By Benjamin Lampkin
It came down to a last-second shot, but this time Reece Gaines didn’t take it, and Luke Whitehead’s jumper missed as time expired to give the University of Louisville basketball team their first loss of the season, 84-86 to Purdue University (2-0).
“It was a heckuva college basketball game,” said head coach Rick Pitino. “When you see a basketball game that’s 86-84, and there’s only 11 and 13 turnovers, that’s impressive.”
The Cardinals (1-1) utilized their pressure defense effectively to start the game, getting an early turnover and a 5-second call against the Boilermakers. Gaines and Bryant Northern each got ahead of the Purdue defense for breakaway lay-ups, but Purdue, led by leading scorer Kenneth Lowe, found themselves ahead at 30-22.
The Cardinals scoring slump continued, with U of L only hitting 3-14 three-point attempts, and missing several open jumpshots. Taquan Dean managed to hit two three’s, courtesy of Gaines’ penetration and kick out to the baseline, where Dean nailed consecutive jumpers.
Two offensive rebounds on one possession and a put-back by Otis George ignited the Cards and their fans. Larry O’Bannon followed that with a similar play, which put U of L within a couple of baskets. But the Boilermakers got a tip-in basket as the clock expired, giving them the slight 38-37 lead at the half.
The scoring increased in the second half, as both teams saw their defenses fail to contain the ball and stop inside scoring. Whitehead scored 10 of the Cardinals’ first 13 points in the second half, with six coming off lay-ups.
The lead and the momentum shifted hands numerous times, but it would remain on the Boilermakers side when Gaines picked up his fourth foul at the 12:20 mark and had to sit. All four of his fouls were committed in the second half within a 7:40 span.
The vaunted U of L press, which forced a few Purdue gaffs in the opening half, did little to slow down point guard Brandon McKnight, who shredded the press several times and found himself or teammates wide open under the basket.
“Our press was very effective,” said Pitino, “but we did a poor job of containing their point guard (McKnight).”
Northern found himself at the free throw line on three straight possessions, and hit all six of his attempts. A lay-up by Whitehead capped an 8-0 run and actually gave U of L a 64-59 lead, and the all-important momentum found itself back on the Cards’ side.
But the Boilers ran off a 6-0 run of their own. They claimed the lead at 66-65 on a free throw from Brett Buscher, and a jumper from Demetrius Kilgore put the Boilers up 68-65. Though the Cards would trim the lead often, Purdue continued to hit clutch baskets and free throws to maintain their lead.
An 86-79 seemed to seal the deal, but a crucial error from Purdue nearly cost them the game. With 1:02 on the clock, a missed throw caused some ruckus under the basket, and Kilgore was hit with the foul. As he and Whitehead continued to jaw at one another, Kilgore was hit with a technical foul. It was his fifth personal foul, and suddenly U of L had some life left.
“We were just trying to get in each other’s heads,” said Whitehead. “Luckily the ref came in when he (Kilgore) was doing the talking .”
Gaines and Whitehead’s free throws trimmed the lead to 86-83, and Purdue forced a deep jumper that missed and gave the Cards possession. U of L was unable to convert, and Purdue ran the clock down to 10 seconds before missing a jumper.
As Bryant Northern brought the ball upcourt, he looked for Gaines, but found him covered by Purdue defenders. Northern penetrated and found Whitehead open on the baseline. However, his shot bounced high and off the rim, giving Purdue the 86-84 win as time expired.
“For a second I could have out-letted to him (Gaines), but they denied him the ball,” said Northern. “I penetrated, and Luke Whitehead was wide open on the baseline.”
The Cards once again were unable to find a way to pick up a road victory, though a majority of the 18, 345 fans in Conseco Fieldhouse were clad in red and black, for an atmosphere not unlike that at Freedom Hall.
Though the Cards shot well in the second half (50%), they only shot 38.8% for the game, and were a miserable 4-21 from three-point range.
Luke Whitehead had the best all-around game on the evening, with a game-high 21 points in addition to seven rebounds. Gaines had 18 points as well as seven assists.
Purdue was led by Kenneth Lowe with 18, and the Boilermakers had six players in double figures. Brett Buscher led all players with 10 rebounds.
U of L will be in action next Saturday at 2 p.m. against South Alabama.
