The 10th-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes, the Mid-American Conference champions, advanced to the "Elite Eight" of the NCAA tournament with a 78-73 overtime win over 3rd-seeded Pittsburgh Thursday night at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.
An enormous game by junior Antonio Gates propelled the Golden Flashes to their 21st consecutive victory - the longest such streak in the nation.
Gates scored the first four points in overtime for KSU, and ended up with 22 on the night, going 7 for 11 from the field. He cleaned up on the glass with nine rebounds and hit two clutch free throws with 41.1 seconds left in the extra session to put the Golden Flashes up 74-71.
It appeared that Gates had hit the winning shot with 25 seconds remaining in regulation, but a "phantom" jump-ball call was made by the official, giving Pittsburgh one last shot.
Buffalo native Julius Page missed a three-point attempt that could have won the game for the Panthers at the end of regulation.
Brandin Knight led Pittsburgh with 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists, but fouled out of the game after missing a shot that would have given the Panthers the lead in overtime.
Kent State will play Indiana - who upset Duke Thursday - in Saturday's tournament quarterfinals on CBS.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
