Loyola goes to Townes to hold off Nevada
ATLANTA — With Loyola-Chicago clinging to a onepoint lead and only 6.3 seconds remaining, Marques Townes sank a three-pointer from in front of the Ramblers' bench to continue their improbable NCAA Tournament run.
Townes scored 18 points, including the key three-pointer, to lead Loyola to a 69-68 win over Nevada in Thursday night's NCAA South Regional semifinal.
"I think Marcus Townes is the best player on the court tonight," Loyola guard Clayton Custer said. "I don't even think it was close, either. I am so happy for him. He is such a good basketball player and such a good person, I am just so happy he dominated the game tonight and he led us."
The win leaves the 11th-seeded Ramblers Loyola-Chicago guard Marques Townes celebrates his three-pointer that ended Nevada’s comeback hopes.
one victory from a Final Four appearance.
"This is unbelievable. Feels like a dream," Custer said.
Not bad for a program that hasn't been in the Sweet 16 in
33 years.
Townes charged down the court, pumping his fist, as Nevada called a timeout following the crucial three-pointer. Caleb Martin answered
with a three for Nevada, but this time the Wolf Pack couldn't extend their string of secondhalf comebacks in the tournament.
Loyola (31-5) will play Kansas State in Saturday's regional final.
Martin led Nevada (29-8) with 21 points. Twin brother Cody Martin had 16 points and Jordan Caroline 19.
Loyola trailed 20-8 midway through the first half but stormed back to lead 28-24 at halftime. Loyola closed the half with a 20-4 run as Nevada didn't score in the final 7:55 before the break.
After leading a combined 4 minutes, 24 seconds of their first two NCAA Tournament wins, the Wolf Pack didn't trail in the opening 18 minutes of the first half. Even after leading 20-8 and appearing to have established command, Nevada found a way to trail at halftime for the sixth straight game.
NO. 9 KANSAS STATE 61, NO. 5 KENTUCKY 58: Barry Brown made a driving layup with 18 seconds left and Amaad Wainright added a free throw with seven seconds to play to lift Kansas State (25-11) over Kentucky (26-11) in a South Regional semifinal in Atlanta. Kentucky missed two three-pointers in the final 12 seconds, the second by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with one second to play with a chance to force overtime. Xavier Sneed led Kansas State with 22 points and nine rebounds. PJ Washington had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Kentucky. Kansas State raced to a quick lead and went to halftime leading 33-29. K-State stunned Kentucky right from the opening tip, building a 13-1 lead before most of the blue-clad crowd at Philips Arena knew what had hit them. Kentucky shot just 26 percent in the first half but managed to close the gap before the break. Coach John Calipari's squad was the highestseeded team remaining in a bracket that became the first in tournament history to have the four top seeds eliminated on the first weekend.