Lexington, KY – Vander Blue made the game-winning layup with one second left in regulation and Marquette edged out Davidson, 59-58, in an NCAA Tournament East Region second round matchup.
Blue had 16 points, but none more important than the final shot. Jamil Wilson had 14 points and Chris Otule registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the third-seeded Golden Eagles (24-8), who will face Butler in the third round on Saturday.
"All I was thinking was if I get to the rim, I got to finish, because if I probably don't make that, we probably lose," Blue said of the final bucket. "I'm not ready to go home. I know our team wasn't ready to go home."
Jake Cohen had a game-high 20 points for the 14th-seeded Wildcats (26-8), who were making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Nik Cochran and De'Mon Brooks scored 11 points apiece in defeat.
Down 54-48 with a minute left in regulation, Wilson drilled a 3-pointer to bring Marquette within three, 54-51.
Brooks then made a layup for Davidson, but Blue's triple cut the deficit to 56-54 with 27 seconds to go.
Cochran then made a pair of free throws, but Wilson drilled his other 3- pointer of the game, and the Golden Eagles were only down by one, 58-57, with 10 seconds to go.
Brooks then turned the ball over with seven seconds left, allowing Blue to make the layup.
Davidson took a timeout, but it wouldn't help. Blue stole the ball off Cohen, and Marquette got the win.
"Our guys gave us a sensational season, and they emptied their tank today," Davidson coach Bob McKillop remarked. "They played 40 minutes as competitively and as passionately as any coach to ever want. "Credit Marquette, they made three big plays down the stretch and they earned that victory."
The Wildcats started strong, as they went on a 12-2 run in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the contest. However, the Golden Eagles went on a 11-3 spurt to cut the gap to 15-13 with 10:52 left in the first half.
Marquette took the lead, 20-19, after Wilson sank a pair of free throws with 5:08 remaining.
However, after a jumper by Junior Cadougan, the Golden Eagles scored just one more point in the half. Meanwhile, Brooks scored six points to give Davidson a 25-23 edge at halftime.
Game Notes
Marquette's bench outscored Davidson's, 23-7 ... The Golden Eagles were 0-for-4 from behind the arc in the first half ... Marquette and Davidson had faced each other just twice, with Marquette winning the last matchup, 66-65, on Feb. 11, 1967.
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