TULSA, Okla. -- David Holston scored 11 points and made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds left to lift Chicago State to a 57-53 win against IUPUI in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament semifinals on Monday night.
The sixth-seeded Cougars (11-18) advance to their first Mid-Con final in 10 trips to the tournament. Chicago State will play top-seeded Oral Roberts -- which won the regular season title last season but lost the tournament championship to seventh seed Oakland, Mich. -- for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday night.
Chicago State protected a slim lead throughout the second half until IUPUI's Brandon Cole hit a 3-pointer with 49 seconds remaining to complete a 12-4 run and tie the game at 53.
On the ensuing possession, Holston took a pass from a driving Royce Parran and swished a 20-footer from the right wing for his only points of the second half.
The second-seeded Jaguars (19-10) had a chance to tie it again but Matt Burks missed a contested 3-pointer from the right corner and Kourtney Calvin grabbed the rebound for Chicago State before being fouled with 1.8 seconds remaining.
Calvin made the second of two free throws to clinch the win for the Cougars, who have gone 7-1 since a 4-17 start.
Parran was the leading scorer for Chicago State with 14 points, including 10-of-10 free throws. He scored 12 in the second half.
George Hill led IUPUI with 17 points and 12 rebounds, but missed six of 10 free throws in the second half. Cole also scored 17 for IUPUI.
The Jaguars, who shared the regular-season title with Oral Roberts, outrebounded Chicago State 39-34 but made only 10 of 17 free throws. The Cougars were 24-for-30 from the foul line.
Chicago State held the biggest lead of the game, 49-41, with 4:06 left before Cole ignited the tying run with a 3-pointer.
