Spartans rally, claim title in Las Vegas
Joshua Langford scored 29 points, Cassius Winston had 20 points and 10 assists, and No. 11 Michigan State beat Texas 78-68 in the Las Vegas Invitational championship game on Friday.
Langford was 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Winston, who was named the tournament MVP, also had five rebounds for the Spartans (5-1), who trailed 25-6 eight minutes into the game.
Kerwin Roach II had 15 points and five assists for the Longhorns (5-1).
After that early Texas lead, the Spartans cut it to 44-36 at halftime. Michigan State took the lead for the first time on Langford’s 3-pointer with 15:26 remaining and went ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Winston 1:19 later.
The Spartans shot 55 percent from the field in the second half.
De’Andre Hunter had 20 points and nine rebounds to help No. 4 Virginia beat No. 25 Wisconsin 53-46 in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game in Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Ty Jerome added 11 points for the Cavaliers (6-0), who led 33-18 after a strong first half, and then sputtered offensively as the Badgers kept pushing back. Virginia shot 26 percent in the second half.
Ethan Happ finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for Wisconsin (5-1), which shot 52 percent after halftime to cut into the deficit. The Badgers got as close as five four separate times in the second half, but could never overtake the Cavaliers. Mfiondu Kabengele hit a 3-pointer with a half-second left in OT, and No. 14 Florida State edged No. 19 LSU 79-76 to advance to the title game of the AdvoCare Invitational in Las Vegas.
The Seminoles (5-0) will play defending national champ Villanova on Sunday.
Tremont Waters made three free throws to pull LSU even at 76 with 11.5 seconds to go in overtime before Kabengele’s shot from the corner bounced off the rim and into the basket.
LSU (5-1) will go against Oklahoma State in Sunday’s third-place game.