Gators advance to semis

TEMPE, Ariz. — Walter Hodge scored 18 points and Chandler Parsons added 15, and Florida defeated Arizona State 70-57 on Tuesday night in the NIT quarterfinals.

The Gators, the two-time defending NCAA champions, watched an early 17-3 lead evaporate, falling behind on Jerren Shipp's 3-pointer with 13:30 to go. But Florida (24-11) responded with a 15-6 run and put the game away on Parsons' 3-pointer with 2:32 to play.

Nick Calathes had 11 points and nine assists for Florida. The Gators shot a season-high 60.5 percent from the floor and picked apart Arizona State's zone defense with 26 baskets on 23 assists.

James Harden scored 18 points for ASU (21-13).

The Gators will play Massachusetts in the semifinals in Madison Square Garden on April 1.

Early on, the Gators looked like the hotter team, sprinting to a 14-point lead after six minutes. The Gators hit four 3-pointers during that flurry, two by Hodge. The Gators shot 61.9 percent from the floor in the first half, and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Arizona State went on an 8-2 run midway through the half and whittled the lead to 35-29 at halftime.

MASSACHUSETTS 81, SYRACUSE 77: At Syracuse, N.Y., Dante Milligan slammed a two-handed dunk off a feed from Chris Lowe with 28 seconds left to give Massachusetts the lead as the Minutemen rallied from 17 points down in the final eight minutes.

UMass (24-10) became the first team to beat Syracuse (21-14) twice in the Carrier Dome in the same season.

Ricky Harris led second-seeded UMass with 23 points, Etienne Brower had 19, Milligan had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Luke Bonner had 13 points, Gary Forbes had nine points, and Lowe finished with 11 assists.

Arinze Onuaku had 20 points to lead top-seeded Syracuse, Donte Greene had 18, Jonny Flynn 14 and Scoop Jardine 12.