Darius Washington Jr. initiated contact with an airborne Francisco Garcia, and drew a three-shot foul with no time remaining in the final of the Conference USA tournament in Memphis, Tenn.
The Tigers entered the tournament knowing that they had to win four straight games to ensure a spot in the NCAA tournament.
With Memphis down, 75-73, Washington had the chance to send the seventh-seeded Tigers into dreamland and hand top-seeded Louisville its second loss in 19 games.
The freshman point guard, after missing the second and third shots, pulled his jersey over his face and kneeled to the ground before his teammates could console him. He had been the player most responsible for turning the Tigers' season around after forward Sean Banks was ruled academically ineligible in January, but people will only remember his wilting under pressure.
Washington scored a game-high 23 points in the 75-74 loss, including his steal and subsequent layup that put the Tigers ahead 73-71 with less than a minute left. Louisville's Larry O'Bannon responded with a three-pointer from the top of the key with 27 seconds remaining.
Cardinal forward Ellis Myles drew a charge at the other end before reserve guard Brad Gianiny sunk one of two free throws to extend Louisville's lead to 75-73 with 6.7 seconds left.
Garcia led the Cardinals with 19 points, six of which came during a breathless uninterrupted two-minute period midway through the second half. Washington began the stretch with a scintillating reverse layup that tied the game at 54. Anthony Rice then hit a three-pointer to give Memphis the lead, but Garcia tied it seconds after with a trey of his own. Duane Erwin spun past his defender in the post for a layup that put Memphis ahead again before Louisville regained the lead with a 25-footer from Garcia.
The dramatic conclusion made up for an otherwise nondescript tournament.
The quarterfinal game between Alabama-Birmingham and DePaul contained NCAA tournament ramifications. UAB trailed for almost the entire game, but Demario Eddins' three-pointer with 0.8 seconds left gave the Blazers a 59-56 victory. The win likely sealed an at-large bid for UAB, which made the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed, while DePaul was doomed to the NIT.
UAB forced Louisville into 22 turnovers in their semifinal game and led by nine with 13:53 remaining in the game. Louisville's Taquan Dean and Garcia scored 24 of their combined 28 points in the second half to key the comeback, and the Cardinals prevailed, 74-67.
South Florida — the "other" C-USA team that is joining the Big East next season — gave its program some momentum with upset wins over Houston and Cincinnati. Memphis comfortably handled the upstart Bulls, 81-68, in the semifinal. USF forward Terrence Leather averaged 20.7 points and 13.0 rebounds over the three games.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Mar. 15 2005.