ATLANTA (AP) — With Loyola-Chicago clinging to a one-point lead and only 6.3 seconds remaining, Marques Townes sank a 3-pointer from in front of the Ramblers’ bench to continue their improbable NCAA Tournament run.
Townes scored 18 points, including the key 3-pointer, to lead Loyola to a 69-68 win over the Wolf Pack in Thursday night’s NCAA South Regional semifinal.
“I think Marcus Townes is the best player on the court tonight,” said Loyola guard Clayton Custer. “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.
“This is unbelievable. Feels like a dream.”
The win leaves the No. 11th-seeded Ramblers one victory from a Final Four appearance.
Not bad for a program that hadn’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 3-pointer. Caleb Martin answered with a 3 for Nevada, but this time the Wolf Pack couldn’t extend their string of second-half comebacks in the tournament.
Loyola (31-5) awaits the winner of the Kansas State-Kentucky game in Saturday’s regional final.
Martin led Nevada (29-8) with 21 points. Twin brother Cody Martin had 16. Jordan Carolina had 19.The Wolf Pack finally faced a deficit too big to overcome.
Loyola trailed by 12 points, at 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.
Following a 4-4 tie, Nevada took the lead with an 8-0 run that included a layup and two free throws by Jordan Caroline.
Loyola pushed the ball in the paint on almost every possession. The Ramblers’ first 10 points came on layups.
Freshman Cameron Krutwig, who at 6-foot-9, 260 pounds stood out as the biggest player for either team, had eight of Loyola’s first 19 points but went to the bench with two fouls with 6:26 remaining in the half. He picked up his third foul midway through the second half.
Michigan 99, Texas A&M 72
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This one was easy.
After reaching the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16 with an improbable buzzer-beater, Michigan shot 62 percent from the floor and routed Texas A&M 99-72 in the West Region semifinals on Thursday night to reach the Elite Eight for the third time in six years.
The Wolverines (31-7) dominated from start to finish, hitting 14 3-pointers — 10 in the first half — and extending their winning streak to 12 games.
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored 24 points, Moe Wagner added 21 points and Charles Matthews had 18 points as third-seeded Michigan had five players in double figures.
The Wolverines were good in the first half and even better in the second. The rout was on by halftime with Michigan leading 52-28 after shooting 57 percent from the floor. In the second half, the Wolverines improved to 68 percent from the floor.
The Aggies (22-13) never made a run, going long stretches without a basket in the first half while Michigan was scoring on nearly every trip down the floor.
Tyler Davis led the seventh-seeded Aggies with 24 points.
Michigan won its second round game to reach the Sweet 16 on freshman Jordan Poole’s long 3 in the closing seconds against Houston.
In this one, Michigan led by 29 points after an 8-0 run near the end of the first half. The Wolverines averaged nine 3-pointers per game coming in, nd exceeded that by the break.
Michigan held the Aggies to 12-of-32 shooting from the floor by double-teaming A&M and getting hands in shooters’ faces. The Wolverines had eight steals, led by Zavier Simpson with five.
The Aggies committed 10 turnovers — with five by T.J. Starks — in the half.
They improved to 57 percent shooting in the second half, but it didn’t make any difference when the Aggies couldn’t come close to reducing their deficit to single digits.