By Allison Strickland & Chris Brown
MEMPHIS, Tenn.–Fans poured into FedExForum on an unseasonably warm Saturday morning in March for the championship game of the 2005 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The Louisville Cardinals and the Memphis Tigers met face-to-face in their third battle of the season. After a nail-biting game that many fans thought would go into overtime, the Cards took home the tournament title by only one point, making them the only C-USA school besides Cincinnati to win both the regular season and tournament titles in the same season.
The Cards were on fire at the start of the first quarter, scoring seven of their first eight attempts from the field. With help from several 3-pointers, including three by junior Francisco Garcia, the Cards had a 20-12 lead just under seven minutes into the game.
"This was a spectacular offensive performance by both teams," said U of L head coach Rick Pitino. "The drama was incredible. What was at stake was enormous."
Though Louisville trailed by a few points at the beginning of the half and Garcia picked up three fouls early in the game for the second straight game, the team pulled ahead, scoring eight 3-pointers to hold the lead through most of the period. The Cards trailed briefly with just over two minutes remaining in the half, but a 3-pointer by freshman Juan Palacios left the Cards tied with the Tigers 41-41 when the buzzers sounded.
The second half of the game saw an even closer contest than in the first. The two teams held their scores to within a few points of one another, with the Cards leading the Tigers by at most just 6-points at any time.
"When the two of us [Memphis head coach John Calipari] get together, it’s a game dominated by defense," said Pitino.
Three pointers in the half by junior Taquan Dean and senior Larry O’Bannon boosted the Cards’ score. O’Bannon’s 3-point shot at the 12:47 mark broke the C-USA championship game record, giving the Cards 15 3-pointers for the game. This ties the record for most 3-point shots scored in a tournament game.
Garcia also made five 3-pointers in the game, to tie with Travis Deiner of Marquette for the most in a C-USA championship match.
In the final six seconds of play, sophomore Brad Gianiny hit one of two free-throws to give the Cards their final points of the game. With U of L at a two-point, 75-73 advantage over Memphis, Garcia fouled at the buzzer, giving the Tigers’ Darius Washington a chance for three points at the line.
Washington scored on his first attempt, bringing the Tigers within just one point of the Cards. His next two attempts failed, allowing Louisville to squeak past Memphis, 75-74.
"The whole team feels elated that we won, but we feel bad for Washington," said Pitino. "It’s not easy being on the line by yourself like that. Memphis deserves a great deal of credit, and our guys were just incredible the whole season."
