Rhode Island eliminates St. Joe’s in semis

Penn still alive for an Ivy League title

“There’s going to be a point in time when I’m daydreaming this summer and I’ll say: ‘You know what? That’s pretty good,” Hawks coach Phil Martelli said. “It took 90 to beat us.”’

Cyril Langevine gave Rhode Island its first lead, 73-71, when he completed a 3-point play with 6:16 remaining. After Newkirk tied it with a basket on the next possession, Russell connected on a 3 to give the Rams the lead for good.

Russell had another 3 with 4:29 to go, and Jared Terrell added a 3 off an offensive rebound and kickout on the Rams’ next possession to make it 82-75. Dowtin added an insurance 3 with 19.3 seconds left to put the Rams up 87-81.

The Hawks missed out on a chance to tie when Taylor Funk traveled near midcourt with 0.5 seconds left.

Key to the comeback was Rhode Island’s offensive rebounding. The Rams scored 21 second-chance points, including 19 in the second half. Beyond that, the Hawks more than matched Rhode Island.

“We didn’t get exactly what we deserved,” Martelli said. “That was a championship effort, six guys in double figures, 10 turnovers — really nine turnovers. The last one’s just silly. That’s just silly, that a guy would take away a kid’s chance to fire up a half-court shot. That’s just silly. But it was offensive rebounds. Great credit to Rhode Island.”» PENN 80, YALE 57 AJ Brodeur scored 25 points, on 10of-13 shooting, and grabbed 10 rebounds and Pennsylvania never trailed in its 80-57 win over Yale on Saturday in the Ivy League Tournament.

The second-seeded Quakers will play No. 1 seed Harvard in the championship game on Sunday. Penn (238) split the regular-season series with the Crimson with each team winning on its home court.

Brodeur scored 11 points in the first 10 minutes and Penn used a 12-0 run to take a 15-point lead when Caleb Wood hit three free throws with 9:48 left in the first half. Yale missed eight consecutive field-goal attempts and went scoreless for 4½ minutes during that stretch. Jackson Donahue’s 3-pointer capped a 12-3 spurt that pushed the lead to 23 points late in the first half and the Bulldogs trailed by at least 18 the rest of the way. NO. 8 CINCINNATI 70, MEMPHIS 60» Jarron Cumberland scored 18 points and Gary Clark had 17 points and 12 rebounds to rally No. 8 Cincinnati to a 70-60 victory over Memphis in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday.

Kyle Washington added 11 for the Bearcats (29-4), who advanced to meet the winner of the Wichita State-Houston game in Sunday’s final. NO. 9 KANSAS 81, NO. 18 WEST VIRGINIA 70 » Devonte Graham piled up 18 points and 13 assists, Silvio De Sousa came up big in place of Udoka Azubuike and ninthranked Kansas proved its toughness down the stretch for an 81-70 victory over No. 18 West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament title game Saturday night.

De Sousa had 16 points on 8 of 8 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds, and Malik Newman added 20 points to cap a phenomenal tournament, lifting the Jayhawks (27-7) to their 11th tournament title and a likely No. 1 seed when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed Sunday. NO. 21 HOUSTON 77, NO. 11 WICHITA STATE 74 » Rob Gray had a key steal and scored 33 points, including two free throws with 5 seconds remaining, as No. 21 Houston held off No. 11 Wichita State 77-74 in an American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal on Saturday.

Corey Davis Jr. scored 19 points for the Cougars (26-6), who advanced to play No. 8 Cincinnati in the championship game. NO. 13 TENNESSEE 84, ARKANSAS 66 » Jordan Bone scored 19 points to help spark a hotshooting first half for No. 13 Tennessee in an 84-66 win over Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday.

The win is the sixth straight and 13th in the last 15 games for the second-seeded Volunteers (257), who will try to win their first SEC Tournament championship in almost 40 years when they face Kentucky on Sunday. MARYLAND BALTIMORE COUNTY 65, VERMONT 62 » Jairus Lyles hit a long 3-pointer with less than a second left, lifting Maryland Baltimore County over topseeded Vermont 65-62 Saturday in the America East championship game.

Second-seeded UMBC (2410) had lost 23 straight times to the Catamounts over the last 10 years, but rallied to earn its first NCAA Tournament trip since 2008. KENTUCKY 86, ALABAMA 63 » Wenyen Gabriel shot 7-for-7 on 3s and matched his career high with 23 points, sending Kentucky past Collin Sexton and Alabama 86-63 Saturday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats (23-10) advanced to play the winner of the game between No. 13 Tennessee and Arkansas.