SerpApi.Org
La Familia got pounded by The Ville in game two of the best-of-three series at Freedom Hall, evening things up at 1-1 ahead of the rubber match back at Memorial Coliseum. The Kentucky alums held a three-point lead going into the second quarter, only to be outscored by 23 the rest of the way in an 82-62 loss.
A big reason they let go of the rope? Willie Cauley-Stein, who entered the second matchup in Louisville listed as questionable after tweaking his ankle in the first, was limited to just eight minutes in the rematch. He pulled down four rebounds and blocked a shot, but then spent the rest of the game icing his leg with his shoe off, failing to return.
In that same span from the second quarter on, Montrezl Harrell absolutely torched La Familia inside, finishing with 35 points on 14-16 shooting and eight rebounds, two assists and a block in 34 minutes. There were no answers for the former Cardinal, especially with WCS sidelined for much of the game.
La Familia head coach Jon Hood tried scheming around it, but there is only so much you can do when trying to slow down a man on a mission in Harrell.
“He got whatever he wanted to. … The game plan is to not let him get 35 on 14 of 16 shots and 6 of 8 from the line,” Hood said. “… I mean, we thought that we had it schemed up with the zone, and it worked well for a while. But it is what it is. We limited threes from the guys that we wanted to limit them from, for the most part, for a while. Then we just gave them wide-open ones. No excuse. We’ll rehab, we’ll rest, we’ll watch film tomorrow, we’ll be ready to go.”
Hood talked extensively about being ‘a little undermanned’ with what amounts to six healthy players, including 38-year-old DeAndre Liggins, who was also limited to 11 minutes in his own right.
We know about the roster hiccups with players committing and failing to show up for their teammates and former school.
“If guys allow us to announce them and allow Twany (Beckham) to announce them, and then they back out, that’s nothing that we can control. I don’t know who all’s gonna be here,” he said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s the eight that are in that locker room right now. … I’ll roll with that eight and take my chances.”
Beckham said he’s got six more players ‘on standby’ and hopes to get help by Wednesday, but getting guys to Lexington has been easier said than done to date. But if Cauley-Stein is included in that eight, does that mean he’ll be good to go by 6 p.m. ET at Memorial Coliseum in the win-or-go-home matchup?
Hood says yes — but he’ll let anyone on that bench suit up, if it means La Familia survives and advances. That includes himself.
“Anybody that’s on that roster, in a Game 3 or Game 7 type of atmosphere, whatever, anyone,” he told KSR. “I mean, if I need a jersey, I’ll take a jersey. If Twany needs a jersey, he’ll take a jersey. It’s next man up. Everybody helps. We’ll do everything we have to.”
It sounds like Cauley-Stein will be active, but how helpful can he be, given his current health? La Familia could use some reinforcements.
