Quarterfinal Games Set for CBI
March 14, 2018
The First Round of the 2018 College Basketball Invitational has come to a close and the Quarterfinal Round will commence on Monday.
In Buies Creek, N.C., in the offensive game of the night, Campbell outscored Miami (Ohio) 97-87 to reach the CBI quarterfinals. Chris Clemons led all scorers with 32 points for Campbell. Damonte Oliver netted 19 points, Marcus Burk had 16 points, and Mogga Lado had 11 points. As a team, the Camels shot 33-of-53 (.623) from the field, 16-of-30 (.533) from three, and 15-of-16 (.938) from the line.
Miami, which shot 33-of-60 (.550) from the floor and 13-of-26 (.500) from three, was led by Nike Sibande and his 29 points. Logan McLane tallied 19 points, and Isaiah Coleman-Lands had 10 points.
In Buffalo, Canisius’ Isaiah Reese banked a 3-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime, tied at 71-all. However, in the extra session, Jacksonville State scored the game’s final five points to capture an 80-78 victory.
Malcolm Drumright led the Gamecocks with 20 points. Norbertas Giga had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Jason Burnell posted 18 points and eight boards.
Jacksonville State won the game on the boards, outrebounding the Griffs 53-28 en route to 22 second chance points.
Reese ended the game with 24 points for Canisius. Jermaine Crumpton netted 16 points, Takal Molson had 15 points, and Malik Johnson added 13 points.
In Vermillion, S.D., North Texas handed South Dakota only its second home loss of the season in taking a 90-77 decision.
South Dakota entered the game with the second-best winning percentage on their current home court in the country, winning to the tune of 92.8 percent. However, the Mean Green received 34 points from Roosevelt Smart (pictured) en route to the win. The 34 points by Smart tied for the fourth-highest single game total in CBI history and were just five shy of the tournament record.
Smart was joined in double figures by Michael Miller and Jorden Duffy, both of whom scored 19 points. Zachary Simmons pulled down 17 rebounds, the second-most in CBI history and two shy of the single game record.
The Coyotes were paced by Matt Mooney, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Trey Burch-Manning recorded 17 points.
In New Orleans, hometown kid Lamont Berzat posted 21 points and 10 assists to lead New Orleans to a 77-74 win over URTGV in the first postseason game played at Lakefront Arena since 1994.
Berzat was one of three Privateers to tally double digits as he was joined by Damion Rosser with 14 points and Ezekiel Charles with 12 points. UNO took advantage of 16 UTRGV turnovers by converting them into 20 points.
The Vaqueros were led by Terry Winn who had 14 points and seven rebounds. Mike Hoffman netted 13 points, Nick Dixon had 11 points, and Greg Bowie added 10 points.
In San Francisco, both teams started off slow but the action picked up in the second half and when the dust had settled, San Francisco held on to secure a 72-68 decision from Colgate.
The Dons led 24-17 at the break but both teams found their shooting touch in the second half as the Raiders outscored USF 51-48 but it was not enough to prevent the Dons from advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in three CBI appearances.
Souley Boum led USF with 26 points while Matt McCarthy registered 16 points and 14 rebounds. Colgate was led by Jordan Burns and his 20 points. Jordan Swopshire posted 16 points and nine rebounds and Will Rayman netted 12 points.
The Dons outrebounded Colgate 49-34 and outscored the Raiders in the paint by a 36-16 margin.
In Phoenix, Jordan Strawberry’s jumper with 4:32 to play gave Mercer the lead for good as the Bears captured a 78-73 win at Grand Canyon.
Mercer trailed 35-34 at the half but never trailed by more than six points in the second half before Strawberry secured the lead. He ended the game with 21 points and eight assists. Ross Cummings also netted 21 points while Demetre Rivers had 13 points and Ria’n Holland scored 10 points.
The Lopes were led by Casey Benson and his 17 points with Oscar Frayer and Alessandro Lever each netting 10 points.
In Seattle, Mathieu Kamba’s dunk with 22 seconds to go in overtime broke an 88-88 tie and gave Central Arkansas an eventual 92-90 win at Seattle.
After Kamba’s dunk, Jordan Howard and DeAndre Jones each hit a free throw to put the Bears up 92-88 before Morgan Means’ lay-up at the horn provided the final margin.
Howard ended the game with 30 points for Central Arkansas, which also received 17 points and six blocks from Hayden Koval; 13 points, eight rebounds, and six assists from Matthew Mondesir; and 10 points and six rebounds from Kamba.
Seattle was paced by Richaud Gittens and his 25 points and 11 rebounds. Matej Kavas had 21 points; Jordan Hill posted 19 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists; and Aaron Menzies had 19 points and 12 rebounds.
The Quarterfinal Round of the CBI will take place on Monday with Campbell hosting New Orleans, Jacksonville State at Central Arkansas, North Texas home to Mercer, and Utah Valley at San Francisco. The four winners will then meet on Wednesday, with the CBI Finals commencing on Monday, March 26.
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