Roman CBI First Round comes to an end

Roman CBI First Round comes to an end

March 20, 2019

The First Round of the Roman College Basketball Invitational came to a close on Wednesday with home teams dominating play.

In the game of the night in Tampa, South Florida came back from a 25-point deficit to defeat Stony Brook in overtime, 82-79.

Trailing 48-23 in the first half, USF came back to eventually tie the score at 56-56 with 6:24 remaining in regulation before sending the game into overtime tied at 66.

In the extra session, David Collins opened the scoring with a 3-pointer that gave the Bulls a 69-66 lead that they would not relinquish. Collins ended the game with a career-best 31 points to go along with seven steals – the third-highest total in CBI history. Alexis Yetna posted 15 points and 14 rebounds and Michael Durr added 13 points.

Stony Brooks was led by Jaron Cornish and his 21 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. Akwasi Yeboah had 19 points, Miles Latimer netted 14 points, and Elijah Olaniyi had 13 points.

In Morgantown, Jermaine Haley tallied 24 points as West Virginia pulled away to capture a 77-63 win over Grand Canyon.

Emmitt Matthews Jr. and Lamont West scored 11 points apiece and Derek Culver had seven points and 10 rebounds for WVU.

The Mountaineers led 36-32 at the half, increasing their lead to as many as 18 with 4:13 to play.

Grand Canyon was paced by the 13-point effort of Oscar Frayer and Damari Milstead, who had 12 points.

In Chicago, DePaul became just the fifth CBI team to reach the 100-point mark in recording a 100-86 win over Central Michigan.

Matt Strus became the 10th player in CBI history to score at least 33 points in leading the Blue Demons to the victory. He also hauled down six rebounds. Eli Cain posted 20 points, six rebounds, and seven assists while Paul Reed had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Devin Gage added 14 points.

DePaul dominated the paint, outscoring CMU 60-36 in that category.

The Chippewas were led by Larry Austin Jr. and his 20 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. David DiLeo scored 20 points, Shawn Roundtree had 16 points and five assists, Rob Montgomery tallied 14 points, and Kevin McKay scored 12 points.

In Conway, Tyrell Gumbs-Frater scored 22 points and Zac Cuthbertson posted 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead Coastal Carolina to an 81-72 come-from-behind victory over Howard.

The Chanticleers trailed 36-31 at the intermission before pulling away with a 50-point second half. The Chants owned a 53-34 rebounding margin, including recording 20 offensive rebounds in the game while outscoring the Bison 15-2 on second chance points.

Howard received 17 points from Charles Williams, 14 points and eight assists from R.J. Cole, and 10 points from Kyle Foster.

In Providence, Brown led from start to finish in taking an 83-78 decision from UAB.

The win is the 20th on the year from the Bears, marking the first time in school history they have reached that plateau. It also marks the school’s first-ever postseason win.

Obi Okolie led the Bears with 26 points. Joshua Howard had 15 points and six assists, Zach Hunsaker netted 12 points, Chris Sullivan had 11 points, and Tamenang Choh registered 10 points and eight assists.

Brown pretty much won the game from behind the arc, outscoring the Blazers 45-21 on 3-pointers.

UAB received a team-high 19 points as well as eight rebounds from Lewis Sullivan. Tyree Grayson-Scott had 17 points and eight rebounds, Zack Bryant posted 14 points and six rebounds, Makhtar Gueye recorded 12 points and nine rebounds, and Jalen Perry scored 10 points.

In Farmville, playing in its first-ever postseason game, Longwood took it to Southern Miss, posting a 90-68 decision.

The Lancers shot 30-of-57 from the field, including 18-of-34 from three. They were also 12-of-13 from the foul line.

Jaylon Wilson led all players with 23 points and eight rebounds. Shabooty Phillips had 19 points and seven assists, Spencer Franklin netted 12 points, and Damarion Geter posted 11 points and six rebounds.

The Golden Eagles received 17 points from Gabe Watson and 11 from Anfernee Hampton.

In Riverside, Mattias Markusson hit a basket and foul shot with 33.2 seconds left to give Loyola Marymount a 56-55 win at California Baptist.

Just prior to Markusson’s 3-point play, Zach Pirog gave CBU its first lead of the second half when he hit a pair of free throws to put the Lancers up 55-53. Markusson then drew the foul and made the old fashion 3-point play to give LMU the lead for good.

Markusson ended the game with 13 points and six rebounds. Eli Scott and Demeane Douglas each netted 10 points for LMU.

CBU, which was playing its first-ever Division I postseason game, was led by Milan Acquaah and his 13 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Heading also scored 13 points while Jeremy Smith added 11 points.

The Roman CBI resumes on Monday with Quarterfinal Round games. West Virginia will host Coastal Carolina in a game featuring two coaches – Bob Huggins and Cliff Ellis – who combine for exactly 1,700 career wins. Utah Valley will travel to South Florida, DePaul will be at home to Longwood, and Brown travels to Loyola Marymount.

The four winners will advance to the semifinals on either Wednesday, March 27 or Thursday, March 28.

About Roman
Roman is a direct-to-consumer telehealth company that handles everything from diagnosis to the convenient delivery of medication for many common male health conditions. Rated one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2019 and featured in The New York Times, Tech Crunch, Men’s Health, and Forbes, Roman is working hard to help men tackle their health issues.

About the Gazelle Group
The College Basketball Invitational is produced by the Gazelle Group of Princeton, N.J. The Gazelle Group is a sports marketing firm, specializing in event production and management, client representation, and sponsorship consulting. Gazelle produces numerous nationally-recognized events, such as the Empire Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project, Legends Classic presented by Old Trapper, the Sunshine Slam, and the Gotham Classic. For more information on the Gazelle Group, please visit gazellegroup.com

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