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No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago advanced to the Elite Eight by taking out No. 7 seed Nevada on Thursday in a 69-68 thriller that came down to the wire.
The Ramblers let a 12 point second half lead slip through their fingers as Nevada surged in crunch time, but they re-gained it with 2:57 and never relinquished it.
The win, however, wasn't without controversy. After Caleb Martin knocked down a 3-pointer for Nevada to cut Loyola's lead to 1 point with under two seconds remaining, Loyola in-bounded the ball successfully out of a timeout. But it appears Ramblers hero Marques Townes, who hit a dagger 3-pointer with six seconds remaining to ice the game, may have gotten away with a travel.
The refs on the play whistled Nevada's Jordan Caroline for a foul, but before any contact, it appears as if Townes may have taken an extra step as he braced for sudden impact by the fast-approaching body of Caroline.
Does the no-call impact the final outcome? That answer we will never know. Had a travel been called, Nevada would have had just one second to inbound it and score before the clock hit zeros. So even if it was called correctly, it may not have mattered.
Nevertheless, Loyola's dancing on into the Elite Eight thanks to the heroics of Townes, no matter if he traveled or not.
Let's have another look at that dagger.
MARQUES TOWNES WITH THE BIG TIME 👌#MarchMadness #Sweet16 pic.twitter.com/9LMUnm6Z2v
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 23, 2018
The Ramblers will face the winner of Kentucky vs. Kansas State in the Elite Eight.