COLLEGE BASKETBALL Mazzante keys Penn State past Miss. State

Kendra Wecker had a double-double in No. 4 Kansas State's victory over Southern California, 73-61.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Kelly Mazzante scored 36 points to lead No. 14 Penn State to an 82-66 victory over No. 20 Mississippi State in the semifinals of the preseason WNIT on Wednesday night.
The Lady Lions (3-0) will play at No. 4 Kansas State in Sunday's championship game.
Mazzante, the nation's leading scorer last season, won the scoring duel with LaToya Thomas, last year's second-leading scorer, who fought double- and triple-teams all night and scored 19 points for the Lady Bulldogs (2-1).
It was Mazzante's second consecutive 30-point game and the 16th time in 67 college games she has scored 30 or more.
Mazzante hit a layup and 3-pointer to start a 15-3 run that gave the Lady Lions a 59-43 lead with 13:26 remaining.
When Thomas hit a turnaround jumper to bring Mississippi State within 68-60, Mazzante answered with a streaking, off-balance layup. Mazzante then stole the ball in the backcourt, drew a foul and converted the three-point play for a 73-60 lead with 3:49 remaining.
Tanisha Wright finished with 17 points for Penn State, and Ashli Schwab had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Tan White led Mississippi State with 20 points, and Chekwa added 10.
No. 4 Kansas St. 73, Southern California 61
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kendra Wecker had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Kansas State, which committed 29 turnovers.
Nicole Ohlde added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas State, while Laurie Koehn had 17 points and Brie Madden pulled down 14 rebounds.
Rachel Woodward led Southern California (2-1) with 13 points and Meghan Gnekow added 12 and Aisha Hollans had 11.
Men
STANFORD, Calif. -- Julius Barnes scored 14 points, including two free throws with 27 seconds remaining, and Stanford ran out the clock to upset No. 11 Xavier 63-62 in the quarterfinals of the Preseason NIT on Wednesday night.
The Cardinal advanced to the semifinals next Wednesday at New York's Madison Square Garden against the winner of tonight's game between Eastern Illinois and No. 8 Florida.
Stanford (2-0) held on after Xavier's Lionel Chalmers made a short, off-balance jumper with 12 seconds remaining. Chalmers led the Musketeers (1-1) with 20 points, 14 in the second half as Xavier came back after a poor start. Chalmers was 5-for-8 from the field in the second half.
The Cardinal got the ball under Xavier's hoop with 12 seconds remaining after Chalmers scored, then passed the ball and ran out the clock.
Barnes' free throws were big after Stanford struggled all night at the line, going only 5-for-13 in the second half before he converted his attempts.
Stanford finished the game 11-for-21 at the line.
David West scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Xavier and Romain Sato added 15 points and 10 rebounds.
North Carolina 71, Rutgers 67
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Rashad McCants scored eight of his 18 points over the final 6:25 as North Carolina rallied to advance to the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.
The Tar Heels, despite 20 turnovers, are off to a 2-0 start following last season's worst-ever 8-20 record.
Rutgers (1-1) led 59-48 with 7:26 remaining, but fell apart down the stretch against a North Carolina lineup of three freshmen and two sophomores.
McCants, who scored 28 points in his collegiate debut in a 30-point win over Penn State on Monday night, was quiet most of the night before his late heroics.
A fastbreak slam by McCants brought the Tar Heels to 67-65 with 2:48 remaining and his two free throws with 9.2 seconds left helped seal it after Jawad Williams' go-ahead layup with 31 seconds remaining.
Sean May led the Tar Heels with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Williams added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Herve Lamizana scored a career-high 20 points and Ricky Shields also added 20 for Rutgers, but leading scorer Jerome Coleman was 2-of-18 from the field and had five points.