ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Jerel McNeal and Marquette cut short Kentucky's record 49th NCAA tournament appearance.

McNeal scored 20 points and Wesley Matthews hit eight free throws in the final 31 seconds to help the Golden Eagles beat the Wildcats 74-66 in the first round of the South Regional on Thursday.

Marquette overcame 35 points by Kentucky senior Joe Crawford, who matched a career high before fouling out. Ramel Bradley added 19 for the Wildcats.

Sixth-seeded Marquette (25-9) earned its first NCAA tournament victory since 2003, when it beat Kentucky in the regional final to go to the Final Four.

Marquette had too many weapons against the outmanned Wildcats (18-13), who played without leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer Patrick Patterson. Kentucky went 2-3 after losing the star freshman to a season-ending ankle injury.

As it turned out, Crawford was almost enough for the Wildcats.

Kentucky cut it to 66-63 on Crawford's 3-pointer from the top of the key with 38 seconds left.

After Matthews hit two free throws, Bradley hit a 3-pointer from the corner to get the Wildcats within two with 22 seconds remaining.

Matthews made two more free throws, then stole the ball and hit two more from the line to ice the game.

Crawford hit 13 of 22 shots from the floor while his teammates went 10-for-26. He hit 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and 4-of-8 at the line.

Kentucky trailed 33-29 at halftime, but Crawford opened the second half by scoring the Wildcats' first seven points, on a 3-pointer, a putback and a layup to tie it at 36-36.

That's when the Golden Eagles awoke.

They went on a 9-2 run, sparked by Lazar Hayward's thunderous dunk off a feed from McNeal.

Six minutes into the half, Marquette took its biggest lead - 45-38 - when McNeal scooped up a blocked shot and raced the length of the court for a layup.

Kentucky trailed 54-43 midway through the second half when Crawford went on a personal 6-0 run, scoring on a three-point play and then hitting from beyond the arc to pull the Wildcats within five points.

The Wildcats and Golden Eagles met for the 10th time in the NCAA tourney's most-played matchup. Marquette is 6-4 in the series.

Both tradition-laden teams were hitting their stride as the postseason began.

Marquette opened 6-5 in the Big East but went 8-3 overall down the stretch, losing to eventual champion Pittsburgh in the Big East semifinals. Kentucky overcame a 7-9 start, including a loss to Gardner-Webb, and won 11 of its last 14 to slip into the bracket.

Bradley and Crawford combined to score 21 of Kentucky's 29 first-half points.

Patterson's loss was most evident under the boards. He led Kentucky in rebounding, and Marquette exploited his absence, outrebounding Kentucky 21-15 in the first half.

Marquette attacked the basket from the start, scoring 14 of its first 17 points in the paint.

Marquette went on a 12-0 run midway through the first half to take a 16-10 lead. But the Wildcats rallied to tie it at 23 on a fastbreak dunk by Crawford off an alley-oop pass from Bradley.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Kentucky vs Marquette
03/20/08 11:30 a.m. at Anaheim, CA (Honda Center)
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VISITORS: Kentucky 18-13 overall
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 Stevenson, Perry.... f  4-6    0-0    2-2    1  4  5   2  10  2  1  1  0  34
32 Crawford, Joe....... f 13-22   5-8    4-8    1  4  5   5  35  2  4  0  0  39
34 Harris, Ramon....... f  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   5   0  1  2  0  3  22
03 Bradley, Ramel...... g  6-15   3-9    4-4    0  3  3   4  19  4  3  0  0  37
05 Jasper, Derrick..... g  0-3    0-2    0-0    2  5  7   3   0  4  0  3  0  40
13 Porter, Michael.....    0-1    0-1    2-2    3  0  3   2   2  0  0  1  0  22
15 Stewart, A.J........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   2
30 Perry, Dwight.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
42 Coury, Mark.........    0-0    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  1   4
   TEAM................                         2  1  3             1
   Totals..............   23-48   8-20  12-17   9 17 26  22  66 13 12  5  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-22 40.9%   2nd Half: 14-26 53.8%   Game: 47.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8  25.0%   2nd Half:  6-12 50.0%   Game: 40.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-13 69.2%   2nd Half:  3-4  75.0%   Game: 70.6%    2
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HOME TEAM: Marquette 25-9 overall
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 HAYWARD, Lazar...... f  7-11   2-4    0-0    3  4  7   3  16  0  2  0  1  35
41 BARRO, Ousmane...... f  1-3    0-0    2-2    2  3  5   3   4  1  1  2  0  25
01 JAMES, Dominic...... g  3-9    1-3    8-10   0  1  1   3  15  3  0  0  1  29
22 MCNEAL, Jerel....... g  8-15   2-5    2-2    2  3  5   1  20  2  4  0  2  34
23 MATTHEWS, Wesley.... g  2-10   0-1    9-10   1  3  4   1  13  1  0  0  0  31
02 ACKER, Maurice......    1-3    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   2  2  0  0  1  15
05 FITZGERALD, Dan.....    1-1    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   2   2  0  0  0  0   9
10 CUBILLAN, David.....    0-0    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   0   1  1  0  0  0   8
12 BURKE, Dwight.......    0-0    0-0    1-3    0  5  5   4   1  0  0  1  0  14
   TEAM................                         4     4
   Totals..............   23-52   5-13  23-29  15 19 34  18  74 10  7  3  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-31 35.5%   2nd Half: 12-21 57.1%   Game: 44.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  3-7  42.9%   Game: 38.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-12 75.0%   2nd Half: 14-17 82.4%   Game: 79.3%    3
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Officials: David Hall, Edwin Edsall, Larry Spaulding
Technical fouls: Kentucky-None. Marquette-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Kentucky......................   29   37  -   66
Marquette.....................   33   41  -   74
2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship - First Round
Points in the paint-UK 30,MU 28. Points off turnovers-UK 6,MU 20.
2nd chance points-UK 16,MU 16. Fast break points-UK 4,MU 4.
Bench points-UK 2,MU 6. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-UK 2nd-00:23, MU 2nd-02:16.

1st Half Summary
TIME	KENTUCKY	SCORE	MARQUETTE
19:38	 	0-2	Ousmane Barro made Two Point Layup. Assisted by Dominic James.
19:06	Ramel Bradley made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Joe Crawford.	3-2	 
18:50	 	3-2	Ousmane Barro missed Two Point Layup.
18:50	Ramel Bradley Defensive Rebound.	3-2	 
18:38	Joe Crawford missed Three Point Jumper.	3-2	 
18:38	 	3-2	Wesley Matthews Defensive Rebound.
18:29	 	3-2	Jerel McNeal missed Two Point Jumper.
18:09	Ramel Bradley missed Three Point Jumper.	3-2	 
18:09	 	3-2	Lazar Hayward Defensive Rebound.
17:53	 	3-2	Dominic James missed Two Point Layup.
17:51	Ramel Bradley Defensive Rebound.	3-2	 
17:47	Joe Crawford made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Ramel Bradley.	6-2	 
17:18	 	6-4	Lazar Hayward made Two Point Jumper.
17:02	Ramel Bradley made Two Point Layup.	8-4	 
16:44	 	8-4	Dominic James missed Three Point Jumper.
16:44	Derrick Jasper Defensive Rebound.	8-4	 
16:04	Joe Crawford missed Two Point Layup.	8-4	 
16:04	 	8-4	Jerel McNeal Defensive Rebound.
15:59	 	8-4	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Layup.
15:56	Perry Stevenson Defensive Rebound.	8-4	 
15:34	Joe Crawford made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Ramel Bradley.	10-4	 
15:13	 	10-6	Wesley Matthews made Two Point Layup.
14:55	Official TV Timeout.	10-6	 
14:31	Derrick Jasper missed Three Point Jumper.	10-6	 
14:31	 	10-6	Dwight Burke Defensive Rebound.
13:46	Foul on Ramel Bradley	10-6	 
13:31	 	10-8	Lazar Hayward made Two Point Layup.
13:22	 	10-8	Foul on Dominic James
13:09	Joe Crawford missed Two Point Jumper.	10-8	 
13:09	 	10-8	Dwight Burke Defensive Rebound.
12:55	 	10-8	Dominic James missed Two Point Jumper.
12:55	Joe Crawford Defensive Rebound.	10-8	 
12:38	A.J. Stewart missed Two Point Layup.	10-8	 
12:37	 	10-8	Dominic James Defensive Rebound.
12:30	 	10-8	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Jumper.
12:30	 	10-8	Marquette Offensive Rebound.
12:19	 	10-8	Maurice Acker missed Two Point Jumper.
12:19	 	10-8	Lazar Hayward Offensive Rebound.
12:15	 	10-10	Lazar Hayward made Two Point Layup.
11:58	Official TV Timeout.	10-10	 
11:44	 	10-12	Jerel McNeal made Two Point Layup.
11:18	Perry Stevenson missed Two Point Layup.	10-12	 
11:18	Derrick Jasper Offensive Rebound.	10-12	 
11:08	Foul on Ramon Harris	10-12	 
10:38	 	10-14	Maurice Acker made Two Point Jumper.
10:10	 	10-14	Lazar Hayward missed Three Point Jumper.
10:10	 	10-14	Dan Fitzgerald Offensive Rebound.
10:06	 	10-16	Dan Fitzgerald made Two Point Layup.
10:02	Kentucky Full Timeout.
9:38	Perry Stevenson made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Joe Crawford.	12-16	 
9:03	 	12-16	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Layup.
9:03	 	12-16	Ousmane Barro Offensive Rebound.
9:03	 	12-16	Ousmane Barro missed Two Point Layup.
9:03	Derrick Jasper Defensive Rebound.	12-16	 
8:41	Joe Crawford missed Three Point Jumper.	12-16	 
8:41	 	12-16	Ousmane Barro Defensive Rebound.
8:17	Foul on Ramon Harris	12-16	 
8:17	 	12-16	Wesley Matthews missed Free Throw.
8:17	 	12-17	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
7:48	 	12-17	Foul on Wesley Matthews
7:48	Official TV Timeout.	12-17	 
7:48	Ramel Bradley made Free Throw.	13-17	 
7:48	Ramel Bradley made Free Throw.	14-17	 
7:30	 	14-17	Dominic James missed Two Point Layup.
7:30	 	14-17	Ousmane Barro Offensive Rebound.
7:30	 	14-17	Lawrence Blackledge missed Two Point Layup.
7:30	 	14-17	Marquette Offensive Rebound.
7:27	Foul on Joe Crawford	14-17	 
7:27	 	14-17	Lazar Hayward missed Two Point Layup.
7:27	 	14-17	Marquette Offensive Rebound.
7:21	Foul on Perry Stevenson	14-17	 
7:21	 	14-17	David Cubillan missed Free Throw.
7:21	 	14-18	David Cubillan made Free Throw.
7:10	Ramel Bradley missed Two Point Jumper.	14-18	 
7:10	 	14-18	Jerel McNeal Defensive Rebound.
7:02	Foul on Ramon Harris	14-18	 
7:02	 	14-18	Dominic James missed Free Throw.
7:02	 	14-19	Dominic James made Free Throw.
6:45	 	14-19	Foul on Jerel McNeal
6:37	 	14-19	Foul on Ousmane Barro
6:37	Joe Crawford missed Free Throw.	14-19	 
6:37	Joe Crawford made Free Throw.	15-19	 
6:16	 	15-19	Jerel McNeal missed Three Point Jumper.
6:16	Joe Crawford Defensive Rebound.	15-19	 
6:08	 	15-19	Foul on Dominic James
6:06	Perry Stevenson made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Ramel Bradley.	17-19	 
5:49	Foul on Perry Stevenson	17-19	 
5:49	 	17-20	Dominic James made Free Throw.
5:49	 	17-21	Dominic James made Free Throw.
5:28	Joe Crawford made Two Point Layup.	19-21	 
5:10	Foul on Joe Crawford	19-21	 
5:10	 	19-22	Jerel McNeal made Free Throw.
5:10	 	19-23	Jerel McNeal made Free Throw.
4:58	Michael Porter missed Three Point Jumper.	19-23	 
4:58	 	19-23	Dwight Burke Defensive Rebound.
4:46	 	19-23	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Jumper.
4:44	Ramel Bradley Defensive Rebound.	19-23	 
4:40	Ramel Bradley missed Two Point Layup.	19-23	 
4:40	Derrick Jasper Offensive Rebound.	19-23	 
4:33	 	19-23	Foul on Dwight Burke
4:30	 	19-23	Foul on Dan Fitzgerald
4:30	Perry Stevenson made Free Throw.	20-23	 
4:30	Perry Stevenson made Free Throw.	21-23	 
4:06	Joe Crawford made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Ramel Bradley.	23-23	 
3:45	 	23-26	Jerel McNeal made Three Point Jumper.
3:27	 	23-26	Foul on Dwight Burke
3:27	Official TV Timeout.	23-26	 
3:27	Mark Coury missed Free Throw.	23-26	 
3:27	Michael Porter Offensive Rebound.	23-26	 
3:22	 	23-26	Foul on Lazar Hayward
3:22	Michael Porter made Free Throw.	24-26	 
3:22	Michael Porter made Free Throw.	25-26	 
3:00	 	25-26	Maurice Acker missed Two Point Layup.
3:00	Michael Porter Defensive Rebound.	25-26	 
2:50	 	25-28	Jerel McNeal made Two Point Jumper.
2:32	 	25-28	Foul on Dwight Burke
2:32	Joe Crawford made Free Throw.	26-28	 
2:32	Joe Crawford missed Free Throw.	26-28	 
2:32	 	26-28	Lazar Hayward Defensive Rebound.
2:15	 	26-28	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Layup.
2:15	Derrick Jasper Defensive Rebound.	26-28	 
2:07	Ramel Bradley missed Three Point Jumper.	26-28	 
2:07	 	26-28	Lazar Hayward Defensive Rebound.
2:00	 	26-28	Jerel McNeal missed Three Point Jumper.
2:00	Joe Crawford Defensive Rebound.	26-28	 
1:50	 	26-28	Foul on Maurice Acker
1:50	Joe Crawford made Free Throw.	27-28	 
1:50	Joe Crawford missed Free Throw.	27-28	 
1:50	Michael Porter Offensive Rebound.	27-28	 
1:34	Joe Crawford missed Two Point Jumper.	27-28	 
1:34	 	27-28	Ousmane Barro Defensive Rebound.
1:14	Foul on Mark Coury	27-28	 
1:14	 	27-29	Ousmane Barro made Free Throw.
1:14	 	27-30	Ousmane Barro made Free Throw.
0:32	 	27-30	Lazar Hayward missed Two Point Dunk Shot.
0:32	 	27-30	Jerel McNeal Offensive Rebound.
0:29	 	27-30	Jerel McNeal missed Two Point Layup.
0:29	 	27-30	Jerel McNeal Offensive Rebound.
0:17	Ramel Bradley made Two Point Layup.	29-30	 
0:15	Marquette 30 Second Timeout.
0:04	 	29-33	Lazar Hayward made Three Point Jumper.
0:00	End of the 1st Half.
1 | 2 | All
2nd Half Summary
TIME	KENTUCKY	SCORE	MARQUETTE
19:38	Joe Crawford made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Derrick Jasper.	32-33	 
18:54	Ramel Bradley missed Three Point Jumper.	32-33	 
18:54	Joe Crawford Offensive Rebound.	32-33	 
18:49	Joe Crawford made Two Point Jumper.	34-33	 
18:17	 	34-36	Jerel McNeal made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Wesley Matthews.
17:56	Joe Crawford made Two Point Layup.	36-36	 
17:34	Foul on Ramon Harris	36-36	 
17:09	Foul on Ramel Bradley	36-36	 
17:09	 	36-37	Dominic James made Free Throw.
17:09	 	36-37	Dominic James missed Free Throw.
17:09	Joe Crawford Defensive Rebound.	36-37	 
16:48	 	36-37	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Layup.
16:48	 	36-37	Maurice Acker Offensive Rebound.
16:15	 	36-37	Jerel McNeal missed Three Point Jumper.
16:15	 	36-37	Lazar Hayward Offensive Rebound.
16:08	 	36-39	Jerel McNeal made Two Point Layup.
15:38	 	36-39	Foul on Lazar Hayward
15:38	Official TV Timeout.	36-39	 
14:59	 	36-41	Lazar Hayward made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Jerel McNeal.
14:41	Ramel Bradley made Two Point Jumper.	38-41	 
14:34	Foul on Derrick Jasper	38-41	 
14:15	 	38-43	Dominic James made Two Point Layup.
13:42	Derrick Jasper missed Two Point Jumper.	38-43	 
13:40	 	38-43	Jerel McNeal Defensive Rebound.
13:35	 	38-45	Jerel McNeal made Two Point Layup.
13:32	Kentucky Full Timeout.
13:08	Joe Crawford missed Three Point Jumper.	38-45	 
13:08	Michael Porter Offensive Rebound.	38-45	 
12:33	Joe Crawford made Three Point Jumper.	41-45	 
12:10	 	41-48	Lazar Hayward made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Dominic James.
11:38	Official TV Timeout.	41-48	 
11:34	 	41-48	Foul on Dominic James
11:34	Ramel Bradley made Free Throw.	42-48	 
11:34	Ramel Bradley made Free Throw.	43-48	 
11:28	Foul on Michael Porter	43-48	 
11:18	Foul on Ramel Bradley	43-48	 
11:04	 	43-48	Dominic James missed Two Point Layup.
11:04	 	43-48	Lazar Hayward Offensive Rebound.
11:03	 	43-50	Lazar Hayward made Two Point Layup.
10:32	Foul on Ramel Bradley	43-50	 
10:32	 	43-51	Dominic James made Free Throw.
10:32	 	43-52	Dominic James made Free Throw.
10:18	Ramel Bradley missed Three Point Jumper.	43-52	 
10:18	 	43-52	Dwight Burke Defensive Rebound.
10:00	 	43-54	Jerel McNeal made Two Point Layup.
9:42	 	43-54	Foul on Dwight Burke
9:33	Joe Crawford made Two Point Layup.	45-54	 
9:33	 	45-54	Foul on Dan Fitzgerald
9:33	Joe Crawford made Free Throw.	46-54	 
9:18	 	46-54	Jerel McNeal missed Two Point Jumper.
9:18	 	46-54	Wesley Matthews Offensive Rebound.
9:15	 	46-54	Wesley Matthews missed Two Point Layup.
9:15	Derrick Jasper Defensive Rebound.	46-54	 
9:08	Joe Crawford made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Derrick Jasper.	49-54	 
8:50	 	49-54	Jerel McNeal missed Two Point Layup.
8:50	 	49-54	Marquette Offensive Rebound.
8:30	 	49-56	Wesley Matthews made Two Point Jumper.
8:13	Perry Stevenson missed Two Point Layup.	49-56	 
8:11	Perry Stevenson Offensive Rebound.	49-56	 
8:09	Perry Stevenson made Two Point Layup.	51-56	 
7:43	Official TV Timeout.	51-56	 
7:29	Joe Crawford missed Two Point Jumper.	51-56	 
7:29	 	51-56	Wesley Matthews Defensive Rebound.
6:57	 	51-56	Lazar Hayward missed Three Point Jumper.
6:57	Perry Stevenson Defensive Rebound.	51-56	 
6:55	 	51-56	Foul on Ousmane Barro
5:57	 	51-56	Wesley Matthews missed Three Point Jumper.
5:57	Derrick Jasper Defensive Rebound.	51-56	 
5:23	Derrick Jasper missed Three Point Jumper.	51-56	 
5:23	Kentucky Offensive Rebound.	51-56	 
5:19	 	51-56	Foul on Lazar Hayward
5:10	Perry Stevenson made Two Point Dunk Shot. Assisted by Ramel Bradley.	53-56	 
4:51	 	53-56	Dominic James missed Three Point Jumper.
4:51	 	53-56	Dan Fitzgerald Offensive Rebound.
4:23	 	53-59	Dominic James made Three Point Jumper.
3:37	Official TV Timeout.	53-59	 
3:36	Joe Crawford missed Two Point Layup.	53-59	 
3:36	 	53-59	Ousmane Barro Defensive Rebound.
3:14	 	53-61	Dominic James made Two Point Layup.
2:51	Joe Crawford made Two Point Layup.	55-61	 
2:51	 	55-61	Foul on Ousmane Barro
2:51	Joe Crawford missed Free Throw.	55-61	 
2:51	 	55-61	Lazar Hayward Defensive Rebound.
2:17	 	55-63	Jerel McNeal made Two Point Jumper. Assisted by David Cubillan.
2:11	Kentucky 30 Second Timeout.
1:56	Joe Crawford missed Two Point Jumper.	55-63	 
1:56	Kentucky Offensive Rebound.	55-63	 
1:50	Ramel Bradley made Three Point Jumper. Assisted by Ramon Harris.	58-63	 
1:48	Kentucky 30 Second Timeout.
1:35	Foul on Michael Porter	58-63	 
1:35	 	58-64	Dominic James made Free Throw.
1:35	 	58-65	Dominic James made Free Throw.
1:35	Marquette 30 Second Timeout.
1:27	Ramel Bradley missed Two Point Layup.	58-65	 
1:27	 	58-65	Dwight Burke Defensive Rebound.
1:20	Foul on Derrick Jasper	58-65	 
1:20	 	58-66	Dwight Burke made Free Throw.
1:20	 	58-66	Dwight Burke missed Free Throw.
1:20	Perry Stevenson Defensive Rebound.	58-66	 
1:08	Joe Crawford made Two Point Layup.	60-66	 
0:54	Foul on Derrick Jasper	60-66	 
0:54	 	60-66	Dwight Burke missed Free Throw.
0:54	Perry Stevenson Defensive Rebound.	60-66	 
0:41	Joe Crawford made Three Point Jumper.	63-66	 
0:38	Kentucky Full Timeout.
0:31	Foul on Joe Crawford	63-66	 
0:31	 	63-67	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:31	 	63-68	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:24	Ramel Bradley made Three Point Jumper.	66-68	 
0:20	Foul on Ramon Harris	66-68	 
0:20	 	66-69	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:20	 	66-70	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:10	Foul on Joe Crawford	66-70	 
0:10	 	66-71	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:10	 	66-72	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:06	Matt Scherbenske missed Three Point Jumper.	66-72	 
0:06	 	66-72	Wesley Matthews Defensive Rebound.
0:03	Foul on Joe Crawford	66-72	 
0:03	 	66-73	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:03	 	66-74	Wesley Matthews made Free Throw.
0:03	Ramel Bradley missed Three Point Jumper.	66-74	 
0:00	End Game