HEPBURN'S GAME WINNER CAPS LOUISVILLE'S SECOND HALF COMEBACK

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Senior guard Chucky Hepburn nailed a 15-foot putback jumper at the buzzer to complete a 15-point second half comeback, as No. 2 Louisville edged No. 7 Stanford 75-73 to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals. 

“They took the lead, we came back, tied it up and actually got the stop to give ourselves a chance,” Stanford head coach Kyle Smith said. “We're probably going to overtime, but obviously, they made a heck of a play there at the end. I was trying to get a time-out, but it was probably too late.”

Although Louisville entered the contest as the heavy favorite over ACC newcomer Stanford, the Cardinal found an early edge over the tournament's No. 2 seed. 

After Louisville senior forward Noah Waterman got off to a quick start, knocking down his first two triples to give the Cardinals an early 6-0 lead, Stanford countered with a 7-0 run to take the lead and spark a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of the half. 

“Got to give credit to Stanford,” Louisville senior guard Terrence Edwards Jr. said. “They came out and hit us in the mouth, and they switched out some things we didn't go over that happened so quick we couldn't talk about.”

Edwards Jr. netted a three-pointer to retake the lead, 16-13. The JMU transfer finished the half with a team high 12 points. 

Stanford junior guard Oziyah Sellers intercepted a pass from Louisville’s freshman forward Khani Rooths and completed a fast break layup, cutting the deficit to one. However, Edwards Jr. repeated history on the Cardinals’ next possession. 

Edwards Jr. knocked down his second three-pointer, extending Louisville’s lead to four, a margin they would maintain until Stanford’s senior forward Maxime Raynaud hit a three of his own to regain the lead for Stanford at 25-23. 

Edwards tied the game at 30 with a driving layup with under a minute left to play, but Stanford junior forward Chisom Okpara hit a three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining in the first half to give the Cardinal the lead going into halftime. 

Then Stanford bursted out of the gates to a 13-2 run to start the second half, with 11 of those points coming unanswered, extending its lead to 15 points. Sellers scored a quick seven points during that stretch and finished the game with a team-high 22. 

“Obviously, being down 15 points with 11 to play is the epitome of your back's against the wall,” Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey said. “And I've been saying all year long how lucky I am to have such a veteran-laden team, so much leadership within our team. I didn't have to say much in the huddle. How these guys responded to that adversity was amazing, and I'm very, very, very proud of them.”

Midway through the second half, Louisville made four consecutive field goals, led by Edwards Jr., who had scored 20 points with 11:44 remaining in the game. Yet, whenever Louisville scored, Stanford responded. 

Until they didn't. 

Louisville erupted for a 9-0 run, pulling the game back within four points at 57-53. The Cardinals converted on seven of their last eight field-goal attempts, and Hepburn began to make his mark with a huge three-pointer that electrified the crowd. The hero of the night tallied 20 points and dished out eight assists in his 39-minute performance. 

“Coach always tells us, just stick together,” Waterman said. “Play us, 40 minutes. Everybody knew that. I felt like we weren't worried even when we were down 15. We have a veteran team, and we were just telling each other, hey, let's just be us, let's not worry about the baskets, let's not look at the scoreboard. It's all about being us for the next 11 minutes.”

Raynaud had the opportunity to stop the Cardinal’s streak at the charity stripe, but he went 0-for-2 from the free throw line, leaving the door open for Hepburn to charge down the court for a powerful and-one finish. 

Unlike Raynaud, Hepburn sank his free throw, bringing the game within one point at 57-56 

But then Raynaud responded by sinking a three-pointer, stopping the Cardinals’ 12-0 run and pushing Stanford’s lead back to four. Nevertheless, Louisville's hopes for a comeback remained unfazed.   

Sophomore forward James Scott narrowed the deficit to two with a driving layup for Louisville. On the next possession, Hepburn tossed the lob back to Scott, who slammed it home while wearing his Hannibal Lecter mask, tying the game at 60. The 6’11” forward and Waterman finished the contest with 12 points each. 

The Cardinals gained a 64-62 lead after Edwards Jr. made two free throws, marking their first lead since they were ahead 23-22 in the first half.

Stanford junior guard Danny Gealer reclaimed the lead for Stanford at 65-64 with a three-pointer, but Edwards Jr. answered on the next play, converting one of two free throws to tie the game at 65 as the under-four minute timeout approached. He finished with a game-high 25 points. 

Louisville surged out of the break with a 5-0 run. Hepburn hit a three, the Cardinals made a stop and J’Vonne Hadley powered through the paint for a layup to grab a 70-65 lead. 

The following play was a game changer for Stanford. 

Edwards Jr. drew an offensive foul on Raynaud, who set an illegal screen and subsequently fouled out of the game with 2:57 remaining while the Cardinal trailed by five. The 7’1” center ended his night early with 17 points, 5 rebounds and two assists, leaving a gap in Stanford's frontcourt defense. 

“Obviously, we all learn from that, not foul out,” Raynaud said. “That last screen is ridiculous. I shouldn't have done that.” 

Scott capitalized on Raynaud’s absence, sinking a short jumper to push Louisville’s run to 8-0 and stretch the lead to seven at 72-65.

But Stanford wasn't out of the fight just yet. 

Sophomore guard Ryan Agarwal embarked on a solo 5-0 run, hitting a three-pointer and making two free throws to narrow the Cardinals’ lead to three points, 73-70.

With 32 seconds remaining, Okpara jumped into Louisville's passing lanes and resembled an NFL cornerback, intercepting the Cardinals' pass. The 6’8” junior charged down the court and rolled in a fast-break layup, drawing a foul and completing the and-one to tie the game at 73, extending Stanford’s 8-0 run, capping off his 10 points off Stanford’s bench.

Louisville called a timeout and decided to hold for the final shot, with the shot clock and game clock seconds apart. 

With five seconds remaining, Edwards Jr. fired a contested shot from three that bounced off the back rim into the hands of Okpara, who seemingly passed the ball back out to his opponent, Hepburn, who quickly heaved and buried a putback jumper at the buzzer. 

“We just got it on the rim, James Scott, Noah and J'Vonne was down there fighting, and they was able to deflect the ball to Chucky, and Chucky just do what he do,” Louisville senior forward Terrence Edwards Jr. said.

Louisville advances and will face the winner of No. 3 Clemson and No. 6 SMU on Friday, March 14, in the ACC Tournament semifinals.