CBI 2016: Semifinals Scores, Updated Bracket and Finals Schedule

The NCAA tournament won't hold its Final Four until the first week of April, but one postseason tournament is already there.

Four teams battled it out on Wednesday for a chance at the College Basketball Invitational finals, starting with the Morehead State Eagles and Ohio Bobcats.  

Ohio erased a five-point halftime deficit, but the Eagles came out on top to advance to their first CBI finals. 

The nightcap featured a matchup between the Vermont Catamounts and the Nevada Wolf Pack that was close after the first 20 minutes before Nevada used a strong second half to run away with the victory.

Here's a look at Wednesday's scoreboard and the schedule for the best-of-three finals matchup next week:

Semifinals: Wedesday, March 23	Time (ET)	Result
Finals (Best of 3): March 28, 30 and April 1 (if necessary)	Time (ET)	TV
Morehead State vs. Ohio	N/A	Morehead State, 77-72
Vermont vs. Nevada	N/A	Nevada, 86-72
Morehead State vs. Nevada	8:30 p.m.	ESPNU

Nevada def. Vermont, 86-72

Cameron Oliver scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Marqueze Coleman came off the bench with 20 points to the lead the Nevada Wolf Pack to their first CBI championship in three tries.

D.J. Fenner added 21 for the Wolf Pack.

Vermont battled in the first half despite falling behind 11-3 early. The Catamounts never took the lead but only trailed 37-35 at the break.

The second half was a different story.

Nevada (22-13) scored seven of the second half's first nine points to grow the lead to 44-37. Oliver alone scored six during the mini-run.

The Wolf Pack quickly grew the lead to 11 at 48-37 after this crossover and step-back jumper from Tyron Criswell at the 13:51 mark, per NevadaWolfPackTV:

Vermont would eventually close the gap to six at 53-47 but would get no closer. Trae Bell-Haynes and Ernie Duncan each had 19 points for the 23-14 Catamounts.

Reaction

The freshman Oliver was in a good mood following the game, per the team’s official website.

“It’s exciting to be in this opportunity right now,” he said. “We’re focused, but we’re ready to have some fun.” 

With Game 1 of the finals set to be at Morehead State followed by two at Nevada’s Lawlor Events Center, Wolf Pack head coach Eric Musselman knows the stakes, according to the team site: “We’ve got to go there and try to win a road game,” he said.

That's easier said than done for a team that won just five of 14 games away from home this season.

Morehead State def. Ohio, 77-72

Morehead State's Corban Collins nailed a three-pointer with one minute, 54 seconds left to break a 65-65 tie in a back-and-forth game to help lead the Eagles to the CBI championship with a victory over Ohio.

The team celebrated its 10th win in the past 11 games:

Collins finished with 14 points, Lyonell Gaines recorded a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds and Xavier Moon had a team-high 18 points.

It looked like Morehead State had a handle on things early, leading by as many as seven points in the first half. However, a 5-0 run for Ohio to start the second half tied the game at 29-29, and it was a battle the rest of the way with 10 lead changes in the first nine minutes.

Neither team led by more than four until the final minute, as both squads were lighting it up from three-point land, per the CBI Twitter feed:

Every time one team hit a big shot, the other seemed to answer. When Ohio's Kenny Kaminski broke a 56-all tie with a three-pointer at the 5:10 mark, the Eagles scored four straight to take the lead. The Bobcats then jumped ahead 61-60 after trailing by one before Collins hit another big three for a two-point lead with 3:34 remaining.

His eventual game-deciding shot came less than two minutes later as the Eagles held on for the victory.

Ohio's Jaaron Simmons had a game-high 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the loss, while Treg Setty chipped in 20 points.

Turnovers ended up being the deciding factor in the game, as the Bobcats lost the ball 18 times compared to the Eagles' nine giveaways. Both teams shot under 40 percent for the game, and the Eagles had just two more rebounds (37-35). Ohio shot 82.8 percent from the free-throw line, while Morehead was at 92.0 percent. Both teams hit seven three-pointers.

This is the third appearance for the Eagles in the CBI after going a combined 1-3 in 2010 and 2014. They now face Nevada in a best-of-three championship matchup.  

Reaction

Morehead State head coach Sean Woods was proud of his team following the victory, per Nick Evans of the team’s official website.

"This team doesn't want to stop playing. We're fighting and scrapping because we want to win so badly. We want to get it right, and we're getting it right," Woods said. "This team is just so relentless. We're doing everything from a hustle and toughness standpoint that you can possibly do."

Ohio head coach Saul Phillips praised his players after a long season, including the senior Setty, according to the team’s website:

"

I want to say thanks to this group for such a fun year. I want to say goodbye to [Setty]. There is nothing you can say other than he left it all on the floor in the CBI. Guys take journeys in their careers and then there's the journey that [Setty] took. It was all over the place and it went to places that I'm sure he never imagined, but through it all his passion for the game, his raw emotion at times always made him fun to coach. I've have a lot of respect for that guy.

"

Setty seemed to feel the same way, per the Bobcats’ site. He said:

"

I could write a book about the things that I appreciate here at Ohio. Everything changed when coach Phillips got here for the better, but even before that the people never changed. They were all very nice to me and good to me. They are all kindhearted fans. It has been such a blessing. I just couldn't imagine being a part of what I was a part of here at Ohio.

"

The Bobcats finished the season 23-12, while the Eagles improved to 22-12.

Check out Bleacher Report's live NCAA tournament updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.