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ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Greg Harrington wasn't about to let all of
Tulsa's hard work go to waste.
The 12th-seeded Golden Hurricane let a double-digit lead slip
away until Harrington's runner in the lane with 14.6 seconds left
lifted them past No. 5 Marquette 71-69 Thursday in the first round
of the East Regional.
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Cordell Henry struggled, and Marquette goes as its guards go. Dwyane Wade had a solid performance, but with Henry struggling from the floor (5 of 14), it was Upset City as the 12th-seed Golden Hurricane moved on for a date against Kentucky and former coach Tubby Smith.
Tulsa has a great winning mentality. Three of their players -- Dante Swanson, Greg Harrington and Kevin Johnson -- played on their Elite Eight team two years ago and their NIT champion last season. John Phillips, in his first year as head coach, was jubilant to get his big W over the Eagles.
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"It was like it was in slow motion, and the lane opened up very
quickly, and the shot went in," Harrington said. "I've made some
big shots in my career, but I've also missed some. To hit one in
the NCAA tournament is real special."
Marquette had plenty of time to try to tie or win the game, but
settled for Travis Diener's hasty 3-pointer from well beyond the
arc. The shot was an air ball, and Dwyane Wade didn't even touch
the ball when trying to grab it for a miracle follow at the buzzer.
"I lost it out of bounds. It was over after that," said Wade,
who ended the game hanging on the rim.
"We made a lot of big plays," Marquette coach Tom Crean said.
"They just made the last big play. It just didn't happen for us."
Tulsa now tries for another upset _ this time, against its
former coach.
Tulsa advanced to play fourth-seeded Kentucky, which beat
Valparaiso 83-68 Thursday. Kentucky's coach, Tubby Smith, led Tulsa
to the NCAA tournament's round of 16 in 1994 and '95.
"I've always admired Coach Smith as being one of the classier
men in our profession," Tulsa coach John Phillips said. "The team
thinks it can beat anybody, and I'm not going to tell them anything
different."
|  | | Marquette coach Tom Crean can barely watch his team struggles vs. Tulsa. |
Antonio Reed scored 18 points, and Kevin Johnson added 14 as the
Golden Hurricane held off Marquette's late rally and won a
first-round game for the fourth straight year.
Up by as many as 14 points early in the second half, Tulsa
watched its lead slowly shrink. When Marquette's Cordell Henry hit
two 3-pointers in a span of 27 seconds, the game was tied 65-all
with about four minutes left.
"I knew they would do that," Phillips said. "Some of those
shots Henry hit were not easy shots."
The teams traded baskets to make it 69-69, and Harrington came
through with the winning shot.
"Greg made a big shot, an old-school shot _ that running
one-hander that used to be famous in the 1950s and '60s," Phillips
said. "It's not luck. I've seen him do it before."
Crean said he didn't want to call a timeout after Harrington's
shot because it would have given Tulsa a chance to set up its
defense. He also didn't want to put all the pressure on one player
designated to take the last shot.
"We didn't do what we wanted to do on the last play," Crean
said.
Wade led Marquette, making its first tournament appearance since
1997, with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Henry added
17 points.
Tulsa shot just 40 percent in the first half, though it did go
6-of-10 from 3-point range. The Golden Hurricane also scored 14
points off eight Marquette turnovers to take a 34-30 lead into the
break.
Reed was 3-of-3 in the half from beyond in the arc, scoring the
Hurricane's first six points on consecutive shots.
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Invincible