Kenny Cooper scored on a jumper with 1.7 seconds to play to give Lipscomb a wild 94-93 victory against host North Carolina State in the NIT quarterfinals Wednesday night at sold-out Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.
The game included 44 points from Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews.
Cooper scored the last two baskets for the Bisons, finishing with 12 points.
Senior guard Torin Dorn scored a career-high 34 points for the Wolfpack. He made 15 of 22 shots from the field.
Mathews' dunk tied the game at 88-88 with 1:11 to play. After Markell Johnson's fourth 3-pointer of the second half for N.C. State with 49 seconds left, Mathews made 1 of 2 foul shots at the 27-second mark. Lipscomb then stole the inbounds pass and Cooper hit a 3-pointer for a 92-91 Lipscomb lead with 24 seconds left.
Johnson scored in the lane to give the Wolfpack the lead again at 93-92 with eight seconds left before Cooper's final basket.
Lipscomb (28-7) goes to New York to meet Wichita State on Tuesday night at Madison Square (NYSE:SQ) Garden.
Johnson, a guard, scored all 19 of his points in the second half. C.J. Bryce and Devon Daniels supplied 10 points each for N.C. State (24-12). Johnson scored 11 points in barely more than a two-minute stretch in the second half.
Mathews shot 14-for-24 from the field, including 8-for-13 on 3-pointers.
Trailing 47-38 at the break, Lipscomb's strong start to the second half cut its deficit to two points, 51-49 just 2 1/2 minutes into the half. Later, the Bisons stormed to a 65-60 lead with 11:52 left in the game. After some lead changes, Johnson hit two 3s for a 74-70 N.C. State lead with 8:55 to play.
The Wolfpack built their halftime lead largely because of 54.1-percent shooting from the field.
Dorn scored 21 first-half points on 9-for-11 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Mathews poured in 20 points in the opening half.
N.C. State guard Braxton Beverly hit his 136th career 3-point basket late in the first half, giving him the most in program history through a player's sophomore season.
N.C. State played all three of its NIT home games on campus in its former home facility. Part of the reason for that was scheduling conflicts with PNC Arena, where the Wolfpack normally play.
Lipscomb has won three road games in the tournament, all in the state of North Carolina. The Bisons topped Davidson and UNC Greensboro before Wednesday night.
Last year, Lipscomb's season ended in North Carolina, losing in the NCAA Tournament's first round in Charlotte to North Carolina.
--Field Level Media OLUSSPORT Reuters US Online Report Sports News 20190328T035940+0000