Louisville Tops Siena, 79-72
Associated Press
DAYTON, Ohio -- Terrence Williams had 24 points and 15 rebounds, rallying top-seeded Louisville in the final minutes for a 79-72 win over Siena in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday.
Louisville (30-5) advanced to the round of 16 for the second straight year. The Cardinals will play 12th-seeded Arizona in the Midwest Regional on Friday in Indianapolis.
Siena (27-8) overcame a 12-point deficit in the second half and led by four before Williams took over, hitting 3s, getting rebounds and starting fast breaks with one-handed passes. He finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds.
Edwin Ubiles scored 24 points for the Saints, who handled Louisville's full-court pressure and then applied some of their own. The Cardinals headed to the bench for a timeout with stunned expressions after Clarence Jackson's lay-in put Siena up 63-59 with 7:20 to go.
Williams took it from there.
The senior forward who was so cool under pressure that he skipped across the court during pregame introductions drove for a basket and hit a 3-pointer that changed the momentum. He had nine points, five rebounds, a steal and two one-handed passes for layups down the stretch.
Louisville had won its last 11 games and the Big East regular-season and tournament titles by applying the pressure -- full-court, nonstop. The Saints handled it without much problem -- only nine turnovers -- and applied a little of their own in the second half, making it a game.
They had no answer for Williams.
His two free throws with 35 seconds left put Louisville ahead 76-69 and ended the Saints' upset chances. The loss extended the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's history of never having a team reach the round of 16.