Associated Press
The ACC roundup in the NIT …
BLACKSBURG, Va. ó Virginia Tech got 33 points from A.D. Vassallo and 23 from Jeff Allen and the Hokies scored on their first five possessions in the second overtime to outlast 46 points from Duquesne’s Aaron Jackson in a 116-108 NIT first-round win Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Hokies moved to 19-14 overall on the season and advanced to the second round where they will host the winner of the Georgetown-Baylor game.
Duquesne (21-13), making its first postseason appearance since the 1994 NIT, closed out its best season since 1971.
Tech appeared to have the game under control in the first overtime, leading by six with under a minute to go. But the Dukes rallied and tied the game at 94 on Jackson’s layup with less than 2 seconds left.
In the second overtime, Vassallo scored 10 points and the Hokies made all 10 of their free throws.
Miami 78, Providence 66
PROVIDENCE, R.I. ó Jack McClinton made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points lead Miami to a 78-66 victory over Providence in the first round of the NIT Wednesday.
Dwayne Collins had 12 rebounds and Lance Hurdle added 12 points for the Hurricanes (19-12), who outrebounded the Friars 44-35.
Though Miami never trailed, the game stayed tight in the second half, and both teams had trouble scoring as the game grew increasingly chippy down the stretch.
Adrian Thomas’ jumper with 3:22 to go broke a stretch of 6:05 without a field goal by either team.
Providence got within four with just 3:08 to play, but McClinton ó who made 7 of his 14 3-point shots ó responded with two of them in a row to keep the game out of reach.
Weyinmi Efejuku led Providence with 16 points, and Jonathan Kale added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Friars.
Miami will play Florida in the second round.
Efejuku made four free throws in the first 31 seconds of the second half, pulling the Friars within a possession at 35-32. But McClinton responded quickly with a fast-break layup, and Providence never got closer than four the rest of the way.