Roundup: Indiana State's season ends with NIT loss

Anthlon Bell set a career high for the second straight home game, finishing with 28 points as Arkansas pulled away for a 91-71 win over Indiana State in the opening round of the NIT on Tuesday night.

The win is the first in the NIT for the third-seeded Razorbacks (22-11) since 1997, the last time the school was in the tournament. It's also Arkansas' first postseason win of any kind since a first-round win in the NCAA tournament in 2008.

Bell, who had 23 points in his last home game, had 18 points in 17 first-half minutes to carry Arkansas. Six players scored in double figures for the Razorbacks, and Bobby Portis had 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Manny Arop led the Sycamores (23-11) with 12 points, while Dawon Cummings and Jake Odum had 11 each. Khristian Smith also finished in double figures with 10.

Indiana State, which was making its school-record fifth straight postseason appearance, finished second to undefeated Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference this season and had a 9-6 road record, including a win at Notre Dame on Nov. 17.

The Sycamores, however, led only once against the Southeastern Conference Razorbacks — who were still smarting after a two-game swoon to end the regular season that kept them out of the NCAA tournament.

Arkansas led by as many as 18 points in the second half after a 3-pointer by Michael Qualls extended the lead to 54-36, and it never let Indiana State close to within fewer than eight points after that.

The Sycamores closed to 69-61 after a 3-pointer by Odum, but the Razorbacks closed out the game on a 22-10 run.

Arkansas led 37-31 at halftime, thanks in large part to the hot shooing of Bell — who scored 23 points in 12 minutes of action in his last game in Bud Walton Arena against Mississippi on March 5.

The sophomore was 7-of-9 shooting and scored 18 points in the first half on Tuesday, sparking a Razorbacks team that was otherwise 5 of 25 from the field. Bell hit 4 of 6 first-half 3-point attempts and added six rebounds in 17 minutes of action, and he now has 51 points in his last 43 minutes of action in Bud Walton Arena.

Alandise Harris came off the bench to score 13 points for Arkansas, which advances to the second round to face the winner of Wednesday's Utah Valley State-California game.

Qualls and Ky Madden had 11 points each, while Coty Clarke had 10. The Razorbacks were 8-of-17 shooting on 3-pointers, led by Bell's 6-of-8 effort from behind the arc.

Albany beats Mount St. Mary's to start NCAA tournament

D.J. Evans scored 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 12.6 seconds left, to lead Albany to its first NCAA tournament victory, 71-64 over Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday night in the First Four.

The Great Danes (19-14) advance to meet overall No. 1 seed and top-ranked Florida on Thursday in Orlando.

It was a wild game of incredible turnarounds, with the Great Danes bolting to leads of 13-0 and 21-2, only to have The Mount (16-17) bounce back with a 21-2 run of its own to pull even.

Peter Hooley had 20 points and Gary Johnson 13 for Albany, winless in its three previous NCAA trips.

Will Miller led The Mount with 21, all on 3s.

N.C. State beats Xavier 74-59 in NCAA tournament

T.J. Warren scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half on Tuesday night, showing why he was the ACC's player of the year, and North Carolina State led most of the way in a 74-59 victory over Xavier in the NCAA tournament's First Four.

N.C. State (22-12) didn't have much time to celebrate. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack headed to Orlando, Fla., for a game on Thursday against St. Louis in the Midwest Regional.

Warren had the most to do with it. The sensational sophomore made up for a freshman tournament flop on the same floor a year earlier, preventing Xavier (21-14) from getting any traction in the second half.

Center Matt Stainbrook led Xavier with 19 points and nine rebounds despite an injured left knee.

Warren and N.C. State took all the drama out of it in the last 11 minutes, helping the Wolfpack pull away.

Indiana Wesleyan wins national championship

Jordan Weidner scored 21 points, leading the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (31-6) to a 78-68 victory over Midland in the NAIA Division II national championship game in Point Lookout, Mo. R.J. Mahurin scored 19 points and Lane Mahurin added 11. Zac Vandewater had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Ahanmisi, Minnesota beat High Point 88-81 in NIT

Maverick Ahanmisi scored a career-high 21 points, and Minnesota moved on in the National Invitation Tournament with an 88-81 victory over High Point on Tuesday night.

Joey King had 14 points and seven rebounds, Mo Walker and Andre Hollins each pitched in 13 points and the Gophers (21-13), the top seed in their quadrant. They will host a second-round game against either Utah or St. Mary's.

Austin Hollins hit a 3-pointer to stretch Minnesota's lead to 47-32 early in the second half, but High Point pushed back with Gophers point guard DeAndre Mathieu out because of a lower-body injury and pulled within 60-55 inside the 8-minute mark. Mathieu was hurt early in the game after a hard foul on his way to the hoop. He played a little bit after that but was pulled for good after halftime.

The Gophers hung out without him.

Georgetown tops West Virginia 77-65 in NIT 1st rd

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (North Central) had a season-high 32 points and 10 rebounds, and Georgetown topped West Virginia 77-65 Tuesday night in a cozy matchup of former conference rivals in the first round of the NIT.

Markel Starks added 14 points, and Jabril Trawick scored 12 for the Hoyas (18-14), who pulled away in the second half in the cramped confines of Georgetown's 2,500-seat practice gym. The game was played on campus because the circus is in town, occupying the Hoyas' usual home court, the Verizon Center.

Juwan Staten scored 23 points to lead the Mountaineers (17-16), who had a five-game winning streak over the Hoyas come to an end. The schools hadn't met since West Virginia left the Big East to join the Big 12 in 2012.

Valparaiso loses to Columbia 58-56

Maodo Lo scored with 1 second left to lift Columbia to a 58-56 victory over Valparaiso in the CollegeInsider.com tournament. Alec Peters had 14 points and five rebounds for the Crusaders (18-16).

WOMEN

St. Francis wins national title

Skylarr Shurn scored 33 points to lead St. Francis to a 75-68 victory over College of the Ozarks in the NAIA Division II national championship game in Sioux City, Iowa.

Jennelle Wilson had 19 points and Brooke Ridley had 13 points and 14 rebounds as St. Francis (Fort Wayne) completed a 38-0 season.

Women's NIT schedule for Indiana teams set

Indiana University, one of five teams from the state chosen for the Women's NIT, will host Belmont (14-17) at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The Hoosiers (18-12) are in the basketball postseason for the first time since 2009.

Other first-round pairings in the 64-team WNIT, all scheduled for Thursday, in bracket order: Butler (15-15) at South Dakota State (22-9), 8 p.m.; Marquette (21-10) at Indiana State (20-11), 7:05; Ball State (18-16) at Northwestern (15-15), 8; IUPUI (22-9) at Central Michigan (20-11), 7.

The IU/Belmont winner will play the ISU/Marquette winner sometime between Saturday and March 25.