Louisiana Tech 71, Florida State 66: Raheem Appleby scored 27 points on 12-for-19 shooting, and the visiting Bulldogs used a late 6-0 burst to beat the host Seminoles in the first round of the NIT.

Louisiana Tech (27-6) advances to face top-seed Southern Mississippi or eighth-seed Charleston Southern in the second round. Alex Hamilton added 16 points for the Bulldogs.

Michael Snaer tied a career high with five 3-pointers, leading the Seminoles (18-16) with 24 points. Okaro White added 11 points and Montay Brandon scored 10 off the bench.

Louisiana Tech scored six consecutive points to take a 68-62 lead on Appleby’s layup with 1:18 left. The Seminoles crawled back to within 69-66 on Montay Brandon’s dunk with 40 seconds to go, but Snaer missed a shot with 21 seconds left and the Bulldogs sealed the game on two Brandon Gibson free throws.

Snaer accounted for 50 percent of Florida State’s total as the Seminoles led 28-24 at the break. The Bulldogs trailed by nine points early in the second half, but Appleby scored six points during an 11-0 run that gave Louisiana Tech a 37-35 advantage with 16:27 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Snaer finished 8-for-18 and 5-for-10 from 3-point range. ... The Seminoles fell behind early 8-2, but scored 15 of the next 17 points to take a 17-10 lead. Snaer scored 11 points during the run, hitting three of his five 3-pointers to ignite the home crowd at the Donald L. Tucker Center. … Florida State committed 18 turnovers.