LEXINGTON — The storyline almost was straight out of a Hollywood script: Archie Goodwin, standing at the free-throw line, needing to sink two free throws to defeat his former team (Eberlein Drive) and help his new club (La Familia) advance. Adding further drama to the proceedings: Goodwin only was at the line because his injured teammate, Willie Cauley-Stein, had hobbled into the locker room, too hurt to continue.
Movies have fairytale endings.
Everyday life doesn’t guarantee them.
Goodwin had to reckon with that reality Tuesday.
He made the first free throw, pulling La Familia within one point of victory. But his second attempt — the one that would have clinched the win — clanked off the rim.
La Familia, the Kentucky basketball alumni team, saw its run in The Basketball Tournament come to a close in front of a stunned crowd at Memorial Coliseum.
The event-ending loss came on the heels of a 16-2 La Familia run to begin the fourth period that turned a 53-47 deficit into a 63-55 lead. That the group of former Wildcats couldn’t seal the deal obviously was a frustrating way to finish their second TBT go-round.
Perhaps that’s why no member of the 11-man roster stuck around to let the loss linger after the buzzer. They grabbed their things and bolted into the warm summer night.
That left coach Sean Woods as the team’s lone representative at the postgame news conference.
“This is more than just a game, being with these guys,” he said. “For me, the fact that I get to touch young guys (who are) going through some of the same situations that I had as a UK basketball player, and to share stories and moments — these type of experiences last a lifetime.
