The legend of Kemba Walker is growing bigger with each postseason feat for the Connecticut Huskies, who are on the brink of another trip to the Final Four.
Walker scored 22 of his 36 points in another dynamic second-half performance, relentlessly driving UConn down the stretch in a 74-67 victory over San Diego State in the West regional semifinals Thursday night.
Freshman Jeremy Lamb added 24 points and hit a clutch 3-pointer with 1:43 left for the third-seeded Huskies (29-9), who won five games in five days to capture the Big East tournament and now are going to an NCAA regional final for the 10th time.
Walker, the fearless playmaker from the Bronx generously listed at 6-foot-1, scored 12 consecutive points for the Huskies down the stretch.
UConn advanced to Saturday's regional final against the winner of top-seeded Duke's meeting with Arizona later at Honda Center.
With four 3-pointers and a little veteran savvy to draw a run-stopping technical foul against San Diego State's Jamaal Franklin in the second half, Walker outdueled Aztecs point guard D.J. Gay, who scored 16 points and trimmed UConn's second-half lead to 65-64 on a 3-pointer with 2:53 to play.
Lamb replied with his 3, and his emphatic last-second dunk set off a celebration in the section of thoroughly outnumbered UConn fans at Honda Center, just 90 minutes up the interstate from San Diego.
Gay scored 16 points for the second-seeded Aztecs (34-3), who couldn't quite catch up to the Huskies down the stretch. Kawhi Leonard had 12 points and nine rebounds but never dominated inside, while Billy White added 14 points and Malcolm Thomas had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Walker scored 14 points in the first half to stake UConn to a 36-27 lead during a 19-5 run, but the Aztecs replied with an 11-2 surge early in the second half. Thousands of San Diego State fans who sold out every home game on campus this season turned the Honda Center into Montezuma Mesa North, singing along to their favorite pep-band songs and thoroughly drowning out the UConn cross-country travelers.
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