March 20--REPORTING FROM SEATTLE -- UC Irvine's first NCAA appearance ended in a loss, but not without a fight.
Terry Rozier clinched a 57-55 win on Friday for Louisville when he stole the ball from Anteaters guard Alex Young in the final seconds.
So much for a No. 13-seeded team upsetting a No. 4.
Louisville (25-8) had taken the lead with 8.9 seconds left when guard Quentin Snider made two free throws to put the Cardinals up by the final margin.
Irvine called timeout to set up a play but it went afoul when Rozier stripped Young clean at mid-court and the clock ran out.
Louisville advances to play Northern Iowa on Saturday in a third-round East Regional game. Irvine's season ends at 21-13.
A close defensive game turned in the final 20 seconds. With the score tied at 55, Irvine guard Luke Nelson attempted a long three-point shot that caromed off the heal of the rim into the corner. The ball was retrieved by Snider, who was then fouled by Will Davis II.
That led to Snider's game-winning free throws.
Wayne Blacksear led Louisville with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Davis led Irvine with 14, while center Mamadou Ndiaye had 12 points and five rebounds.
The KeyArena crowd was thoroughly enthralled with Irvine's 7-6 center, Ndiaye, cheering every time he touched the ball.
Northern Iowa fans were also on Irvine's side, cheering for an upset that would help them avoid No. 4 Louisville in Saturday.
In the end, though, Louisville survived a close call and moves on.
And Irvine goes home.
Irvine hung tight through the first half.
The Anteaters scored the final five points before halftime, including a Davis follow shot at the buzzer, to cut Cardinals' lead to 30-28.
Irvine did not appear fazed or confused by the charged atmosphere, taking a 3-0 lead in the opening seconds on Travis Souza's three-point shot.
Irvine took a 23-19 lead when Will Davis followed his own miss at 5:15 but got sloppy in the closing minutes as Louisville went on an 11-0 run.
Irvine did a good job of keeping 7-6 center Mamadou Ndiaye on the floor, and out of foul trouble.
Ndiaye, who only averages 19.1 minutes a game, left for his first rest at the 16:20 mark.
Louisville, down 8-4, took quick advantage and went on a 7-0 run, prompting Ndiaye's return.
The crowd whooped and hollered when Ndiaye scored his first points on a slam dunk at the 9:25. Ndiaye then took another rest at the nine minute mark.
Ndiaye picked up his first (and only) foul with 5:43 left when trying to block a driving shot by Terry Rozier, who made the shot and the free throw to complete the three-point play.
Ndiaye has four points, two rebounds and one blocked shot in the first half while Davis and Luke Nelson lead the Anteaters with six points each.
