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Overton, Pettiford help Auburn beat Tulsa 92-86 in OT for 1st NIT championship

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Overton had 26 points, Tahaad Pettiford scored 24 and Auburn took advantage of a late 5-second violation in regulation to beat Tulsa 92-86 in overtime on Sunday night and win its first NIT championship.

Ade Popoola sank a 3-pointer to give Tulsa a 76-71 lead with 1:05 left in regulation. Pettiford hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining and Elyjah Freeman made the second of two free throws following two foul shots by Tulsa’s Tyler Behrend for a 78-75 lead. But the Golden Hurricane couldn’t inbound the ball following Freeman’s make and Overton buried a baseline 3-pointer with eight seconds left to force OT.

Overton hit his fifth 3 to put Auburn (22-16) up 89-84 and the Tigers led over the final 3:31 of the extra period.

Overton hit 7 of 13 shots and 7 of 8 free throws. Pettiford had four 3-pointers and eight assists. Keyshawn Hall totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds. Sebastian Williams-Adams added 13 points off the bench and Filip Jovic scored 12.

David Green had 25 points, Tylen Riley scored 20 and Popoola added 13 for Tulsa (30-8), which finished with the second most wins in program history.

Pettiford had 15 points by halftime and Overton scored 14 for a 48-31 advantage after jumping out to a 34-13 lead.

Tulsa trailed 55-35, but Green had six straight points and scored eight in a 12-0 run to cut it to 57-51 with 12:18 remaining. Pettiford made two free throws to end the run, but Green and Miles Barnstable followed with 3-pointers and Green added two foul shots to tie. Riley hit two free throws to extend a 24-2 run and Tulsa took its first lead 61-59 with 10:26 left.

Tulsa won NIT titles in 1981 and 2001.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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