| Date: Jan. 25, 2004 | Score: Louisville 65, Tennessee 62 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Francisco Garcia (24) Tennessee: Brandon Crump (16) |
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| The games against Tennessee the last two seasons have both been close Cardinal wins, but games the Cards really had every right to lose. That trend continued for the third year in a row, with the Cards having one of their worst nights of the season but still able to muster one key run and then hold on for dear life at the end. U of L played the second half without point guard Taquan Dean, who was ineffective in limited playing time in the first half and then sat out the second period due to a groin injury. Dean did return in the final seconds to hit two key free throws late. |
| U of L trailed 28-26 at halftime, and a dunk by Otis George pulled the Cards to within 37-36 with 14:00 left. But U of L committed turnovers on four straight possessions, leading to a 6-0 UT run; after a timeout, however, the Cards did not commit a single turnover the rest of the game. With 11 minutes remaining, UT led 43-36, and was killing U of L on the boards and points off turnovers. But a 12-0 Cardinal run in the next two and half minutes was the difference in the game, and preserved U of L's 15-game winning streak. U of L took a 48-43 lead by causing four Volunteer turnovers and scoring on five straight possessions. Francisco Garcia, who led all scorers with 24 points, scored on a lay-up. A Tennessee turnover led to two free throws by Larry O'Bannon; after another UT turnover, Garcia made two free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Down 43-42, the Cards got a dunk from Brandon Jenkins. A steal led to an Otis George dunk, which was followed by a steal and dunk by Garcia. The 12-0 spurt, which put the Cards up 48-43 with 8:28 left, eventually grew into a 20-5 run that gave U of L enough room to endure a late Tennessee rally. |
| Jenkins, who started the second half in place of Dean, played a career-high 24 minutes, scoring four points and dishing out three assists in the second half while helping U of L better protect the ball. He also put the clamps down on UT guard C.J. Watson, who after scoring 15 points was held scoreless the final 18 minutes of the game. The numbers painted an ugly picture for U of L. The Cards were outrebounded 22-11 in the first half, including 10-2 on the offensive end. In the second half, U of L was 0-10 from three-point range. For the game, UT shot 44.2% from the floor, the best percentage by a U of L opponent all season. The Cards, however, did turn things around on the glass in the second half. The led 13-6 on the offensive glass for the second half, and for the game were outrebounded only 38-34. |
A dunk by Luke Whitehead put the Cards up by eight with 2:40 left, but U of L shot only 5-10 from the line in the final minute to leave the door open for the Vols. UT hit a three with 13.7 seconds left to pull within 62-59 after both George and Jenkins missed two free throws. Dean reentered the game, caught an inbounds pass, then made two free throws to give U of L a 64-59 lead. Memphis transfer Scooter McFadgon hit a three with 4.1 seconds left to pull the Vols within two at 64-62. Whitehead inbounded to Garcia, who slipped out of bounds after catching the ball; the officials, however, called a foul on UT, and Garcia made one of two free throws to give U of L a 65-62 lead with 2.4 seconds left. The Cards then intercepted UT's inbounds pass at midcourt to end the game. McFadgon, who was the SEC's leading scorers, was 3-15 from the field and had only 10 points. Garcia sprained his ankle with 1:28 left and was taken out of the game, though he returned to help U of L close the contest. Whitehead finished with 13 points while George had eight rebounds. U of L shot only 39% from the field and committed 16 turnovers.  |
| Date: Jan. 25, 2003 | Score: Louisville 72, Tennessee 69 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (22) Tennessee: Ron Slay (21) |
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| When you've got a 12-game winning streak and everything is going right, you're just waiting for the wheels to come off. Well, the wheels did come off, but the car kept on moving, as the Cards overcame their sixth double-digit deficit of the season to extend their winning streak to 13 games. U of L was a woeful 2-15 from three-point range in the first half, and only a three at the halftime buzzer by Francisco Garcia kept U of L to within 41-33 at the half. The Volunteers became the first U of L opponent in 11 games to shoot over 40% (they were 50% from the field in the first half but finished at 43%). The Cards never led in the first half, though they did tie the game twice, and kept it close until UT went on an 11-3 run. Coach Pitino was called for a technical foul for arguing with the officials; after UT made both free throws, the Vols were up 31-24 with 5:01 left in the half. At the 3:22 mark the Volunteers led the Cards 35-24. The Vols went up 37-26 when Otis George accidentally tipped in a hoop for UT. |
| The Cards opened the second half in typical fasion, trimming the lead to four as Reece Gaines scored seven straight points for the Cards. Tennessee used a 7-0 run of its own though to push its lead back to 11 with 14:04 remaining. After a dunk, UT still led comfortably, up 57-48 with 10:04 left. The Cards picked up their defense at that point, however, and slowly chipped away. The Cards forced UT into 18 turnovers, a key factor in the Cardinals' comeback. In fact, after a steal and a lay-up by Taquan Dean, the Cards were within 62-60; a Bryant Northern three-pointer tied the game for the first time since the first half with 4:44 remaining. U of L got its first lead of the game after Dean hit a three-pointer to put U of L up 66-65 with 4:14 left, capping an 18-8 run. Kendall Dartez hit two free throws to put the Cards up 68-67, but Tennessee then got two free throws from Ron Slay, who led his team with 21 points but tired down the stretch and committed a few turnovers. Slay had one of those turnovers with UT up 69-68; Reece Gaines drove down the floor, and surprisingly dished the ball to Dartez, who sank a 12-foot jumper to give the Cards the lead for good at 70-69 with 54.2 seconds left. Slay then fouled out on UT's next possession, and Erik Brown hit both free throws to put the Cards up 72-69. With UT down three on the game's final possession, the Vols' Jon Higgins passed up an open three. Thadydeus Holden got the ball and drove for a lay-up but missed. UT got the rebound, and passed the ball to John Winchester for a three; the shot was partially deflected by Dartez and missed badly, and the Cards had secured thier second straight nail-biting win over Tennessee. In their last two meetings, the Cards have won both games by a combined four points. |
| U of L did not give up a field goal in the last two minutes, and gave up only two in the final nine minutes of the game. Gaines finished with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds, four steals and only one turnover. He scored U of L's first 10 points of the second half, but didn't score at all in the final 11:26, instead finding the open man for easy shots, like an Erik Brown three-pointer off a Gaines steal that cut the lead to three with 7:55 to go. Brown finished with 11 points. Another key performance for U of L was given by Marvin Stone, who had 13 points and 13 rebounds. The Cards were outrebounded by ten in the first half, but only one in the second half. Ellis Myles played only 15 minutes due to foul trouble. |
| Date: Dec. 20, 2001 | Score: Louisville 73, Tennessee 72 |
| Leading Scorers: U of L: Reece Gaines (22) Tennessee: Vincent Yarbrough (18) |
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| This game against the Tennessee Volunteers is certain to go down in Louisville basketball lore as one of the most exciting -- and unlikely -- finishes to a game in Freedom Hall. The Cards came back from six points down with just over 37 seconds left to win, and Reece Gaines, who continues to hit clutch three-point shots for the Cards, not only led the way in this one, but is making his mark as one of the most reliable, go-to men to wear a Cardinal uniform. After the performance he has put on in the last few games, it is not too quick to lump him into the category of Milt Wagner and DeJuan Wheat in terms of his ability to save the Cardinals in game-winning situations. It should be mentioned that the Cards hit three three-pointers in a row for the first time this season, all in the stretch of this game's final minute. |
| In a game that featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes, the Cards used a 7-0 run to take a 59-53 lead with 6:07 left in the ball game. U of L held onto that lead until Tennessee forward Ron Slay hit two free throws to give the Volunteers a 65-64 edge with 1:46 left. Slay, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, then drove the lane and converted on a three-point play to give his team a 68-64 lead with just under a minute to play. After a missed three-point attempt by U of L (one of many on the night: the Cards finished 7-31 from three-point range for 22.6 percent; they were only 40% from the field for the game), Tennessee built a 70-64 on two free throws by Thaydeus Holden with 36.5 seconds left. Then came the heroics by Reece Gaines and the unbelievable comeback. Reece Gaines pulled up for a 28-foot three-point shot from the right wing, and banked it in to pull U of L within 70-67 with 31.7 seconds left. On the inbounds play, Erik Brown, who broke out of a shooting slump to finish with 15 points, stole the pass, dished the ball to Brandon Bender, who found Bryant Northern open for a three near the top of the key. Northern's shot was good (giving him his only points on the night) and just like that the game was tied at 70. |
| The Volunteers kept their poise, though, and worked the ball inside to Marcus Haislip, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, who scored on a lay-up to put Tennessee ahead 72-70 with 7.4 seconds left. Gaines then drove the ball upcourt, pulled up at the top of the key, and swished through the last of his game-high 22 points to put U of L up for good 73-72 with 1.8 seconds remaining. He also hit the key three-pointer to seal the win over Tennessee Tech a few nights earlier. The game wasn't over, though. After a timeout, Vincent Yarbrough, who led the Vols with 18 points and also had nine rebounds, was guarded by Bender on the inbounds line. Slay set a pick, freeing up Yarbrough for his length-of-the-court pass to Haislip. Haislip had an open 10-footer from the right side, but it banked off the glass, off the rim and onto the floor, and the Cards remained undefeated at home, won their seventh straight game and their third over a team from Tennessee this season. |
| Although the Cards struggled from the field and the foul line, where they made only 6-14 attempts, they fought through it with gritty interior play and tough defense. Ellis Myles had nine rebounds and seven points, while Bender had six points, six rebounds, and two blocks in only 19 minutes of action. Carlos Hurt added 10 points for U of L, who committed only 14 turnovers compared to 21 by Tennessee, 18 of which came from their starting frontcourt. The Volunteers also had been shooting above 40% from three-point range, but wound up only 3-14 behind the arc as U of L continues to give itself a chance to win games by defending the perimeter well. Forward Luke Whitehead missed his second straight game, and is expected to be out at least a few more weeks to recover from a sprain in his shoulder. It should also be noted that several Cardinal fans headed to the exits after Tennessee built its six-point lead, but the never-give-up attitude of this team should prevent the urge to beat Freedom Hall traffic for the foreseeable future. |
