The stage was set for yet another final possession shot, but junior guard Marques Townes shut the door with a huge three with six seconds left, extending the Loyola lead to four, one that would hold up despite a late three by Nevada.
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Nevada coach Eric Musselman, in his third season in Reno, is out to halt the Ramblers’ run. Kansas State vs Loyola-Chicago tv channel is on TBS. The Ramblers found themselves in a predicament as head coach Porter Moser had to decide between exploiting his mismatch on the inside on offense with his big man, or leaving him as a liability on defense. Townes made a shot fake to get Nevada defender Cody Martin into the air, dribbled once to his left and drained the biggest 3-pointer of his career with just 6.2 seconds left. “I mean, our kids lost all confidence because of that length, and Texas A&M can do the exact same thing”.
After losing three of five games entering the first round, Kansas State’s defense has carried it to within one win of the Final Four, holding every opponent (Creighton, UMBC, Kentucky) under 60 points. As a result, we’ll see an improbable 9 v 11 matchup in the Elite 8.
“I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life”, said Townes, who led Loyola with 18 points.
If this game is close in the final stretch, neither team can feel confident about securing a Final Four bid at the foul line. The victor of this game will take on the victor of the Florida State Seminoles and Michigan Wolverines game in Los Angeles. And the results suggest that Loyola-Chicago is the team on the West/South half of the bracket that would garner the most interest from television viewers.
Nevada called a timeout after Townes’ shot gave the Ramblers a 69-65 lead. It took a last second three by the Ramblers to win it but they got it done. “Those guys keep coming at you, coming at you”. We got a guy wide open (against Syracuse) and Hakim Warrick blocked that shot into the 10th row, and that was the end of our night.
Townes said he has enjoyed visits from players on the ’63 team in practices and games. With Harkness steadily peppering away after a miserable first half, Loyola gradually cut into what looked like a safe lead. They caught a break when Nevada erased a 22-point deficit to come back and beat Cincinnati.
“I think Marcus Townes is the best player on the court tonight”, said Loyola guard Clayton Custer.
“I thought we played like we have all year”, said Nevada head coach Eric Musselman, a former National Basketball Association coach who built this team around transfers from other Division I programs.
Martin led Nevada (29-8) with 21 points. Twin brother Cody Martin had 16.
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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. “You know, we get a stop on that 3-ball that (Townes) hit at the buzzer and maybe we’re sitting up here with a win”.
