a 46-42 decision in the quarterfinals of the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.

It may have been 70 years ago, but Eastern Washington finally avenged that loss as the Eagles took down Pepperdine, 79-72.

Bogdan Bliznyuk recorded 25 points and 11 rebounds for Eastern Washington (18-14), who gave head coach Jim Hayford a win in his 500th career game. Austin McBroom tallied 24 points and Felix Von Hofe added 14 points and nine rebounds.

Pepperdine (18-14) was paced by Lamond Murray, Jr., and his 24 points and eight rebounds. Jett Raines had 13 points and Amadi Udemyi had 10 points and six assists.

Eastern Washington will play Monday at Nevada.

In Reno, Nevada did not take its first lead until 2:28 remained in the game and then held on to defeat Montana, 79-75.

Trailing 66-65, Nevada’s Lindsey Drew hit a jump shot with 2:28 to play to give the Wolf Pack a 67-66 lead. It did not last long as Montana’s Walter Wright put the Griz up 68-67 with a lay-up with 1:47 to go. But Drew again came through, this time hitting a three-pointer with 1:35 remaining to give Nevada the lead for good at 70-68.

Drew ended the game with 16 points and six assists. D.J. Fenner led the Nevada (20-13) with 24 points while Cameron Oliver had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Wright netted 14 points and handed out seven assists for Montana (21-12). Martin Breunig paced the Grizzlies with 20 points and eight rebounds. Jack Lopez also scored 20 points with Mario Dunn adding 10 points and six assists.

In Burlington, Vt., Kurt Steidl posted 20 points and 11 rebounds as Vermont withstood a strong second half comeback to defeat Western Carolina, 79-74.

In a battle of Catamounts – the only two Division I programs with that nickname – Vermont took a 37-24 halftime lead, primarily on 14-of-30 (.467) shooting in the first half while WCU was 8-of-33 (.242). However, Western Carolina came out of the locker room with a new spirit and outscored Vermont, 15-2, to knot the game at 39. Vermont came back and never trailed.

Joining Steidl in double figures for Vermont (22-13) was Trae Bell-Haynes with 16 points. Darren Payen added eight points and five blocked shots.

Western Carolina (16-18) was led by Torrion Bummitt and his 20 points. Mike Brown recorded 15 points and eight rebounds and Justin Browning had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Vermont will travel to the play Seattle on Monday.

In Seattle, there were 11 lead changes and six ties before Seattle emerged with a 68-63 win over Idaho.

Brendan Westendorf led everyone with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jaden Cohee tallied 18 points, Jack Crook had 12 points and seven rebounds, and William Powell netted 11 points.

Idaho (21-13) was paced by Perrion Callandret and his 18 points. Arkadiy Mkrtchyan had 15 points and Victor Sanders and Chad Sherwood scored 11 points each.

Seattle’s 10-of-19 (.526) effort from three helped push the Redhawks to the win as Idaho was just 6-of-19 (.316).

Share this Post