Loyola rambles into Elite Eight
ATLANTA » In its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985, Loyola is one win away from an improbable trip to the Final Four.
The 11th-seeded Ramblers kept up their amazing run with a 69-68 victory over seventh-seeded Nevada on Thursday night in the South Region in Atlanta.
With the shot clock running down and Loyola clinging to a 1-point lead, Marques Townes knocked down a 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining. He finished with 18 points.
The Ramblers fell behind by 12 points in the early going, but got back in the game when Nevada’s runand-gun offense suddenly went cold. The Wolf Pack’s final points of the first half came on Cody Martin’s dunk with 7:57 remaining. Loyola closed the half on a 12-0 run and pushed out to a 12-point lead of its own early in the second half.
Nevada rallied and it came to the final seconds. Townes hit the big shot to clinch it.
Loyola improves to 31-5 and will face either No. 5 seed Kentucky or No. 9 seed Kansas State in the regional final on Saturday.
The Wolf Pack finishes the season at 29-8. MICHIGAN 99, TEXAS A&M 72 LOS ANGELES » Michigan is back in the Elite Eight for the third time in six years.
The third-seeded Wolverines thoroughly dominated No. 7 seed Texas A&M in a victory at the West Region, extending their winning streak to 12 games.
Michigan (31-7) led the entire game and hit 14 3-pointers, including 10 in the first half. The Wolverines average nine in a game.
The rout was on by halftime with Michigan leading 52-28.
The Aggies (22-13) never made a run against the hotshooting Wolverines, who shot 62 percent from the field.
Muhammad-Ali AbdurRahkman led Michigan with 24 points.
Texas A&M was led by Tyler Davis with 24 points.