Otega Oweh delivered the defining moment of Kentucky’s NCAA tournament opener, hitting a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation to keep the Wildcats alive and ultimately propel them to an 89-84 overtime win over Santa Clara on Friday.
The shot capped a late push by seventh-seeded Kentucky and erased what had been a tense first-round battle against an upstart Santa Clara squad. With the game extended, Kentucky capitalized in the extra period to secure the five-point victory and move on in the tournament.
Late heroics, then overtime control
Oweh’s last-second basket forced overtime and shifted momentum to Kentucky. The Wildcats followed by doing enough in the extra session to separate from Santa Clara and close out the win, 89-84.
The result advances Kentucky out of the opening round, while Santa Clara’s tournament run ended despite pushing a higher-seeded opponent to the final horn of regulation.