| Date: Mar. 19, 2002 | Score: Temple 65, Louisville 62 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (16) Temple: Lynn Greer (27) |
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| Several times this season, U of L fell behind big. They were able to overcome most of these deficits, but always seemed to come up short. Against Temple in the second round of the NIT, it was just the opposite. The Cards took a 16-point lead, watched it quicky evaporate in the second half, and were unable to hang on in the final minutes as another senior point guard, this time Lynn Greer, chew up U of L's defense and sent the Cards to a loss. Greer was fantastic, and proved to be a scorer and force that U of L was unable to stop. In the first half, U of L shot a blistering 51.9 % from the field, while limiting Temple to only 32.3% shooting. In the second half, the tables turned. The Cards shot only 29% in the second half, while Temple, led by Greer, who scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half, shot 65.4% in the second frame. Reece Gaines, who led U of L with 16 points and became the first Cardinal since Darrell Griffith in 1980 to average at least 20 points in a season, hit three field goals in the final 8 and a half minutes for the Cards' only scoring in that time frame. |
| The Cards led 38-22 at the half, but Temple made eight of its first 10 shots to cut U of L's lead in half only four and a half minutes into the period. Greer then connected on two straight three-pointers, hit a runner in the lane, and made one of two free throws to pull the Owls to within 46-45 with 10:58 left. The Cards responded and were able to rebuild a seven-point lead, but Greer kept on coming. With just under six minutes to play and the Cards up 57-52, Greer scored the game's next nine points -- some on shots you wouldn't believe -- to give Temple a 61-57 lead. Greer left the game with 2:15 remaining after slipping on the court. As the game wore on, the Freedom Hall court became very slippery, and several players had trouble with their footing. Despite crews wiping down the court with towels, the officials made a decision that they would not penalize anyone for slipping on the slick surface, a decision that came into play later on. All told, it was an embarassing scene for U of L, and it was awful that Greer was injured. It made a poor representation for the Cards, U of L and Freedom Hall. |
Gaines continued his clutch play by hitting a key three-pointer and a driving basket to give U of L the lead back at 62-61 with 32.8 seconds left. Temple's David Hawkins, who had 11 points, scored on a drive and was fouled with 29.9 seconds remaining. Although he missed the free throw, U of L's Ellis Myles lost the rebound out of bounds, giving the ball back to Temple. Greer re-entered the game, noticeably limping, but was able to take the inbounds pass and get fouled. An 87.6% free throw shooter, Greer hit both shots, and Temple led 65-62. On the Cards' next possession, both Simeon Naydenov and Gaines missed three-point attempts for U of L, and Temple's Niles Murray was fouled after he rebounded Gaines' miss. Murray missed the front-end of a one-and-one, but again Temple got the ball back when Brian Polk got the rebound. Polk slipped and fell out of bounds, but the officials ruled this was because of the slippery court, and Temple retained possession. The Cards were still alive, though. Temple's Kevin Lyde, who had 12 points on the game, missed his front-end of a one-and-one, but Naydenov missed an open three-point shot in the corner, and the game was over. Luke Whitehead had a solid game for the Cards, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, while Erik Brown scored 11 points.  |
