Memphis Hits Road, Wins at Utah in NIT

Earl Barron scored 18 points as Memphis defeated Utah, 71-62, Tuesday at Salt Lake City in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

Kelly Wise scored 13 and Shamel Jones added 10 for the Tigers (18-14), who never trailed.

Britton Johnsen led Utah (19-12) with 15 points and Chris Burgess, formerly of Woodbridge High, had 10 as the Mountain West Conference regular-season co-champion struggled to score against the Tiger defense.

Nick Jacobson made two three-pointers that powered a 12-2 run to bring Utah within 56-52 with 5 minutes 25 seconds remaining.

Wise, the Tigers’ leading scorer this season, fouled out with 6:16 to play, but Barron took over inside and scored four points in a 7-0 run that made it 66-55 with 1:15 to play.

Alabama 85, Seton Hall 79--Erwin Dudley had 22 points, a career-high 19 rebounds and tipped in a missed free throw in the final seconds as Alabama held on at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Rod Grizzard and Travis Stinnett also scored 22 as the Crimson Tide (22-10) saw their 21-point lead trimmed to three in the final nine minutes.

Eddie Griffin scored 22 points and Darius Lane had 21 points for the Pirates (16-15), who have lost eight straight NIT first-round games since 1955-56.