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Come Fan with UsWednesday, August 5, 2026

Cincinnati lost to St. Joseph’s because its game-tying dunk came a tenth of a second too late

Ricky O'Donnell
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.

St. Joseph's and Cincinnati played a classic 8-9 matchup in the final game of the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night. The game went back and forth throughout the second half, and came down the final possession with Hawks up two and Cincinnati with the ball, thanks to a go-ahead three-pointer by Isaiah Miles.

Cincinnati's Octavius Ellis appeared to dunk the ball as time expired to tie the game and send it to overtime. But not so fast: the bucket came a fraction of the second late, and the basket was ruled no good.

St. Joseph’s 78, Cincinnati 76, final.

Remember how the Bearcats lost their last game, a four-overtime affair in the AAC Tournament that included a 70-foot buzzer-beater in triple OT? Yeah, March is not always a kind month.

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NCAA Cinderella: St. Joseph’s looks to make history this year

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