Lukosius leads Cincinnati to 73-72 overtime win over San Francisco in NIT

CINCINNATI — San Francisco’s season came to a heartbreaking conclusion in Cincinnati on Wednesday night when the Bearcats’ Simas Lukosius hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, sending USF to a 73-72 loss in the NIT

Lukosius, who scored a game-high 28 points, took a pass from Aziz Bandaogo at the elbow, turned and buried his eighth 3-pointer of the game to end the Dons’ season.

USF used some of its own heroics to send the game into overtime as Malik Thomas’ 3-pointer with nine seconds left tied the game at 67-all.

Thomas led the way for the Dons (23-11) with a game-high 31 points. He scored all five of the Dons’ points in overtime, including a 3-pointer just 20 seconds into the extra period. It turned out to be USF’s only field goal in overtime.

Ndewedo Newbury added 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for San Francisco. Jonathan Mogbo also put up 10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Dan Skillings Jr. added 16 points for the Bearcats (21-14).

Lukosius scored 11 points in the first half for Cincinnati, which led 38-35 at the break.