Louisville started off with the game's first 4 points, but the Demons stormed back and began hitting shot after shot as they went on a 16-4 run. The first half was a great one for the Demons as they forced the Cardinals into numerous turnovers and continually carved through Louisville's zone with great passing. The Demons fans, myself included, were fired up, but I was distracted for a part of the half as I was asked if I wanted to be a part of the shooting competition during the under 8 minute timeout. I nervously agreed, and sure enough I was on the court in a shooting competition during the timeout. I'll admit my first jumper from the elbow was an air ball, but I got better even though I only shot set shots. I banked in my first three point try and ultimately beat my opponent, a 50-year-old nice lady who I would have been humiliated to lose to despite my lackluster performance. I qualified for a contest on March 3rd against Seton Hall where I can potentially win a brand new Volvo. I hope my luck can somehow win me a nice, new car! Well, the rest of the first half went pretty well for the Blue Demons. Like many teams, Pitino decided to put the press on late in the half in hopes of closing the gap, but Clahar was not in the game to turn it over in those pressure situations. Taking a 10 point lead into the half, I felt very encouraged and hopeful that one more half of good basketball would earn a big win.
In the second half, Louisville clawed back and the opposing crowd whipped into a frenzy. But the Demons would not be pushovers today, as they fought tooth and nail with the Cardinals and refused to go away. The atmosphere at this game was amazing as both teams traded big bucket after big bucket. For the Cardinals, it was Kuric who hit many big threes, but Brandon Young of DePaul finally played pretty well. I've been ragging on him for some time now, but he played a lot better yesterday. In the closing seconds with the Demons down two, he was able to split a triple team and find McKinney under the basket for a layup to tie it and send it into overtime. Normally I am a pretty subdued fan, but I was really into this game and genuinely upset with the lack of respect the DePaul players got from refs. Purnell said it in his presser because he is sick of his team not getting calls or just fair treatment, and I felt like the refs got off the Louisville bus in certain instances. I usually believe bad calls and officiating evens out, but I just felt like DePaul somehow would lose this game.
In overtime, a few costly, backbreaking turnovers by Young were the difference as the Cardinals took them for easy transitions baskets. The Blue Demons put up an amazing fight, but came up short in losing 90-82. The Cardinals knew they got away with one yesterday and Pitino better start preparing that team for the closing to the season. I genuinely was upset after this game and just felt so frustrated as a DePaul fan. The plight of a Demons fan is unlike any other in Chicago sports. Unless you watch this team play, you don't understand just how frustrating it is to see them blow these halftime leads and come up just short. The guys played really hard today and I want to commend Charles McKinney for an amazing hustle play he had late in the second half yesterday. Young made some mistakes, but these guys played so hard yesterday in front of a chaotic crowd. I just want them to finish out this season with that type of effort. I am also building a strong dislike for Louisville for some reason. It hurts to see a tough lose like that.
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