pSAN JOSE, Calif. mdash; Washington's remarkable late-season run has extended right into the NCAA tournament, thanks to a big shot by the Huskies' senior leader./p
pQuincy Pondexter drove for a tiebreaking bank shot with 1.7 seconds left, and 11th-seeded Washington rallied for an 80-78 victory over Marquette in the first round of the East Regional on Thursday night./p
pPondexter scored 18 points in his school-record 134th game, and Isaiah Thomas had 19 as the Huskies (25-9) won their eighth straight in dramatic fashion, roaring back from a 15-point deficit with 13 1/2 minutes left./p
pWashington made two late defensive stops before Pondexter drove by Jimmy Butler from the perimeter and scored the winner./p
pLazar Hayward missed a half-court heave at the buzzer for the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles (23-11), who didn't manage a field goal in the final 4:33./p
pWashington will face the winner of third-seeded New Mexico's late game against Montana at the Shark Tank, which was filled with Huskies fans./p
pElston Turner had another strong second half for the Huskies, scoring 11 of his 14 points while they rallied. Washington led for less than a minute of the entire second half before the final layup by Pondexter, who also had 11 rebounds while breaking Justin Dentmon's Huskies record for appearances./p
pHayward scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime, but lost his duel with fellow senior forward Pondexter ndash; his dorm mate on a World University Games team in Serbia last summer. Hayward crumpled at midcourt after his final miss, but his teammates gathered around and raised him up for final handshakes./p
pDarius Johnson-Odom had 19 points and David Cubillan added 14 for the Eagles, who also finished strong in the regular season to earn a surprisingly high seed./p
pMarquette's loss completed an ugly 1-3 opening day for the mighty Big East, which put eight teams in the NCAA tournament, most of any conference. No. 2 seed Villanova posted the league's only victory despite an overtime scare from 15th-seeded Robert Morris./p
pWashington's win was a welcome development for the beleaguered Pac-10, which got just two teams into the NCAAs after a down season for the league./p
pSporting new haircuts featuring patterns and uniform numbers etched in the left sides of their heads, the Eagles kept pace with the up-tempo Huskies for most of the day, but couldn't execute their deliberate offense late. The Big East's top 3-point shooting team went 12 for 19, but lost for the eighth time in an astonishing 16 games decided by four points or fewer this season./p
pThe first-round game was every bit as entertaining as the Huskies' back-and-forth victory over California last weekend in the Pac-10 tournament, which Washington probably needed to win just to make the NCAAs after its rough season ended with a lengthy winning streak./p
pMarquette jumped ahead with a 15-1 run shortly after halftime, getting eight points from Hayward while taking a 60-45 lead. Washington answered with a 13-2 run in less than three minutes, and eventually took a 72-71 lead on Turner's 3-pointer with 5:20 left./p
pMarquette went back ahead on Cubillan's 3-pointer moments later ndash; but it was the Eagles' final field goal. Hayward didn't score in the final six minutes./p
pThe win was hardly an upset: Washington and Marquette have similar smallish lineups, and both teams needed tremendous late-season finishes just to make the NCAAs./p
pThe Eagles went 11-3 down the stretch with two wins in the Big East tournament, saving a season that was in trouble after a 2-5 start to Big East play. Marquette was pleasantly surprised to get a No. 6 seed in its fifth straight trip to the NCAAs./p
pWashington began the season with a national ranking, but slipped out of the polls with a midseason swoon that put the talented team in danger of missing the postseason. The Huskies rallied in recent weeks, winning nine of 11 before rolling through the Pac-10 tournament with three straight victories, including that back-and-forth thriller over Cal in the championship game./p
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