Storrs, Conn. — There were handshakes and hugs all around in Eddie Fogler's final game as South Carolina's coach.
Connecticut (20-11) ended Fogler's run at South Carolina on Wednesday night, beating the Gamecocks 72-65 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. Fogler announced his resignation two days earlier when the school did not extend his contract.
"I wanted our kids to have fun and play hard. Win and we go on. Lose, we lose," Fogler said. "I think they played hard and had fun."
The Gamecocks (15-15) played the Huskies tight until the final four minutes when UConn closed with a 13-6 run.
Edmund Saunders led the Huskies with 15 points, 11 rebounds and made key defensive plays in the closing moments. Saunders is one of three seniors who were members of UConn's 1999 national championship team.
"I want to go out with a bang, get as many wins as I can," said Saunders. "I'm kind of spoiled and we're used to getting 20 wins a season. So we got our 20th win today and we just have to keep going."
The Huskies (20-11) will play Detroit in the second round. Detroit advanced with a 68-49 win over Bradley.
UConn has appeared in 11 NITs and won the tournament in 1988 in coach Jim Calhoun's second season.
"We kept saying to the kids during time outs 'it's a 32-team field and there's a championship to be won,"' Calhoun said. "It is not the one we aspire for, but right now it is the only one."
Caron Butler had 14 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies, who outrebounded the Gamecocks 38-25.
Jamel Bradley had 19 points and was 6-of-9 from three-point range for South Carolina.
The game was played at the usually raucous 10,000-seat Gampel Pavilion, but on Wednesday there were just 3,200 fans.
Fogler, 52, finishes his career at South Carolina with a 123-117 record. He took over the Gamecocks after winning coach of the year honors at Vanderbilt. Fogler has taken three teams to the NCAA tournament Wichita State (1987-88), Vanderbilt (1991, 1993) and South Carolina (1997-98).
Purdue 90,
Illinois St. 79
West Lafayette, Ind. Maynard Lewis scored a career-high 26 points, Carson Cunningham had 22, and the two combined for 11 three-pointers as Purdue beat Illinois State. The Boilermakers (16-14) will play Auburn in the second round. Tarise Bryson led Illinois State (21-9) with 38 points.
Auburn 60, Miami 58
Auburn, Ala. Kyle Davis set an NIT record with 13 blocked shots and Marquis Daniels scored 15 points to help Auburn edge Miami. The Tigers (18-13) won for only the second time in six NIT trips and held Miami (16-13) to 17 points in the second half. James Jones led Miami with 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Dayton 68,
N.C.-Wilmington 59
Dayton, Ohio Freshman center Keith Waleskowski scored 19 points to lead Dayton past North Carolina-Wilmington. Tony Stanley and Ramod Marshall added 11 points apiece for the Flyers (20-12), who will play the winner of today's West Virginia-Richmond game in the second round. Brett Blizzard led the Seahawks (19-11) with 18 points.
Pittsburgh 84,
St. Bonaventure 75
Pittsburgh Ricardo Greer scored 26 points as Pittsburgh rallied to beat St. Bonaventure. Pittsburgh (19-13) will play Mississippi State in the second round. J.R. Bremer led St. Bonaventure (18-12) with 26 points.
Mississippi St. 75, Southern Mississippi 68
Starkville, Miss. Marckell Patterson scored 21 points as Mississippi State beat Southern Mississippi. Mario Austin added 12 points for the Bulldogs (17-12). Mario Myles led the Eagles (22-9) with 20.
Tulsa 75, UC Irvine 71
Tulsa, Okla. Greg Harrington scored 20 points as Tulsa held off UC Irvine. Kevin Johnson added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Hurricane (22-11). Jerry Green led the Anteaters (25-5) with 15 points.
Detroit 68, Bradley 49
Peoria, Ill. Rashad Phillips scored 17 points in Detroit's victory over Bradley. Greg Grays added 13 points for the Titans (23-10). The 19-point loss was the worst ever in postseason play for Bradley (19-12). Eddie Cage led the Braves with 13 points.
Pepperdine 72, Wyoming 69
Laramie, Wyo. Brandon Armstrong scored 29 points, including eight of Pepperdine's last nine, as the Waves beat Wyoming. Pepperdine (22-8) will play the winner of a late game between Baylor and New Mexico in the second round. Wyoming finished 20-10.
UTEP 84,
McNeese State 74
El Paso, Texas Brandon Wolfram scored 24 points to lead UTEP (22-9) over McNeese State. Brian Stewart added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Miners. UTEP (23-8) took the lead with 11:41 left in the first half, and led by as many as 25 points in the second half.
Minnesota 87,
Villanova 78
Minneapolis Kevin Burleson scored a season-high 21 points as Minnesota beat Villanova. Villanova's Michael Bradley, a second-team All-American, went to the bench with a bloody nose three minutes into the second half after a scuffle in the lane. He spent most of the half in the locker room and didn't return until the final minutes.
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