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Loyola-Chicago Headed To Elite Eight

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.
 
The win leaves the No. 11th-seeded Ramblers one victory from a Final Four appearance.
 
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.
 
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.
 
Loyola's relentless attack on the basket continued as it stretched its lead, one layup at a time, in the second half.
 
Following a steal by Townes, Ben Richardson's layup gave the Ramblers their first double-digit lead at 36-26 and took their biggest lead at 40-28.
 
Nevada's experience in second-half comebacks paid off. After Loyola's layup by Clayton Custer gave the Ramblers their last 10-point lead at 57-47, the Wolf Pack charged back.
 
Cody Martin's basket started a 12-2 run, and his layup tied the game at 59-all with 4:06 remaining.

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