Kentucky Edges Santa Clara in OT Thriller

0:00On March 20th, 7th seeded Kentucky edged out 10th seeded Santa Clara, 89-84 in overtime during the first round of the 20th. 26NCAA men's tournament in St. Louis. The game went down to the wire after Kentucky's Otega OA drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to force the extra period. Santa Clara hung tough in the first half, grabbing a slim 31-29 lead thanks to strong rebounding and solid defense. They battled Kentucky's size despite foul trouble for freshman Alan Graves and managed to keep things low scoring. Fans packed the arena when wild over the back-and-forth action, calling in one of the top driller so far. Santa Clara's Sasha Valugov stepped up big with 16 points while teammate Elijah Mahi added 20, keeping the Broncos in striking distance. OA took over in the second half, dropping 28 of his game, high 35 points, along with 8 rebounds and 7 assists. In overtime, Kentucky sealed it with key blocks by Brandon Garrison and always free throws

1:01at the line. Kentucky now moves on to face the next challenge, while Santa Clara heads home after a gritty fight that won't be forgotten anytime soon.