Northeastern holds off Wyoming in CBI

Matt Janning scored 20 points as Northeastern surprised host Wyoming last night, 64-62, in a first-round game of the College Basketball Invitational.

Northeastern, which tied for third in the Colonial Athletic Association, jumped to an early 21-8 advantage before the Cowboys scored 12 straight to cut the lead to 1. The Huskies (19-12) led, 32-28, at halftime.

Wyoming, sixth in the Mountain West Conference, took its first lead at the 10:55 mark on two free throws by Afam Muojeke, but Northeastern's Allen Chaisson answered with three straight 3-pointers. The Huskies led by as much as 8 before Brandon Ewing scored 6 points in the final 20 seconds.

Allen finished with 16 points, with Nkem Ojougboh adding 11 and Eugene Spates 10 for the Huskies, who will play UTEP - a 79-77 winner against Nevada - on Monday.

Rhode Island 68, Niagara 62 - Kahiem Seawright scored 20 points in the second half - including all 10 in a critical run - and the visiting Rams beat the Purple Eagles.

Jimmy Baron scored 20, hitting six free throws in the final 40 seconds, for the sixth-seeded Rams (23-10), who snapped a two-game losing streak. Seawright finished with 23 points.

Rhode Island plays Penn State, a 77-73 overtime winner over George Mason, in the second round.

Davidson 70, South Carolina 63 - Stephen Curry scored 32 points as the Wildcats started their latest postseason run with a road victory over the Gamecocks.

The stage may not have been as large as the Wildcats' NCAA Tournament upsets a year ago, but Curry was just as spectacular.

The score was tied at 51 after Devan Downey's basket with 9:15 to go. Then Curry scored 13 of his team's last 17 points over the next eight minutes as Davidson (27-7) took control.

Penn St. 77, George Mason 73 - Talor Battle scored 8 of his game-high 24 points in overtime and tied the game with a 3-pointer at the end of regulation as the host Nittany Lions advanced.

Dre Smith hit two foul shots with five seconds left in regulation to give George Mason a 65-62 lead before Battle hurried down the court for his buzzer-beating three for Penn State (23-11). It was Battle's first bucket of the second half.

Notre Dame 70, UAB 64 - Luke Harangody scored 4 of his 22 points and had a blocked shot during a decisive 10-point run to lead the host Fighting Irish.

Harangody's basket inside gave the Irish (19-14) a 60-50 lead. Robert Vaden, who led UAB (22-12) with 24 points, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the lead to 60-56 with 3:50 left. But a 3-point play by Harangody ended the run.

Kentucky 70, UNLV 60 - Jodie Meeks scored 19 points and Patrick Patterson added 16 as the Wildcats beat the Rebels in their first NIT appearance in three decades.

With Rupp Arena unavailable due to a scheduling conflict, Kentucky (21-13) hosted a game at Memorial Coliseum for the first time since 1976.

San Diego St. 65, Weber St. 49 - Lorrenzo Wade had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Aztecs beat the Wildcats.

San Diego State (24-9) coasted after a 22-4 run in the first half helped the Aztecs take a 39-17 halftime lead.

New Mexico 83, Nebraska 71 - Daniel Faris had career highs with 28 points and 13 rebounds, lifting the host Lobos over the scrappy Cornhuskers.

New Mexico (22-11) advanced to play at Notre Dame. Faris, a 6-foot-9-inch center, had a big night against Nebraska (18-13), which starts the nation's smallest Division 1 lineup.

St. Mary's 68, Wash. St. 57 - Patty Mills scored 27 points, 17 in the first half, leading the Gaels over the visiting Cougars.

St. Mary's (27-6) hosts Davidson in the second round.

Aron Baynes led WSU (17-16) with 19 points, while Taylor Rochestie added 14 in the first meeting between the teams.

C.W. Post 82, Bentley 76 - Kenny Burkes scored 23 points and led the Pioneers back from an 18-point deficit in the East Regional final in Brookville, N.Y.

The Falcons (26-7) were looking for their third straight trip to the Division 2 Elite Eight. Jason Westrol missed only one of his eight 3-point attempts and scored 28 points for Bentley, which led, 37-24, at halftime and extended the lead to 42-24.

Nicholas Carter had 21 points for second-ranked C.W. Post (30-0), which advances to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1985. Roberto Macklin (11 points) gave the Pioneers their first lead, 53-52, on a layup with 11:37 left.