By Allison Strickland & Chris Brown
MEMPHIS, Tenn. The afternoon was tense for many fans, some cheering madly at the tops of their lungs, some clenching tightly to the arms of their seats. Coaches and players on the sidelines experienced the same, as they watched their teams battle it out on the hardwood.
In what was arguably the hardest fought game yet of the Conference USA tournament, the Cardinals took on the 4-seeded University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers in the first of two semifinal games at FedExForum on Friday.
The Cards were first on the board, but the Blazers were not far behind. Despite U of L’s three 3-pointers early on, the two teams jockeyed for the lead with Louisville and UAB both trailing by several shots at times.
"When you are dealing with UAB, it is a team you know will not go away," said Louisville assistant head coach Reggie Theus. "[UAB head coach] Mike Anderson has them trained well."
Louisville managed to step up its defense though, leaving UAB scoreless for 4:32 in the first half. With 6:56 left to play in the half, the Blazers’ Derrick Broom pulled out a 3-pointer, narrowing Louisville’s lead to 18-14.
Junior Francisco Garcia, who is in his last season with Louisville before heading to the NBA, ran into trouble of his own during the first half. Just 5:57 into the game, Garcia picked up 3 fouls and found himself quickly taken out of the game by the 6:40 mark.
By the end of the first half, the Cardinals were ahead by only two points, leading 33-31.
UAB went on to open the second half with a 13-5 run in the opening 4:04, taking a 6-point lead over the Cards.
But the Cards didn’t let their opponent’s run stop them. "Louisville attacked us in the second half and rebounded the ball very well," said UAB Head Coach Mike Anderson.
The Blazers weren’t going down without a fight, though. Several field goals in the second half boosted UAB to a nine-point lead over the Cardinals.
With the lead bouncing back and forth between U of L and UAB, the Cards kicked it into gear and made several key plays to secure the lead. "In the last five minutes of the game, we have four or five guys that can … rebound and make shots," said Theus.
"The fact is, we shut them down the stretch and took care of the rebounding aspect of the game so UAB did not get second shots." he explained.
Senior Ellis Myles achieved his 12th double-double of the season, with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Taquan Dean registered his first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. His 11 rebounds are a career high.
As it came down to the wire, the Cards pulled ahead, securing a 74-67 tally and a spot in Saturday’s conference championship game against the winner of the Memphis/USF game.
