By Eddie Pells
San Antonio (AP) -Florida and Walter Clayton Jr. somehow surpassed Houston’s spiritual defense on Monday night to get a 65-63 victory in a thriller of the NCAA title game that did not decide until Clayton’s herself arrested the Cogars to take a chance to win the game.
Clayton ended with 11 points, all in the second half, but what will be most remembered was to get Emanuel Sharp de Houston to stop in the midst of his movement while trying to go up to the game winning 3 in recent seconds.
Clayton ran to him, Sharp dropped the ball and, unable to pick it up, so that he was not called to travel, he saw him bounce there while the clock marked zero.
Will Richard had 18 points to keep the Gats (36-4), and won their third general title and first since 2007, this time led by the third year coach, Todd Golden, the former guard of Saint Mary and the chief coach of San Francisco. The Cougars (35-5) and coach Kelvin Sampson denied their first championship.
This was a defensive fight, and during most of the night, Clayton won his sausage.
It was 0 by 4 from the field without a point in the first half. He did not score until 14:57 he remained in the game. He ended with a triple and, before that, a couple of three -point played that kept the crawls in a striking range.
It was Florida’s defense, not Houston’s, which controlled the last minute.
After Alijah Martin made two free throws to put Florida ahead 64-63-His first advantage from 8-6-the gaters attracted Sharp to a triple team in the corner, where Richard made him drip the leg of his leg and out of the limits.
Florida made a free kick in the following possession and that established the final. The ball was for the first time for LJ Cryer, who led the Cougars with 19 points. Set by Richard, he threw Sharp, who moved to detect a 3 when Clayton ran it. That left him without further remedy to let the ball go.
Sampson, who designed a defense that Hero Florida less than 70 points for the second time this season, considered in shock.
Instead that the 69 -year -old became the oldest coach to win the title, Golden, 39, becomes the youngest from Jim Valvano de NC State in 1983 to win everything.
The Gators followed 12 points at the beginning of the second half, and Clayton was the only one frustrated.
The Bank of Florida obtained a technical turn of three foul calls in less than a minute. Later, in the second half, Houston’s defense ceases Rueben Chinyelu in a technique after committing a foul.
But that was not enough. Houston ends in the same place as the Phi Slama Jama teams of the 1980s, secondly, but memorable.
This heartbreaking loss came two nights after the Coupars created their own wild return, from 14 against Duke.
The three final games Four decided on the section, none for more than six. Any thought that the male game had the leg on the tasks of increasingly popular women probable for at least one year.
The three Games of the Three Women Final Four, limited by the Uconn or Carolina del Sur Reventador on Sunday, were decided by an average or 24.7 points.
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