ANAHEIM, Calif., March 20 (UPI) -- Jerel McNeal had 20 points and five rebounds Thursday to lead Marquette past Kentucky 74-66 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The contest, part of the South Region, was played at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The winners fell behind 10-4 early but rallied to lead 33-29 at the half. The Wildcats closed to 66-63 with 38 seconds left when Joe Crawford scored the last of his game-high 35 points on a three-pointer.
Lazar Hayward had 16 points and seven rebounds. Dominic James scored 15 and Wesley Matthews added 13 points for the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles (25-9), who earned their first NCAA Tournament win since 2003.
Ramel Bradley had 19 points, three rebounds and four assists while Perry Stevenson added 10 points and five rebounds for the 11th-seeded Wildcats (18-13).
Kentucky lost three of its last five games after star freshman forward Patrick Patterson suffered a season-ending left-ankle stress fracture last month.
