NEW YORK - Kam Jones let out a deep sigh and shook his head after he finished answering questions in the interview room at Madison Square Garden after Marquette's 71-65 victory over Villanova in overtime on Thursday night.

“Damn, I was going to tell my nephew I hit a game-winner in The Garden," Jones said.

It was an absolutely gorgeous play that the Golden Eagles ran with 2.3 seconds left in regulation that ended with Jones kissing in a shot off the glass.

But after a lengthy video review, the officials decided that Jones' shot was released just a fraction of a second too late.

As Jones walked the corridor of The World's Most Famous Arena back to MU's locker room, he broke down The Winner That Wasn't Meant To Be.

What was the setup of the play?

Villanova knocked the ball out of bounds under its own basket with 2.5 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles came out in a formation that spread over the full length of the court, and then the Wildcats called timeout to make some defensive substitutions.

MU head coach Shaka Smart still had a timeout in his pocket, so he drew up a play that had Chase Ross toss a pass to Oso Ighodaro just across the halfcourt line. The 6-foot-11 Ighodaro leaped to grab the ball, then he called time out.

That gave the Golden Eagles the ball on the right side of the court with 2.3 seconds left.

What was the play that MU ran?

Ross took the ball out of bounds. Stevie Mitchell was stationed in the right corner. Ighodaro was in the middle of the paint. Jones and David Joplin were above the three-point arc.

"It’s called Four Corners," Jones said. "We run that play a lot in practice."

Ross tossed the ball to Ighodaro. Joplin set a screen for Jones at the top of the key.

Here is where all that work in practice paid off. Tinkering with the play at the Al McGuire Center led to a discovery that the team implemented.

"The initial play was for me to just come off the flare and shoot the three," Jones said. "But at practice, that hook or that curl for a layup is open somehow every time in practice.

"Even in the huddle, we drew that play up and Jop is just screaming ‘Curl it! Curl it!’ That’s tough. We knew it was going to be open. That’s a tough play to guard."

How did Jones get the layup?

Villanova's Mark Armstrong was bumped by Joplin's screen and was left trailing Jones.

Joplin had scored six points in overtime so his defender, Justin Moore, stayed glued to Joplin.

That left Jones all alone on the left side with Ighodaro's defender, Eric Dixon, scrambling to help.

Ighodaro, who had four assists, threw a perfectly weighted bounce pass that led Jones directly into his shot off the glass. Jones is well-practiced at those crafty finishes off the glass.

“That’s the type of player he is," Jones said of Ighodaro. "He’s unique. Especially at the position that he plays. That’s just him. That’s what he does. He put it exactly right on the money. Exactly where he knew I was going to be. Just a tough result."

Did Jones get the shot off?

Jones studied the replay while the officials were doing the same. It was really hard to tell whether Jones got the shot off.

After it was overturned, the Golden Eagles had to get back to business. Jones hit two clutch free throws and handed out two assists in overtime.

"I ain’t going to lie, I think that was too close to overturn," Jones said. "It is what it is. Like we said, we practice on responding. That’s what we were able to do.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette ran play for Kam Jones at end of game against Villanova