BERKELEY, Calif. — Chris Bell’s 31 points led California over UIC 91-73 on Wednesday night in the NIT.
Bell shot 10 of 12 from the field, including 7 of 8 from 3-point range, and went 4 of 4 from the line for the Golden Bears (22-11). Justin Pippen added 18 points, six assists and four steals, and John Camden scored 13 points.
Rashund Washington Jr. finished with 15 points for the Flames (19-16), who also got 14 points and 12 assists from Elijah Crawford and 14 points from Abdul Momoh.
Cal led 39-35 at halftime and took the lead for good with 16:48 remaining in the second half. Bell scored 18 second-half points.
The Flames’ 19 wins were the program’s most since 2017-18 and the second-most since their last NCAA Tournament season in 2003-04. They reached the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in their second season under coach Rob Ehsan.
Illinois State 79, Kent State 58
NORMAL, Ill. — Landon Wolf had 24 points and seven rebounds for the Redbirds (21-12), who also got 19 points from Chase Walker on 8-of-11 shooting.
Morgan Safford led the Golden Flashes (24-10) with 19 points, and Rob Whaley Jr. added 13.
Illinois State took the lead with 15:04 remaining in the first half and didn’t trail again. Wolf led the Redbirds with 18 first-half points to help put them up 45-25 at the break. ISU pulled away with an 8-0 run in the second half to extend an 18-point lead to 26.
The Redbirds will face Wake Forest in the second round at 3:30 p.m. Sunday (ESPN2).
Dayton 80, Bradley 66
PEORIA — Javon Bennett scored 25 points as the Flyers (24-11) eliminated the Braves (20-11). Bennett was 8 of 13 from the field (5 of 10 from 3-point range) and 4 of 5 from the line.
Deshayne Montgomery added 14 points and Bryce Heard 12 for Dayton.
Alex Huibregtse led Bradley with 19 points, and Montana Wheeler had 10 points and four assists.
Dayton didn’t trail after taking a lead 1:34 into the game and was up 47-30 at the break. The Flyers extended the lead to 53-33, fueled by a 15-3 run.
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
