Louisville uses OT to knock off No. 9 Michigan St.
LOUISVILLE, KY. >> Ryan McMahon made two free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining in overtime before Jordan Nwora made another from the line with 3.1 seconds left to seal it as Louisville upset No. 9 Michigan State 8278 Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
McMahon scored all seven of his points in the extra session from the line to finish with a career-high 24.
Nwora’s clinching free throw followed his 3-pointer with
2:05 left that gave the Cardinals (4-2) the lead for good in an exciting matchup that ended a two-game slide and gave first-year coach Chris Mack his first significant win with the program.
Louisville needed just about every point to hold off the Spartans (5-2), who had a chance to get close with Joshua Langford
(15 points) at the line.
But he missed the first of two free throws with 4.2 seconds left and failed to hit the rim on an intentional miss, a violation that gave Louisville the ball and led to Nwora’s free throw.
Dwayne Sutton and Christen Cunningham each had 13 points for the Cardinals, who won despite shooting 40 percent and getting outrebounded 47-30.
Kyle Ahrens had 15 points for Michigan State while starting in place of injured senior guard Matt McQuaid, who did not travel for the game because of a thigh bruise.
(5) NEVADA 79, LOYOLA-CHICAGO
65>> Caleb Martin had 21 points, twin brother Cody Martin scored
20 and Nevada beat Loyola-Chicago in an NCAA Tournament rematch.
Loyola beat Nevada by one point in the NCAA South Regional semifinals last season — the only other meeting between these programs.
That victory came during a stunning Final Four run for the Ramblers.
Caleb Martin scored 17 in the first half, helping the Wolf Pack
(7-0) grab a 44-28 lead. The preseason All-American shot 8 of 13 in the game, including 3 for 6 on
3-pointers.
Cody Martin was 9 of 14 with seven assists.
Jordan Caroline had 15 points and six rebounds.
Trey Porter added 14 points and 10 boards.
Marques Townes — who hit the decisive 3 in the closing seconds of that NCAA game — led Loyola (4-3) with a seasonhigh 24 points, but the Ramblers dropped their second straight game.