No Elder, no problem

With star injured, Georgia Tech rallies to eliminate upstart Nevada 72-67

Georgia Tech's Anthony McHenry (right) scrums with Nevada's Todd Okeson and Nick Fazekas during the first half. AP Marvin Lewis and Will Bynum picked a good time to step up against Nevada. But how will they fare against Kansas? By Kelli Anderson ST. LOUIS REGIONAL First Round: Various Sites Thursday, March 18 • (10) Nevada 72, (7) Michigan State 66 • (2) Gonzaga 74, (15) Valparaiso 49 Friday, March 19 • (6) Boston College 58, (11) Utah 51 • (3) Georgia Tech 65, (14) Northern Iowa 60 • (1) Kentucky 96, (16) Florida A&M 76 • (12) Pacific 66, (5) Providence 58 • (9) UAB 102, (8) Washington 100 • (4) Kansas 78, (13) Illinois-Chicago 53 Second Round Saturday, March 20 • (10) Nevada 91, (2) Gonzaga 72 Sunday, March 21 • (3) Georgia Tech 57, (6) Boston College 54 • (4) Kansas 78, (12) Pacific 63 • (9) UAB 76, (1) Kentucky 75 Regional Semfinals Edward Jones Dome Friday, March 26 • (4) Kansas 100, (9) UAB 74 • (3) Ga. Tech 72, (10) Nevada 67 Regional Finals Sunday, March 28 • (3) Georgia Tech 79, (4) Kansas 71 More from SI.com • Updated bracket | Daily schedule • SI.com Writers: Inside the tournament • E-mail Alerts | Hoops Bracket Challenge • Complete NCAA tournament coverage

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Most teams would fall apart if their leading scorer went down two minutes into an NCAA tournament game.

Georgia Tech isn't most teams.

With B.J. Elder on the bench with a sprained right ankle, Marvin Lewis broke out of his slump in a big way and Georgia Tech's vaunted defense took over again, smothering Nevada for a 72-67 victory in the NCAA tournament Friday night.

"We've done a good job with these guys, making them understand just how deep and talented we are," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "I never sensed at any time they were panicking because B.J. wasn't coming back. The discussion in the huddle centered around what we were doing."

What they're doing now is moving on to the regional finals for only the third time in school history and the first time since 1990. Third-seeded Georgia Tech (26-9) will play fourth-seeded Kansas in the St. Louis Regional final on Sunday.

Kansas (24-8) demolished upstart Alabama-Birmingham 100-74 in the early game to advance to the regional finals for a third straight year.

"As a team, we're coming together at the right time," said Lewis, who finished with 23 points, one shy of his season high. "We've got to get it done. It's now or never."

The 10th-seeded Wolf Pack (25-9) were the only double-digit seed to make it to the tournament's second weekend. They'd already knocked off Michigan State and routed Gonzaga, and it seemed as if another upset was in the making early -- especially with Elder on the bench with his ankle swallowed up in ice packs.

Kirk Snyder landed on Elder's ankle as he came down from an alley-oop attempt. Elder, who leads Georgia Tech with 16.2 points, tried to play on it after X-rays showed there was no break, but the pain was just too much.

"I really couldn't move laterally or up and down the court," he said. "That was the deciding factor. I was in a lot of pain in my lower leg."

So Lewis took over.

The senior struggled mightily last weekend, going 4-for-12 in Georgia Tech's first two games. But he was brilliant against Nevada with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and his back-to-back 3-pointers with 5:20 left put Georgia Tech in control for the first time.

"As the game ended, the first thing that flashed through my mind was 'Thank God Marvin Lewis gave us a chance,"' Hewitt said. "He has been a big, big part of getting this program back to where it is. I'm so happy he had this moment in time."

But Nevada made Lewis -- and the rest of the Yellow Jackets -- work for it. With Georgia Tech trying to adjust to the loss of Elder, Snyder and Todd Okeson had the Wolf Pack running. They led by as many as eight in the first half, and Snyder and Okeson were already in double figures by intermission.

But they cooled off in the second half when Georgia Tech's stingy defense finally kicked in.

Nevada was just 7-for-33 in the second half and went almost six minutes without a field goal. Snyder led the Wolf Pack with 21 points, but he was 2-for-12 in the second half and didn't score until there were 6 1/2 minutes left.

Okeson was 1-of-10 in the second, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range. He finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

"It was nothing I haven't seen before," Snyder said of Georgia Tech's defensive adjustments. "But give Georgia Tech credit. They did what the had to do."

Snyder made a 3-pointer with 3:26 left to pull Nevada within 67-65, and he tied the game 90 seconds later with a pair of free throws.

But then little Will Bynum came up with the biggest play of the night. The 6-foot spark plug doesn't get as much playing time as he'd probably like, stuck behind Jarrett Jack. When he does get the ball, though, good things happen.

Driving hard to the basket, he at first planned to dunk. But he got bumped and could feel himself falling out of bounds. He managed to put the ball on the backboard, and it fell in for a 69-67 lead with 1:04 to play.

"I've seen him make some tough shots, but I don't know how he made that one," Elder said. "That one was something. It looked like he was behind the basket."

The Wolf Pack were forced to foul, and Lewis was sent to the line with 49 seconds left. He missed the first, drawing a loud groan from the Georgia Tech contingent, but made the second.

Snyder's layup was blocked by Georgia Tech center Luke Schenscher on the other end, and Clarence Moore came up with the rebound. He was fouled and made the first to seal the victory.

Okeson and Snyder each took one last 3, but neither was close. When the final buzzer sounded, Snyder dropped to the floor and glumly watched the Georgia Tech fans celebrate.

"It's going to be bitter," Snyder said. "Anytime you lose a basketball game that you had a chance to win, it never feels good. We had a great chance to get the win and didn't do it."