Saint Joseph's vs. Cincinnati: Score, Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

Isaiah Miles connected on a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to give the Saint Joseph's Hawks a 78-76 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night in Spokane, Washington.

Cincinnati went for the tie after Miles' three, but the ball didn't leave Octavius Ellis' hands in time for it to be the game-tying dunk as time expired:

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports commented on the thrilling win for the Hawks, who will now face the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks in the second round: 

DeAndre' Bembry scored 25 points to lead the Hawks while Miles also chipped in with 19 points for Saint Joe's. Cincinnati freshman guard Jacob Evans III led all scorers with 26 points and also sparked a second-half run that got the Bearcats back into the game, but it was to no avail.

For the first 25 minutes of the game, the Bearcats and Hawks played a relatively even game, led by their two stars. Bembry scored 20 points in the first half, with two coming on this emphatic two-handed jam to cut Cincinnati's lead to one point, via NCAA March Madness:

Bembry's all-around game, showcasing his athleticism and long-range shooting, was on full display in front of an arena filled with scouts, per Hawk Hill Hardwood:

It's also been a scorching game and a half for Bembry since the Atlantic 10 tournament, per Ryan Michael Lazo of the New York Post:

"

Over his last 60 minutes of basketball, DeAndre' Bembry has piled in 50 points on 20-of-25 shooting. @A10MBB POY putting on a show.

— Ryan Michael Lazo (@ByRyanLazo) March 19, 2016"

Performances like this are what get players noticed on the biggest stage, even from NBA legends, per Jeremy Schneider of NJ.com:

But Cincinnati stayed in the game thanks to Coreontae DeBerry, who scored 18 points in the first half and shot perfectly in the first 23 minutes, making all six shots.

The American Conference highlighted how dominant DeBerry was in the first half:

But from the 16-minute, 40-second mark in the second half, Saint Joe's began to clamp down defensively and turn misses into points at the other end. The Hawks went on a 15-2 run that lasted well over five minutes, turning a 49-48 Bearcats lead into a 63-51 Saint Joe's lead.

Cincinnati, however, did not go away. The Bearcats went on a 13-3 run to tie the game at 66, highlighted by the freshman Evans. He hit two threes during that run, and then another three with 5:08 remaining gave the Bearcats their first lead since 1:20 remaining in the first half.

Tom Gelehrter of 4th Floor Creative shared his thoughts on the freshman's stellar second half and also grabbed the thoughts of a former star Bearcat:

This back-and-forth affair didn't end after Evans' long-range barrage. Saint Joe's responded immediately with a 7-0 run to take a 75-71 lead after Aaron Brown's three-pointer from the left wing. 

Bembry had the hot hand for most of the night, but even he knew the three from Brown was going in, per Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports:

Evans made a dunk with 17 seconds left before Miles' three-pointer and Cincinnati's near-game-tying dunk.

The Bearcats season comes to an end in the most heartbreaking of ways. They were eliminated in the AAC tournament by the Connecticut Huskies in four overtimes, in which the third overtime ended by an almost-full-court heave at the buzzer. 

As for Saint Joe's, the Hawks head into their second-round matchup with the Ducks on an emotional high. Between Bembry and Miles, the Hawks have a scoring tandem that can provide mismatches in the frontcourt for the Ducks and match them athletically. Saint Joe's will go into that game with a realistic chance of taking down Oregon and moving on to the Sweet 16.

Postgame Reaction

Saint Joe's head coach Phil Martelli is happy his Hawks are moving on to the Round of 32.

If he had his way though, he wouldn't want the game to end the way it did.

"In a small way I wish it hadn't ended like that," Martelli said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I wish it would have ended with Isaiah making the 3 and us getting a stop. From what I could see it was the right call."

This is the second latest edition of heartbreak for the Bearcats in recent memory, and Bearcats coach Mick Cronin could do nothing but feel sad.

"I feel terrible for my team," Cronin said, per the AP. "They played extremely hard and fought back from being down early."

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four.