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News Nuggets, 03.24.05
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

NIT: Memphis whips Vandy to advance to Garden

MEMPHIS — The Memphis basketball season will end at Madison Square Garden — again.

For the third time in five years, Memphis reached the NIT semifinals and will make the familiar journey to New York.

Rodney Carney scored 26 points, and Darius Washington added 23 and seven assists to lift Memphis over Vanderbilt 81-68 Wednesday night in the quarterfinals.

The Tigers, who have won all three of their NIT games by double digits, will play Saint Joseph's, a 58-51 winner over Texas A&M, next Tuesday night.

``It will be a dream to win there,'' Carney said. ``I've never won anything like that. Hopefully, we can.''

Anthony Rice had 11 points, and Duane Erwin scored 10 and grabbed 15 rebounds for Memphis (22-15).

Shan Foster led Vanderbilt (20-14) with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Julian Terrell scored 11 points for the Commodores.

Washington missed two of three free throws after time expired as the Tigers lost the Conference USA championship game 75-74 to Louisville on March 12, costing Memphis a trip to the NCAA tournament. The freshman guard sealed Wednesday night's victory by hitting six straight free throws down the stretch.

``Unfortunately, we fell kind of short to go to the Big Dance, so now it's just time to win the NIT,'' Washington said.

Vanderbilt, coming off a thrilling last-second win over Wichita State on Monday night, stayed close until midway through the second half when Memphis scored nine straight points to put the game out of reach.

``I think we were not good enough to win this game,'' Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. ``Memphis was faster than us. They were able to take advantage of the game with their speed and quickness.''

``This team plays hard; this team is playing well,'' Memphis coach John Calipari said.

NIT: Maryland overcomes big Davidson lead

COLLEGE PARK — Maryland is making the best of its unexpected foray into the National Invitation Tournament.

The Terrapins advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT for the first time since 1972, getting 12 points and 11 rebounds from Nik Caner-Medley in a 78-63 come-from-behind victory over Davidson on Wednesday night.

Trying to salvage a season in which their 11-year run of NCAA tournament appearances ended, the Terrapins (18-12) will face Texas Christian on Saturday for the right to play in the semifinal round at Madison Square Garden.

``I'm proud of these guys,'' Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ``It would have been easy for them to go in the tank. But it looks we're really starting to have fun playing basketball again.''

Since winning the NIT title 33 years ago, Maryland had tried four times without success to advance past the second round. Now, after wins over Oral Roberts and Davidson, the Terps have somewhat blunted the disappointment of sitting out the NCAA tournament.

``We're going out there and having fun. That's what basketball is all about,'' said forward Travis Garrison, who contributed 12 points.

Six players scored in double figures for the Terrapins, led by James Gist with 15. Maryland never trailed after using a 16-0 run to pull even at halftime.

Brendan Winters scored 16 points and Jason Morton had 15 for Davidson (23-9), which was seeking to win three games in a single postseason for the first time. Before this NIT, the Wildcats hadn't won a postseason game since 1969.

Davidson shot 31 percent and went 10-for-35 from 3-point range.

``I think the shooting percentage reveals what happened in this game,'' Wildcats coach Bob McKillop said. ``We had terrific opportunities to score, but we didn't knock down some shots that we usually knock down.''

Davidson stunned the impressive crowd of 12,126 by taking a 34-18 lead with 3:56 left in the first half. But the Wildcats missed their next 12 shots and went scoreless until the 16:34 mark of the second half.

``Everything that could go wrong for us did go wrong,'' McKillop said.

Maryland led 44-38 before Winters scored six points in a 12-6 spree that tied it at 50 with 12 minutes to go. Caner-Medley then hit a 3-pointer, and Ekene Ibekwe made a layup to start a 13-4 run that put the Terps up 63-54.

Davidson never got closer than four points the rest of the way.

Big East hops on instant replay bandwagon

PROVIDENCE — The Big East will begin using instant replay in football this fall.

The system will debut when West Virginia plays Syracuse on Sept. 3 or 4, depending on ABC's television plans.

The Big Ten became the first conference to allow replays in the 2004 season. The Mountain West, Atlantic Coast, Southeastern and Pacific-10 conferences also approved instant replays starting in the 2005 season.

The system will feature several on-field cameras, TV cameras for multiple views of plays and a technical adviser to quickly review questionable plays, Big East spokesman Jonathan Gust said Wednesday.

The Big East football conference next season will be composed of Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and West Virginia.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from Associated Press and other sources. Copyright 2005 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:22 PM