NEW YORK -- Cincinnati rebounded quite well in getting comfortable in the Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The 11th-seeded Bearcats again used a huge advantage on the boards to beat sixth-seeded Louisville, 69-66, Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals. They are the only team to play in the opening round still playing, and it was rebounding that keyed both close wins.

"We can rebound the ball when we get shots off," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "When we get the ball in the paint, we get it on the rim, we can rebound the ball."

The Bearcats (18-14) outrebounded Rutgers, 49-31, Tuesday in their 69-68 victor.

The numbers were even more impressive against the defending champion Cardinals (20-12). The Bearcats outrebounded Louisville, 54-33, including 28-9 on the offensive end.

"The point of emphasis was to rebound the basketball," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "We rebound, we win. We knew that. We didn't, we lost. We go home early. Wasted a lot of boosters' money."

Even with the decided advantage in corralling missed shots, the game still came to two big moments for senior Deonta Vaughn.

He made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to make the score 69-66. Then he made the game-saving strip of Edgar Sosa about 30 feet from the basket just before the buzzer.

"If you can believe it, we called time out to foul him at halfcourt," Cronin said. "Deonta claims he was fouling him the whole time. I was scared he was finally going to foul him when the shot attempt went up.

"I was going to be the laughingstock nationally."

Sosa had 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including going 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

• Marquette 57, St. John's 55: Lazar Hayward scored 20 points, David Cubillan hit the deciding 3-pointer with 1:11 to play and Marquette beat St. John's in the second round. The fifth-seeded Golden Eagles (21-10) held on after losing a 14-point lead and advanced to the quarterfinals today against fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Villanova. It was the second year in a row Marquette beat the 13th-seeded Red Storm (17-15) in the second round. Sean Evans and D.J. Kennedy of Schenley each had 12 points for St. John's.

• Georgetown 69, South Florida 49: Jason Clark and Greg Monroe each had 16 points each as No. 22 Georgetown (21-9) built a big first-half in its victory against South Florida (20-12).

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