MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- For some teams, NIT seems to stand for "Not

Interested. Thanks." The Minnesota Gophers are always up for more

games.

Vince Grier scored 18 points to lead Minnesota to a 73-58

victory over Wake Forest in the first round of the National

Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night.

For the Gophers (16-14), this one was all about their seniors.

Grier also had eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Moe

Hargrow scored 15 points, Adam Boone added 13 points and J'son

Stamper had 12 points and nine rebounds.

"Last shot," Stamper said. "You never want to end it on a bad

note."

Minnesota, the fourth seed in its group, will play a

second-round game next Tuesday against the winner of Friday's

Cincinnati-Charlotte matchup.

"I've had an opportunity to play in this tournament before,"

said Hargrow, a member of the team that finished fourth in the NIT

in 2003. "I wouldn't mind finishing my career by going back to the

Garden."

That's Madison Square Garden in New York, where the semifinals

are held.

"I just want to get back home," said Stamper, who was raised

in the Bronx.

Chris Ellis led the Demon Deacons (17-17) with 12 points and six

rebounds, and Justin Gray had 11 points and five assists. Eric

Williams was held to eight points, and he and Gray -- two bright

spots during an ultimately disappointing season -- finished a total

of 16 points under their combined average.

"We couldn't throw the ball in to Eric," coach Skip Prosser

said, noting his team's 19 turnovers. "We kept throwing the ball

out of bounds."

The Gophers had plenty to do with that.

"Our team has been built on intensity, especially when we play

well," Boone said. "Out-scrapping other teams and playing

defense."

Minnesota gave a sparse crowd -- announced at 2,643 with students

on spring break, by far the smallest of the season -- two

highlight-reel sequences in an even, fast-paced first half in which

neither team led by more than seven.

In the opening minutes, Grier leaped high to catch a lob pass

from Hargrow with one hand and landed on the low block before

popping right back up for an easy basket. Later, Stamper got a

steal and started a fastbreak that he ended with a one-handed,

back-spinning bounce pass that landed in a streaking Rico Tucker's

hands for a layup.

The fans who were there were fairly loud, though, and they

howled over a curious call at the beginning of the second half that

negated a nifty drive to the hoop by Grier when he was whistled for

charging.

During a brief conference by the officials to determine how much

time should be on the clock following a dead ball in the final

minutes, one man hollered, "It's an NIT game!"

The Gophers played like it was more than that, pulling away down

the stretch while Grier showed off the quickness, soft touch and

knack for finding the basket that made him an All-Big Ten

Conference selection last year. After breaking a finger in the

season opener that kept him out of the next five games, Grier

wasn't as consistently dominant as he was as a junior -- but he

clearly remained Minnesota's best player. He has 47 points in the

Gophers' last two games.

"I think you get in these games and you really see who your

team is and what their character is," said Minnesota coach Dan

Monson, who took the Golden Gophers to the NCAA tournament last

year.

Ranked 18th in The Associated Press preseason poll, the Demon

Deacons finished last in the 12-team Atlantic Coast Conference

after losing star Chris Paul to the NBA. They won twice in last

week's ACC tournament, losing to top-ranked Duke in the semifinals.

But this wasn't what Prosser or his players envisioned.

"It's very frustrating," Williams said. "We knew what kind of

team we could be, but we didn't play like it. If you don't have

that chemistry early, it's tough to get it."