Davidson Loses To Marquette: Wildcats Blow Late Lead In NCAA Tournament Opener (VIDEO)

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Davidson tried to do everything it could to close out an upset of No. 3 seed Marquette in the NCAA tournament.

What the Wildcats failed to do was close in defensively on Vander Blue, whose driving layup with a second remaining capped the Golden Eagles' 59-58 comeback victory Thursday in a game that Davidson had in its grasp.

The 14th-seeded Wildcats squandered a nine-point lead with less than seven minutes to play, snapping their 17-game winning streak and ending their hopes of making another deep run in March. But the way they were eliminated was what bothered players the most.

"You can tell by our faces we're not too happy about it," forward Jake Cohen said. "It's just devastating."

Leading 49-40 with 6 1/2 minutes remaining, the Wildcats (26-8) answered Marquette's attempts to rally with two free throws each by Cohen and Nik Cochran and one by J.P. Kuhlman. De'Mon Brooks' layup with 41 seconds left made it 56-51 and forced Marquette to shoot 3-pointers if it wanted to get back in the game.

That's not the Golden Eagles' strong suit, but Blue and Jamil Wilson each made one down the stretch to close to 58-57. Then came Brooks' errant inbounds pass that sailed long and set up Blue's game-winning drive past Cohen.

"I got switched onto him and he got by me," said Cohen, who had 20 points. "Hindsight's 20-20. It's really easy to look back now and draw up something different. He made a big play and made a big shot."

Brooks and Cochran both scored 11 for Davidson, making its second consecutive tournament appearance. The Wildcats became tournament darlings in 2008 when Stephen Curry led them to the regional finals as a No. 10 seed.

The comeback spoiled Davidson's upset bid and halted the nation's longest winning streak. The Wildcats entered the game shooting nearly 47 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line.

Their numbers weren't as good on Thursday, but the Wildcats thought they had enough.

"We emptied our tank today," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. "Credit Marquette, they made three plays down the stretch."

Early on, though, the Golden Eagles (24-8) couldn't hit from anywhere.

As Marquette was missing 10 of its first 11 attempts, Davidson came out hot, especially from the perimeter. Chris Czerapowicz, Kuhlman and Cohen all made 3-pointers in the Wildcats' 12-2 start.

Davidson's defense was also effective against Marquette's second chances, forcing the Golden Eagles to shoot off balance instead of spotting up. The Golden Eagles regrouped slightly with five straight points, but Cochran answered from beyond the arc to put the Wildcats ahead 15-7 with 12:19 left in the first half.

By halftime, Marquette had closed to 25-23 and the next 10 minutes were tight, with six ties and seven lead changes before Brooks' two free throws put Davidson up 40-38. After Wilson's free throw for Marquette, Tyler Kalinoski followed with a 3-pointer and Cochran added a bank to put the Wildcats up by six, leading to a Golden Eagles timeout with 9:24 left.

The lead stretched to nine with less than seven minutes left, but then came the comeback that Blue will remember for a while.

"All I was thinking was, if I get to the rim, I have to finish," said Blue, who scored seven of Marquette's final 10 points, including a 3 with 28 seconds left. "I'm not ready to go home. I know our team's not ready to go home.

"We got down by like seven, nobody ever panicked. ... Nobody missed a beat. We knew the game isn't over until the clock hits zero."

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Senate Barbershop Loses $350,000 Per Year, Is To Get Trim After Years Of Consecutive Deficits

Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D-WY) was photographed getting a shave and a haircut in the Senate barbershop on July 12, 1937, shortly before going to the Senate floor for "battle" on a court reform bill. (Library of Congress)

After lathering up deficits of roughly $350,000 a year over the past 15 years, Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer says it’s time to give the U.S. Senate barbershop a trim, the Weekly Standard reports.

The Senate barbershop -- which opened in 1859 -- provides government subsidized haircuts, shaves and shoe shines to both the political elite and members of the public. However, Gainer says that due to its unsustainable business model, it’s time, as the Weekly Standard put it, to give the barbershop a new style: privatization.

Gainer has attempted to privatize the Senate barbershop over the past few years, but now says the current federal deficit battles are giving him enough leverage to finally get his plan through.

“I’ve accelerated my goal to get there leveraging sequestration” Gainer told the Weekly Standard. “The only real way we’re going to change this thing around without pricing ourselves out of the market is by reducing the number of full time employees.”

In 2012, the Senate barbershop, officially named Senate Hair Care Services, received a $300,000 taxpayer funded bailout to keep its doors open.

The salon -- which provided free services to Senate members until the 1970s -- does charge for its services and serves an estimated 27,000 customers a year. However, former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) attributes the barbershop’s financial troubles to the fact that it employs federal workers, who, Fitzgerald says, are paid substantially higher than private-sector stylists.

“They are using union labor, and so their benefits and wages are higher than those of many jobs,” Fitzgerald told The Daily in response to the 2012 bailout.

According to the Weekly Standard report, the Senate Hair Care Services’ head barber earns nearly an annual $80,000 -- well above the annual income $28,050 of average U.S. barbers. Privatizing the Senate salon would allow Gainer to hire independent contractors at a lower salary.

The House of Representatives has its own barbershop as well, known as the Capitol Barber. However, after being privatized in the mid 90s, the House barbershop is no longer funded by taxpayers. In 2012, the House salon’s barbers and stylists made significantly less than their Senate barber counterparts, earning between $22,000 to $30,000.

On Tuesday, the Senate barbershop’s deficit problems became a late night punch line, as comedian Jay Leno spun a positive perspective on the salon’s monetary losses.

“The United States Senate is now fighting to keep open the Senate barbershop...it loses $350,000 a year,” Leno said on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. “You know what that makes it? The most successful government program ever!”

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About half of the sequestration consists of defense spending cuts, which would "drastically" shrink the military and cancel defense contracts, according to the House Armed Services Committee. (John Cantlie/Getty Images)

The sequestration would slash funding for the government's emergency response system for disasters such as hurricanes, according to the White House. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Checks for unemployed people looking for work would shrink by up to 9 percent, according to the White House. (J Pat Carter/AP Photo)

More than 100,000 formerly homeless people would lose their current housing as a result of sequestration, according to the White House. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)

About 125,000 low-income families would be at risk of losing their housing because of rental assistance cuts, according to the White House. (Barry Gutierrez/AP Photo)

The sequestration would eliminate care for up to 373,000 "seriously mentally ill" people, according to the White House. (Eric Gay/AP Photo)

The FDA would conduct fewer food inspections as a result of sequestration, according to the White House. (Mike Hentz/AP Photo)

About 70,000 children would lose access to the early education program Head Start as a result of the sequestration, according to the White House. (Elaine Thompson/AP Photo)

The government's small business loan guarantees would get slashed by nearly $1 billion as a result of the sequestration, according to the White House. (Steven Senne/AP Photo)

The sequestration would slash scientific research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF), according to the White House. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Up to 424,000 HIV tests would be on the chopping block as a result of sequestration, according to the White House. Thousands of people with HIV also would lose access to "life-saving" HIV medications. (Darren Abate/AP Images for AIDS Healthcare Foundation)

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Barcelona Loses To Real Sociedad 3-2: Messi Goal Can't Prolong Catalans' Unbeaten Run (VIDEO)

Lionel Messi reacts after missing a goal opportunity against Real Sociedad on January 19, 2013.

By Keeghann Sinanan, Goal.com

Barcelona's unbeaten Liga record came to an end after the club went down 3-2 to Real Sociedad in a gripping clash at the Anoeta Stadium on Saturday.

Real Madrid was previously the only side to claim a result against the Catalans with a 2-2 tie last October, but Madrid's exploits were bettered by a heroic showing from the Basque outfit, which fought back from two goals down to clinch victory.

Lionel Messi scored for a record 10th game in a row when he opened the scoring after seven minutes, before Pedro doubled the advantage with 25 minutes on the clock to seemingly put Barca out of sight.

But Sociedad responded five minutes before the break through Chori Castro, and took full advantage of Gerard Pique's second half red card to draw level through a Javier Mascherano own goal shortly after the hour mark.

It seemed destined to end in a draw, but substitute Imanol Agirretxe struck in injury time to clinch a famous victory for the home side, as Barca could now see its lead at the top of the table cut to eight points should Atletico Madrid win against Levante on Sunday.

Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Pique returned to the starting lineup for Barcelona, with Alex Song, Alexis Sanchez and Javier Mascherano making way after their exertions in the Copa Del Rey against Malaga midweek.

The Catalans were ahead in just the seventh minute. Messi had already drilled a one-on-one wide, and made no mistake at the second time of asking, slotting home superbly from the edge of the box after Barca had pounced on a terrible clearance from Claudio Bravo.

Xabi Prieto came close to responding with a shot that hit the side netting after a clever move from a free kick, but it was Barca which should have scored again after winning the ball inside the Sociedad box, with Pedro unlucky to see his splendid curling effort crack off the far post.

The second goal was always on the cards, and when Dani Alves delivered into the six-yard box after being picked out wonderfully by Xavi, Pedro’s close-range finish was inevitable.

Messi could have made it 3-0 five minutes before halftime after lifting the ball over Bravo, but the ball rolled onto the post before being hacked clear by Mikel Gonzalez.

Instead, within moments, it was 2-1. Chori did well to control a Carlos Vela pass just inside the box, and the Uruguayan picked his spot brilliantly, firing into the bottom corner.

The home fans were back in full voice, and Chori could have equalized with an identical chance seconds after the restart, but this time, Victor Valdes was up to the task and parried the shot away from danger.

Barca was already rattled by the renewed endeavor of Sociedad, and 11 minutes into the second half, the cause was further dented when Pique picked up his second yellow card for a clumsy trip on Vela.

With the Catalans on the ropes, Sociedad struck another decisive blow just after the hour mark. A cross into the area was not dealt with by the defense, and Chori took fortuitous advantage, sending in a shot that Mascherano deflected in despite a touch from Valdes.

The match seemed destined to end with both sides splitting the points, but with the clock moving into injury time, Agirretxe met a Carlos Martinez cross to seal a victory for Sociedad that will surely go down in the team's history.

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