Cats’ turbulent season ends at hands of Notre Dame

All season long, turnovers plagued the Cats. Virginia Military Institute forced 25 UK turnovers in the Cats’ season-opening loss, and Notre Dame put a fitting bookend on the Cats’ season Wednesday night.

The Cats (22-14, 8-8 Southeastern Conference) committed just 10 turnovers Wednesday — tied for their second-best performance of the season in that respect — but one costly mishap cost UK its final shot at a comeback in the game’s late stages. Notre Dame held on to win 77-67 in the National Invitation Tournament’s quarterfinal round.

Faced with an 11-point deficit and 4:42 left in the game, UK’s season was running out of time. A timely 3-pointer from freshman Darius Miller, a slick jumper from junior Jodie Meeks and a powerful slam from junior Perry Stevenson brought the Cats within five points, 67-62, with 2:42 left.

The next trip down the floor, the Cats got exactly what they needed: a stop. But on the possession that followed, junior Michael Porter tried to connect to Stevenson as he was battling for position on the wing.

Stevenson was battling so much so, he wasn’t paying attention to Porter. The ball whizzed by Stevenson’s chest and sailed out of bounds with 2:02 left. From there on out, the Cats started fouling and did not pose another serious threat. Notre Dame shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line over the final 89 seconds to seal the win.

The Fighting Irish wore down the Cats behind junior Luke Harangody’s 30-point, 11-rebound night. Harangody has led the Big East each of the past two years in both points and rebounds, and he proved why early in the game Wednesday. Harangody scored 11 of Notre Dame’s first 14 points, spanning the game’s first six and a half minutes.

“I pretty much figured I was going to guard him as soon as I learned we were going to play Notre Dame. I was excited; he’s a tremendous basketball player,” sophomore Patrick Patterson said. “Tonight, he was pretty much scoring all over the court.”

Riding Harangody’s sprint out of the gates, the Irish led wire-to-wire to advance to the NIT semifinals in New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

The Irish gave themselves plenty of breathing room with a big first half on the defensive end, containing Meeks to just three points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field. Meeks, the SEC’s leading scorer this season, finished with 21 points and no turnovers (just the fifth time this season), but his strong second-half effort fell short of getting the Cats back on track.

“They did a great job of guarding him,” UK head coach Billy Gillispie said. “You think about what he’s been through all year long, with the physical and mental stress, and he’s handled it very well. They just did a fantastic job. They didn’t foul him much. We kept trying to get him the ball. He definitely made them down the stretch thought to give us a chance to win.”

With the Cats’ season over, many UK fans will shift their attention to off-court issues, such as the futures of Gillispie, Patterson and Meeks. So far, Gillispie has dismissed rumors, instead opting to focus on the next game.

Now that the season’s over, Gillispie offered a bit of reflection before the rumor mill starts turning again.

“We definitely wanted to keep playing, but I’m proud of the way our guys played,” Gillispie said. “We really learned how to compete and really fought hard. Our guys are fighters, and I am really proud of their effort, not only tonight but all season long.”