Beating a conference foe twice in a season is always a task.

Especially when that opponent is a 20 game winner.

Especially when that adversary has designs on pulling a NC State and score an invite to the Prom a week hence with a league tourney run.

Most very seriously especially when the schools met less than a week ago, a U of L victory which was significantly tougher to accomplish than the 68-48 final tally would indicate.

The last time Louisville met the same league rival in the final game of the season and its next encounter in a league tournament was 1986. Memphis State.

Which if you recall turned out well for the Cards.

64-62 Cards in the Freedom Hall regular season finale. I won’t go over the details which I have more than enough in times past, plus it’s one of the more iconic U of L Ws ever. Two words: Milt Wagner. Three more: At the Line.

Correction: That back to back happened in ’83 not ’86. The Milt Wagner game was in the championship year of ’86. My apologies. Don’t get old, you lose your memory. 

Wonder what Andre Turner’s doing these days.

Victory so nice, days later Cardinals did it twice. 71-68 in the Metro Tourney.

That Louisville squad went to, oh, you know.

 * * * * *

So, where to start?

Here’s where it is for me.

For those of us of the Hebrew Persuasion, it is Purim. Briefly the joyous holiday is taught in the Book of Esther. Celebrating how the Jewish people were saved from annihilation from a Persian warlord Haman in the 5th C BC or so.

Part of the celebration are tri-corner cookies filled with poppy seeds or fruit or chocolate. They’re called hammantaschen. I picked one up today as I was leaving the JCC.

 * * * * *

Pat Kelsey was forced to call a timeout with Louisville down 37-52 with 14:32. I’d just received a text from Smarts stating what appeared the obvious: “It’s not our night.”

I did what I do when deep depression hits.

Eat.

I trundled to the kitchen and grabbed the hammantaschen to drown my dismay with sugar.

Then, then, then, I mean how does this keep happening, it’s almost surreal, and then . . .

. . . Louisville’s moribundity disappeared  . . . and . . .

. . . LOUISVILLE SCORED ON TEN STRAIGHT POSSESSIONS.

Terrence Edwards 2. But he missed +1.

Again Edwards missing the FT after scoring while being fouled by Maxime Reynaud. His fourth.

Chucky Hepburn triple.

Edwards another deuce.

A Hannibal Scott Silence of the Slams (I love that and am peeved I didn’t think of it) on a dish from TE.

A third chance threeball from Chucky.

J’Vonne Hadley slam.

Chucky converted a +1.

Scott with another close in.

Again a Lectorification on a feed from the Cards’ most excellent PG.

After which 23-8 assault, the game was knotted at 60.

Am I making this up, I must ask myself?

No, Seedy, it actually happened. Check your heartbeat.

Then. Back and forth. Back and forth. The key moment when Raynaud was terminated after an idiotic 5th foul on a moving screen in the back court.

Cards led by 8 with 1:56 at 73-65.

Time to turn out the lights? Do we get to relax to the buzzer?

Uh, no.

Louisville proceeded to give up 8 in a row. Stanford pulled even at 73 on a +1 with :32 left. Cards ball.

Then a miss, a scramble, a Chucky pilfer, a Chucky jumper at the buzzer.

Ball Game.

75-73.

I dunno???? You tell me.

It was the hammentaschen. My story and I’m stickin’ to it.

(Though the Film Babe claims what won the game was her turning off the TV sound and starting reading a book at that 7:32 mark.)

 * * * * *

Some games simply defy explanation. There was nothing logical about what happened.

The Cards were dead. Or so it seemed. Then they sang the body electric.

Short handed. Short winded. Off their feed. Out of sync.

No problem. Get out the Elmer’s for a little more cut an paste. A needle and thread for some darning.

Louisville simply found a way. As the Cards have done so eerily often since the turn of the year.

Cardinals 75, Cardinal 73.

I just double checked the official box score to make sure.

Semi tomorrow. Late.

— c d kaplan