By Aaron Williams and Josephine Lee–

In the final seconds of overtime on Friday night at the KFC Yum! Center, it was Louisville junior guard Peyton Siva who drove his Cardinals to victory by attacking the lane and elegantly dropping a finger roll layup into the bucket as time winded down. That basket was what gave the Cardinals their 62-60 victory over Vanderbilt, but it was the inspired play of Louisville freshman forward Chane Behanan that put his team in the position to win.

After a dominant second half of play, it was Behanan who was trusted with the rock to try and win the game for the Cardinals. Tied 50-50 with two seconds remaining, the star freshman missed a layup which could have solidified the victory for the Cardinals but instead the game was sent to overtime.

“I thought Chane had a great shot there,” said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino of the attempt. “He just defensively gets a little bit lost in what we’re trying to do and he told me down the stretch, “Coach, don’t take me out. I’m going to get every rebound,” and I said, “Alright, I’m not thinking about taking you out, get every rebound” and he made two big free throws for us.”

That’s exactly what Behanan did in the overtime period. Behanan had both the opening rebound and basket for the Cardinals in extra time. The forward went on to score three more points from the line as well as collecting another steal. Behanan finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds on the night.

In the locker room following the Vanderbilt thriller, Behanan displayed a sense of humble gratitude for his teammate Peyton Siva’s motivation and explained that his own enthusiasm came from a desire to perform for his team and the city of Louisville.

“As a veteran, Peyton did a tremendous job coming to me and telling me, “Coach Pitino didn’t recruit [you] to do that” and he told me to look at the stat board, and I looked and I had three rebounds, four or five rebounds and two points,” said Behanan after the game. “So [Siva] said, “My friend, you need to pick this up or we can’t count on you anymore” and I’m sitting on the bench just thinking like, he’s right. I can’t come in here and let not only my team down but the city down as well.”

Teammate Peyton Siva had only positive regard for Behanan after the Vanderbilt game.

“Chane is a great freshman, he made some key plays down the stretch,” said Peyton Siva following Friday night’s game. “He had an open look, a good look at the end of regulation and I told him, “don’t worry about it, you didn’t lose the game, we still have another couple minutes of play in overtime, just step up.” And he did. He showed great character by stepping up. He knocked down some big free throws, got some big rebounds and he’s just a great player.”

Behanan’s impact on this season’s Cardinals is already apparent, especially after his breakout performance on a nationally televised stage Friday night. Yet for Chane’s former high school basketball coach, the young player’s success at the collegiate level comes as no surprise.

“Chane was a tremendous high school basketball player,” Bowling Green Purples varsity high school coach D.G. Sherrill told the Cardinal of Behanan. “There was not much he couldn’t do at the high school level. Chane’s fast start is no surprise based on what I witnessed everyday the last couple of years in practice. He is a very skilled player with great athleticism.”

Sherrill also spoke on Behanan’s commitment and enthusiasm to be playing for U of L.

“Chane loves the University of Louisville, and he will pour his heart and soul into playing for the Cardinal basketball program.”

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Photos: Cody Hibbard/The Louisville Cardinal