Penn State tops Marquette to advance to NIT semifinal

MILWAUKEE — Lamar Stevens tied his career high with 30 points, Tony Carr added 25, and Penn State beat Marquette 85-80 on Tuesday night to advance to the NIT semifinals.

Stevens hit three crucial buckets in the final three minutes for the Nittany Lions (24-13), including a dunk off an alley-oop pass from Josh Reaves for an eight-point lead with one minute left. The 6-foot-8 Stevens then maneuvered through a couple of Marquette players to secure a rebound off Andrew Rowsey's missed three with 46 seconds left.

Carr went 5 of 8 from the free-throw line the final 30 seconds to give Marquette another chance. Rowsey hit a three and a layup to get the Golden Eagles as close as 83-80 with six seconds left.

Rowsey scored 29 points for Marquette (21-14).

The Golden Eagles had whittled a 14-point deficit early in the second half to 72-68 with 2:39 left on three free throws by Rowsey.

Penn State went nearly three minutes without a bucket and got sloppy with the ball, and the Golden Eagles started hitting threes to get back in the game.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 79, LOUISVILLE 56: Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and Mississippi Penn State’s John Harrar tries to split a double-team by Marquette’s Matt Heldt, left, and Sacar Anim. State (25-11) advanced to the NIT semifinals by routing host Louisville (22-14). Lamar Peters opened the second quarter with a threepointer, and Mississippi State led by at least nine points the rest of the way. Weatherspoon scored eight points during a 12-3 run to start the third for a 51-31 Bulldogs lead. The Cardinals shot 35 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 42-32. YOUNG TURNING PRO: Oklahoma freshman Trae Young is leaving for the NBA. The 6-foot-2 guard led the nation in scoring (27.4 average) and assists (8.7), and many projections have him going early in the first round of the June 21 draft. AUBURN PLAYER MUST SIT

OUT SOME GAMES: Auburn forward Danjel Purifoy will be eligible to play most of next season. The university said the NCAA ruled that Purifoy must sit out the first 30 percent of the season before returning. Purifoy and center Austin Wiley missed all of the Tigers' run to a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and the NCAA Tournament. Former Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person has been charged with accepting bribes to steer players to a financial adviser once they turned pro and funneling some of that money to the families of Wiley and Purifoy. Wiley has already been cleared to play next season if he elects to return instead of declaring for the NBA draft.