Venters hits late 3, Eastern Washington beats WSU in NIT

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Steele Venters scored 27 points and buried a go-ahead 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to rally Eastern Washington to an 81-74 victory over Washington State in the first round of the NIT. Venters, the player of the year in the Big Sky Conference, sank 9 of 18 shots from the floor with four 3-pointers for the Eagles (23-10), who advance to play the winner of the Wednesday’s game between Youngstown State and Oklahoma State. Venters was fouled with four seconds left and the Eagles up 77-74. He missed the free throw but grabbed the rebound with all four of his teammates in the backcourt. He sank two the second time around and Cedric Coward had a steal and a dunk to cap off the victory. DJ Rodman scored 23 points to lead the fourth-seeded Cougars (17-17)