St. Louis ? Greg Harrington wasn’t about to let all of Tulsa’s hard work go to waste.

The 12th-seeded Golden Hurricane let a double-digit lead slip away until Harrington’s runner in the lane with 14.6 seconds left lifted them past No. 5 Marquette 71-69 Thursday in the first round.

“It was like it was in slow motion, and the lane opened up very quickly, and the shot went in,” Harrington said. “I’ve made some big shots in my career, but I’ve also missed some. To hit one in the NCAA tournament is real special.”

Marquette had plenty of time to try to tie or win the game, but settled for Travis Diener’s hasty 3-pointer from well beyond the arc. The shot was an air ball, and Dwyane Wade didn’t even touch the ball when trying to grab it for a miracle follow at the buzzer.

“I lost it out of bounds. It was over after that,” said Wade, who ended the game hanging on the rim.

“We made a lot of big plays,” Marquette coach Tom Crean said. “They just made the last big play. It just didn’t happen for us.”

Tulsa now tries for another shocker  this time, against its former coach.

Tulsa advanced to play fourth-seeded Kentucky and coach Tubby Smith, who led Tulsa to the NCAA tournament’s round of 16 in 1994 and ’95.

“I’ve always admired Coach Smith as being one of the classier men in our profession,” Tulsa coach John Phillips said. “The team thinks it can beat anybody, and I’m not going to tell them anything different.”

Antonio Reed scored 18 points, and Kevin Johnson added 14 as the Golden Hurricane held off Marquette’s late rally and won a first-round game for the fourth straight year.

Up by as many as 14 points early in the second half, Tulsa watched its lead slowly shrink. When Marquette’s Cordell Henry hit two 3-pointers in a span of 27 seconds, the game was tied 65-all with about four minutes left.

“I knew they would do that,” Phillips said. “Some of those shots Henry hit were not easy shots.”

The teams traded baskets to make it 69-69, and Harrington came through with the winning shot.

Kentucky 83,

Valparaiso 68

St. Louis  Even Kentucky’s recent troubles on and off the court couldn’t derail its first-round roll. Keith Bogans had 21 points, and Tayshaun Prince made up for poor shooting with strong defense, leading the Wildcats to their 12th straight opening victory in the NCAA tournament. Kentucky, seeded fourth, came into the tournament having dropped four of its last nine games. Kentucky (21-9) put the game away with an 18-3 run over a span of about six minutes late in the first half. Six players scored during the spurt, which gave the Wildcats a 38-19 lead with 2:15 to go.