NEW YORK -- Sheldon McClellan scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, and short-handed Miami rallied to beat Temple 60-57 on Tuesday to reach the NIT championship game.
Already without point guard Angel Rodriguez, the Hurricanes lost center Tonye Jekiri to a concussion early on and trailed by 11 late in the first half.
The Owls' Quenton DeCosey was off on a potential tying three-pointer at the buzzer as they went 0 for 15 from beyond the arc in the second half. The Hurricanes held Temple to 22.5-percent shooting overall after halftime.
After missing six of his first eight shots, McClellan hit two 3s in a row with about 8 minutes left to put Miami in front for good.
Owls freshman Obi Enechionyia set career highs with 17 points and five blocks. But leading scorer Will Cummings, who had averaged 22 points in the NIT, shot just 3 for 15.
Rodriguez missed his third-straight game because of a nagging wrist injury. Jekiri, who scored two early baskets, was inadvertently struck in the face just over six minutes in and did not return. The two had combined to average more than 20 points per game.
Miami faces Stanford or Old Dominion on Thursday, seeking its first NIT title. The Owls were the top seed in the NIT as the first team left out of the NCAA tournament.
DeAndre Burnett missed the front end of a one-and-one with 13.2 seconds left for the Hurricanes, and they decided not to foul, giving DeCosey the chance to send the game to overtime.
Tip-ins
Miami: McClellan had 11 rebounds and was the only Hurricane player in double figures.
Temple: Forward Jaylen Bond limped off with less than 8 minutes left and didn't return. ... With Jekiri out, the 6-foot-9 Enechionyia had his way inside. He also matched a career high with eight rebounds.
Loyola Chicago 65
Louisiana-Monroe 58
CHICAGO -- Earl Peterson scored 16 points to lead a balanced offense as Loyola-Chicago beat Louisiana-Monroe 65-58 Monday night in the opener of the College Basketball Invitational championship series.
Christian Thomas had 12 points, Montel James added 11 and Devon Turk 10 to help the Ramblers (23-13) shake off a two-point halftime deficit to take command in the second half.
The best-of-three series shifts to Monroe, La., for Game 2 tonight, and Game 3 -- if necessary -- on Friday.
Jamaal Samuel scored 15 points to lead the Warhawks (24-13). Tylor Ongwae had 12 points and 11 rebounds, Justin Roberson added 11 points and Majok Deng had 10.
Trailing 26-24 at halftime, the Ramblers used a 13-5 run to take a 42-35 lead. Ben Richardson's jumper later gave Loyola a 56-44 advantage, its biggest of the game.
Louisiana-Monroe pulled within three points with 4:32 to play but got no closer.
Evansville 79
Tenn.-Martin 66
EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- D.J. Balentine scored 28 points to lead Evansville past UT Martin to advance to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship.
Adam Wing had 16 points and Blake Simmons added a13 for the Purple Aces (23-12).
Evansville will host the winner of the other semifinal between North Arizona and NJIT in the title game Thursday night. The Aces will be seeking their first national postseason championship since winning the last of its five NCAA Division II titles in 1971.
Deille Smith scored 18 points to lead UT Martin (21-13), which finished one win short of tying the school record.
Sports on 04/01/2015