By Russ Brown
NKyTribune correspondent
LOUISVILLE — It was a night of surprises for the University of Louisville’s two starting seniors, Damion Lee and Trey Lewis. But fortunately they avoided what would have been the most surprising development of all — a loss to Georgia Tech.
Make that BARELY avoided.
After seeming to take control of the game midway through the second half, as they have done in so many games in the KFC Yum! Center this season, the No. 11 Cardinals (23-7, 12-5) had to hold off a rally by the Yellow Jackets (17-13, 7-10) to escape with a 56-53 victory in their final home appearance.
So in the end, the players, coaches and the 22,043 appreciative fans on hand got to celebrate Senior Night with a win that allowed the Cards to with an 18-1 record in the Yum! and keep alive their dim hopes for earning a share of the ACC title.
When it was over, leaving UofL with one more game — at Virginia Saturday night — coach Rick Pitino came through with the surprise he had hinted at in his blog Monday, which turned out to be a daily double. He presented Lee and Lewis with commemorative rings and then announced that the pair had been selected to play in the NABC’s College All-Star game the day before the Final Four in Houston.
It was a welcome consolation prize for being banned from postseason play.
“I had no idea,” Lee said. “We were trying to figure out what this gift or whatever was going to be. I thought it might be a half-banner, half Lee, half Lewis. That was my creative thinking. I was looking up into the rafters, thinking ‘there’s a blank spot.’ But the ring, I had no idea. . .and the All-Star game. Definitely a moment we’ll cherish forever.”
Lewis said the ring, in particular, was special for him because he had never won one either in high school or college.
“Me and Damion were trying to figure out stuff, coming up with a lot of ideas, but we never thought of a ring,” he said. “Wow! It means the world to me because I actually believe this team would have earned a ring if we got the chance. I truly believe this team would have gone all the way. We are a Final Four team, we are a championship team.”
A loss would have put a serious damper on the post-game festivities, of course, and it would have been the first Senior Night defeat for the Cards since South Florida’s 58-51 upset in 2012 — the only one in Pitino’s 15 seasons at Louisville.
“Losing on Senior Night is not fun,” Pitino said.
After Georgia Tech had wiped out much of an 11-point deficit when the Cards suddenly went cold as they had done in Saturday’s 73-65 loss at Miami, Chinanu Onuaku and Lee each hit two free throws in the final 31 seconds to preserve the win.
Onuaku’s came with 31 seconds left and gave UofL a 54-49 lead, then Lee hit two more with 10.7 seconds remaining for the final score.
Onuaku is only a 56.9 percent free throw shooter, but improved this season after Pitino ordered him to begin shooting underhanded. He was 3-of-3 Tuesday and has hit 19 of his last 27 (70.3 percent).
“It just goes to show you, here’s a guy who was willing to make a change in his free throws, where very few players are willing to do that,” Pitino said. “He worked on it and swished it twice. Those last two were dead middle and that’s exciting for me as a coach.”
Said Onuaku: “They fouled me on purpose because they thought I was going to miss the free throws. I wasn’t hoping for it, but I knew it was probably going to happen, so I had to prove them wrong.”
Then Lee, UofL’s best free throw shooter, at 83.7 percent, went to the foul line with his team clinging to a 54-53 lead and did the same. No surprise there since Lee set a school career record at Drexel by shooting 84 percent.
“I pride myself on free throws,” he said. “Not nervous at all. Those are easy points.”
The Cards held their biggest lead, 49-38, with eight minutes left, but missed eight of their last nine shots and managed just one field goal the rest of the way — Lee’s old-fashioned 3-point play at the 2:30 mark.
Charles Mitchell, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds, led the comeback by scoring nine consecutive points. UofL also had to survive a trio of wide open 3-pointers that missed in the final seconds, the last one by Adam Smith that clanged off the rim at the buzzer, and a flagrant foul on Ray Spalding that resulted in a four-point possession and sliced the margin to one point before Lee’s clutch free throws.
“You’ve got to give Georgia Tech a lot of credit,” Lewis said. “They fought to the end. They were letting us know they’re going to keep fighting, keep bringing it. They’re a very, very tough team, fun to play against. But there was no way we were going to lose on Senior Night.”
Onuaku led UofL with 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season. Lee finished with 14 points and Quentin Snider turned in his third straight double-figure scoring game for the first time this year with 11 points, along with four assists.
“Really, really proud of the guys,” Pitino said. “It’s been a great journey with these three seniors (walk-on Dillon Avare is the third). We are hoping that they go on to great success. Great night for the fellas.”
CARDS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
Seven UofL players have been named to the annual All-ACC team, more than any other school for the 26-member squad. To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.
Cardinals named to the team are Deng Adel, Lewis, Mangok Mathiang, Donovan Mitchell, Onuaku, Snider and Spalding. Pittsburgh placed four on the squad while Duke had three selections.
Ranking third in the ACC in blocked shots (2.0) and is sixth in rebounds (8.6), Onuaku received additional academic recognition earlier this year. A sophomore communication major from Lanham, Md., he was been named to the 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 2 Menís Basketball first team, which recognizes the nationís top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom.
In the fall semester, 13 of 15 menís basketball student-athletes achieved a 3.0 or better grade point average and the Cards posted a collective 3.36 GPA, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved in 2013.
North Carolinaís Marcus Paige received the Skip Prosser Award for the second straight year, presented annually to the top scholar-athlete in ACC menís basketball. It is named in memory of Wake Forest head basketball coach Skip Prosser, who passed away on July 26, 2007. Every Wake Forest senior he coached graduated.