| Date: Mar. 10, 2004 | Score: Louisville 61, East Carolina 54 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Francisco Garcia (22) East Carolina: Mike Cook (14) |
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| The Cards opened their 2004 C-USA Tournament in beautiful fashion. It was an ugly game, and the Cards barely hung on to win, but any win in March is beautiful. The Cards matched a season-high with 19 turnovers, and, after taking an early 8-1 lead in the first two and a half minutes, scored only 13 points the rest of the first half. But U of L shot 52% in the second half, and, after not going to the free throw line in the first half, made 15-16 free throws in the second period, including 8-8 by Larry O'Bannon, who finished with 11 points. Francisco Garcia led all scorers with 22 points, and for the sixth straight game led the Cards offensively. |
| U of L was up 21-20 at halftime, but to open the second half, the Cards missed a shot, committed a turnover, and gave up an uncontested putback. It looked bleak with 10:21 remaining. East Carolina had moved ahead 38-34, and Garcia went to the bench after picking up his third foul. But O'Bannon drove to the basket and was fouled, and made both shots. A three-pointer by Garcia gave the Cards the lead back, then O'Bannon got a steal off the press and hit his own three-pointer. A key three by Taquan Dean at the 2:20 mark gave U of L a 57-50 cushion. Up 57-52 and needing a basket, the Cards were then bailed out by Luke Whithead, who hit a 10-footer with the shot clock expiring to give the Cards a 59-52 lead with just 55.1 seconds left. |
For the game, the Pirates shot only 33%, and U of L was able to score 23 points off of 17 ECU turnovers. The Pirates shot only 2-14 from three-point range. U of L held ECU's leading scorer, Derrick Wiley, to only 10 points. A big key for U of L was scoring on 12 of its final 16 possessions, while ECU managed only three field goals in the last three minutes. For U of L, Kendall Dartez had eight points and 10 rebounds, plus three blocks and two steals. ECU won the battle on the glass, but only by 37-35.  |
| Date: Jan. 15, 2004 | Score: Louisville 76, East Carolina 66 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Taquan Dean, Larry O'Bannon (16) East Carolina: Derrick Wiley (23) |
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| The Cards looked like they were going to trounce another C-USA opponent in their win over East Carolina, but instead, the Pirates put up a fight that left the Cards with a win but an uneasy feeling. Solid defense and outside shooting propelled U of L to an early 8-0 run, featuring three-pointers from Francisco Garcia and Brandon Jenkins, that gave the Cards a 13-6 lead. ECU hit a three, but the Cards scored six straight to build a 19-9 lead; six of the Cards' first nine shots were from three-point range in response to ECU's 2-3 zone. A near-fracas occurred after a dive for a loose ball led Garcia into antagonizing the Pirates' Derrick Wiley; Coach Pitino sat Garcia for three minutes to let him cool off. A jumper from Otis George and a three from Nate Daniels gave U of L a 34-22 lead with 4:11 left in the first half, but the Cards didn't score a field goal the rest of the first half. Moussa Badiane, who finished with three blocked shots, clogged up the middle as the Cards cooled off from the outside and couldn't get anything going on the inside. |
| The Cards led 38-28 at halftime, but delivered the key punch at the start of the second half in the form of a 10-0 run. Taquan Dean, who finished with 16 points, hit two three-pointers, and the Cards got some easy baskets after ECU turnovers to extend their lead to 48-28. But ECU then became really the first opponent of the season to attack U of L's half-court pressure, and it led to several fast-break points (ECU led U of L 12-0 in fast-break points) and inside shots. The Pirates got a pair of buckets from Wiley, who led all scorers with 23 points, and U of L's lead was down to 15 as the crowd awoke back to life. At one point, the Cards missed six straight shots, but missed free throws and turnovers by ECU kept the Cards comfortably ahead. The Cards' lead was again 20 after a three-pointer and free throw by Larry O'Bannon, who like Dean had 16 points on the game. |
| But then things got ugly. The Cards got sloppy with the ball, allowing ECU to pull within 16 with 3:25 left. Two Pirate free throws cut the lead to 14, and then a miss by Kendall Dartez and break-away dunk by Badiane cut the lead to 12 with 2:30 remaining. Dean connected on two free throws, but an ECU three-pointer made their deficit only 11; after another miss by Dartez, Wiley converted a three-point play on a transition hoop that not only fouled out Garcia, but pulled the Pirates to within 67-59 with 1:16 left. Dean then made three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt, but another long Pirate three kept U of L's lead at eight with 49.6 seconds remaining. But U of L's 9-9 shooting from the line in the last two minutes sealed the game for U of L. For the game, the Cards were 21-23 from the stripe, including 7-7 from Dean. O'Bannon also hit four free throws in the final minute. ECU shot 41.4% for the game, better than U of L's 36.5%. Garcia finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Whitehead had nine points and 10 rebounds. ECU was playing without their second-leading scorer, Gabriel Mikulas, who broke his arm the day before in practice and is out for the season. |
| Date: Mar. 1, 2003 | Score: Louisville 82, East Carolina 76 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (30) East Carolina: Derrick Wiley (29) |
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| With power forward Ellis Myles out for the season with a knee injury, and center Marvin Stone sitting out due to questions over his eligibility, the Cards got off to a bumpy start, having to reinvent themselves as a team on the fly. Nevertheless, the Cards were able to end their three-game losing streak, and reach the 20-win plateau for the first time since 1996-97. Reece Gaines had 12 points in the first half, but committed a few turnovers and had two fouls, so he sat the last six minutes of the half. U of L opened a 10-5 lead, but after going up 15-11, the Cards missed seven of their next ten shots. ECU got rolling behind Derrick Wiley, who paced the Pirates with 29 points, shooting 10-19 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds. ECU went up 23-21 for their first lead, and held the Cards without a field goal in the final 5:48 of the first half to lead 36-31 at the break. East Carolina shot over 54% in the first-half. |
| The opening of the second half highlighted the game for the Cards. U of L turned on its full-court press like it hadn't all season, and forced East Carolina into eight turnovers on its first nine possessions of the second period. The Pirates got off only one shot during that span, as U of L used a 17-0 run to erase its halftime deficit and build a lead. A lay-up by Gaines pulled U of L to within 36-35, and the Cards were off. Dean got a steal off the press and quickly hit a three-pointer. Gaines hit a jumper off another ECU turnover, then the Pirates coughed the ball up again, which was then followed by a three from Francisco Garcia. The Cards had their biggest lead at 48-36, but then missed 13-16 shots as ECU pulled to within 54-50 at the 9:06 mark after a lay-up by Wiley. A Gaines three-pointer put U of L up 71-62 with 4:09 left. ECU was down only 75-72 with 1:41 left, but 7-10 shooting from the line in the final stretch helped seal the win for U of L. East Carolina had been averaging only 12.6 turnovers per game, but U of L's press and defense forced ECU into 23 turnovers; the Cards were able to score 30 points off of those turnovers. The Cards shot 9-24 from behind the arc, with Garcia hitting 3-6, and Gaines 4-9. |
| While Myles and Stone sat, at least they didn't go to the free throw line. The two combined to shoot 8-20 from the line in the Cards' last game. Against ECU, U of L shot 19-25 from the line, as Gaines hit 8-10. Gaines finished with a game- and season-high 30 points. Not surprisingly, the Cards were outrebounded, 38-35, but helping out on the boards for U of L was guard Taquan Dean, who had 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, plus Otis George, who had nine rebounds in 21 minutes. Kendall Dartez played a season-high 36 minutes, scoring eight points and adding five rebounds. Garcia finished with 15 points for U of L. |
| Date: Jan. 16, 2003 | Score: Louisville 87, East Carolina 70 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Marvin Stone (23) East Carolina: Derrick Wiley (21) |
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| Last year, the Cards were unprepared -- and maybe a little less talented -- in their match-up vs. ECU in Greenville. This time the Cards had a more complete deck, and knew what to expect, and came in ready. Despite an ESPN2 national TV audience, and the second largest crowed ever for an ECU home game, the Cards blew out the Pirates in their most dominating and impressive effort of the season. ECU had won five straight C-USA games at home, but after U of L went on a 10-0 run to take a 10-4 lead, the game was on its way to over. East Carolina did fight back initially, taking a 15-14 lead. But U of L responded with a 15-0 run that propelled U of L to a 31-16 lead at the 6:42 mark. The Cards led 45-26 at halftime. By the break, the Cards had 13 assists for their 19 field goals, and each starter had at least one assist. The Cards shot 59% from the field in the opening frame, and limited ECU to 1-9 shooting from three-point range and only 30% shooting in the same time period. Instead of taking advantage of outside shooting, the Cards used their crisp passing to score on the inside, with Kendall Dartez leading the team at the break with eight points, while Ellis Myles had six points and Luke Whitehead five. |
| The Cards maintained the pressure to open the second half: they made nine of their first 10 shots to open up their biggest lead of the game at 65-34. ECU tightened up on defense and was able to pull to within 14 with six minutes left, but Reece Gaines, who finished with 22 points and six assists, hit the Cards' only three-pointer of the second half to help keep the Pirates at bay. Marvin Stone provided a menacing inside presence for the Cards, leading the team with 23 points -- 21 in the second half -- and picking up a technical foul for slapping the backboard after a dunk to open the second half while pulling down nine rebounds. Myles led the team in rebounds with 11. The Cards wound up shooting 58% from the field, while ECU was only 38%. Together, Stone and Gaines were 18-23 from the floor; U of L committed only nine turnovers to ECU's 13. |
| Date: Feb. 19, 2002 | Score: Louisville 75, East Carolina 42 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Simeon Naydenov (25) East Carolina: Kenyatta Brown (13) |
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| The Cards exacted revenge on East Carolina big time, getting a brilliant game from behind the three-point line, on the glass, and defensively to help erase the sour memories of this season's earlier loss at East Carolina. The Pirates actually held an 11-10 lead with 11:46 left in the first half, but then the Cards got warmed up and never looked back. The Cards held ECU to only one more field goal in the first half to take a 30-18 halftime lead, and then held East Carolina scoreless for the first 4:19 of the second period. All told, U of L turned that one-point deficit into a 21-point lead. The Cards took their biggest lead of the game at 51-25 -- a lead built by five straight three-pointers, including one by Reece Gaines, one by Alhaji Mohammed, and three in a row from Simeon Naydenov. Naydenov made 5 of 7 three-pointers on the night to finish with a career-high 25 points; he also pulled down a career-high six rebounds. Another plus for the Cards was outrebounding ECU 44-32 after losing the battle of the boards in the first match-up. |
| U of L also turned the tables defensively, holding ECU to a season-worst 3-20 from three-point range. And when things go well, they really go well. The Cards had their best night of the season from the free throw line, making 14-15. Furthermore, and very uncharacteristically for this team, the Cards outscored ECU 32-6 in the paint, mostly from fast-break dunks and the work of Ellis Myles. Myles finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Reece Gaines scored 15 for U of L, while Bryant Northern continued to play well, scoring seven points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out five assists with no turnovers. Kenyatta Brown led ECU with 13 points, while Gabriel Mikulas had 11. |
| Date: Jan. 16, 2002 | Score: East Carolina 87, Louisville 77 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (21) East Carolina: Travis Holcomb-Faye (20) |
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| Sooner or later, mentally tough teams win. And even though the Cards continued the Conference USA misery of Texas Christian in their last game, East Carolina proved to be a different story. The Pirates claimed their first ever C-USA win against U of L, and even though their record doesn't show it, the Pirates have the making of a team that can surprise C-USA teams, especially at home. As has happened already a few times this season, the Cards played the majority of the first half without Reece Gaines and Luke Whitehead, who got into early foul trouble. At the break, the Cards trailed 43-38. |
| The second half was pretty much all East Carolina. They were simply too determined -- and got some good calls from the officials to boot -- to let the Cards pull it out. At the start of the second half, U of L missed a three-point shot, then had Ellis Myles pick up his third foul only 19 seconds in. ECU guard Travis Holcomb-Faye, who led his team with 20 points and nine assists, drove the court and dished for a thundering slam by Moussa Badiane, who had 10 points on the night. That got the crowd roaring, and provided an uneasy feeling for Cards fans. Reece Gaines, who led U of L with 21 points on 7-13 shooting but had only one assist, shot an airball, which led to an easy deuce for the Pirates, a 47-38 lead, and a Cardinal timeout that did not stop East Carolina's momentum. Although ECU then connected on two straight three-pointers, the Cards were down only six at the first TV timeout. Shortly after, though, it was lights out for the Cards. Starting at the 12:31 mark, U of L made only one field goal until 5:23 remained. The Cards had cut their deficit to 62-60, but the dry spell swelled their hole to nine points, and U of L never got closer than five the rest of the way. |
| The story of the game was told inside the paint. When the Cards were down 58-56, ECU center Gabriel Mikulas entered the game and scored easily on a post-move. Next trip down, he got the ball down low, was fouled and hit both shots; he finished the game with 14 points on 8-8 foul shooting. On the next ECU possession, Mikulas drew the fouth fouls on Ellis Myles, Brandon Bender, and drew another and connected on two more free throws. In the second half, ECU shot 28 free throws compared to U of L's four. For the game, ECU hit 31-48 from the line; the Cards were 15-24. Further complicating things on the inside for U of L was Badiane, C-USA's leading shot blocker who had six more in this game. Although U of L went an impressive 10-22 from three-point range, they connected on only 31.3% from two-point range. For the Cards, Erik Brown had 14 points, eight assists and four rebounds, though he shot only 6-21 from the field. Bryant Northern also had 14, while Myles finished with eight points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Carlos Hurt missed his second straight game due to a back injury, and there is no word yet on when he might return, if at all. The crowd of 7,432 was the fourth-largest ever for an ECU basketball game. |
