Minnesota Golden Gophers defeat SMU 65-63

Austin Hollins scored 19 points with four steals to lead the Minnesota Golden Gophers to a 65-63 win over the SMU Mustangs and secure the program's second NIT title.

Andre Hollins and Deandre Mathieu netted 14 and 13, respectively, for Minnesota (25-13), which capped Richard Pitino's inaugural season at the school with a championship victory at Madison Square Garden.

The Golden Gophers last won the invitational crown back in 1993, defeating Georgetown by a 62-61 margin, and appeared in the tournament's championship game in 2012 before losing, 75-51, to Stanford.

Nic Moore paced the Mustangs (27-10) with 17 points. while Nick Russell tallied 15 and Shawn Williams added 11 before fouling out late.

[SportsNetwork.com]