NCAA Scores: Marquette Ends Kentucky's Season

For the first time in 7 years, fans and students of the Marquette Golden Eagles can celebrate beyond the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

#6 Marquette advanced to the second round in the NCAA Tournament by defeating #11 Kentucky 74-66 Thursday. Guard Jerel McNeal led the way for the Eagles with 20 points, while Guard Wesley Matthews made 8 clutch free throws at the end of the game in addition to his 13 points to secure the win. Forward Lazar Hayward scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a team high 35 minutes, while Dominic James had 15 points and 3 assists.

The Wildcats were unable to pull off the upset despite a game high 35 points by Senior Forward Joe Crawford before fouling out of the game in the final seconds. Ramel Bradley added 19 points and Derrick Jasper grabbed 7 rebounds in the loss.

The game remained even throughout, though the Eagles never trailed after a McNeal lay-up put them up by 2 with about 12 minutes left in the first half. They were up by as much as 11 in the second half and were able to withstand a late Wildcats run. A 3 pointer by Bradley brought the game within 2 with less than 30 seconds to play, but those were Kentucky's last points as Matthews proceeded to make 6 consecutive free throws and grab a key defensive rebound.

With their first tournament win since 2003, Marquette advances and will face #3 Stanford in the second round of the tourney on Saturday. The school's only NCAA championship came in 1977 when they were still nicknamed the Warriors. Their last appearance in the tournament was a 61-49 first round loss to Michigan State last year. On a more positive note, the last time they beat Kentucky in the tournament, they went on to reach the final four.

Kentucky loses in its' record 49th tournament appearance and ends its' season with an 18-13 record. They fail to match last year's performance, when they lost to Kansas in the second round. They have the 2nd most NCAA titles all-time with 7 while UCLA holds the record with 11.

Source

"Kentucky vs. Marquette-Box Score-March 20, 2008." ESPN