Loss leaves Texas Tech seniors with ‘a deep pain’
MINNEAPOLIS – It was a trail of tears as the Texas Tech basketball team retreated to its locker room after losing to Virginia 85-77 in the NCAA men’s championship game.
Tariq Owens, the team’s 6-10 senior forward, wept into a towel and came to a halt inside the bowels of U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday night.
“I let my boys down,” he sobbed, and coach Chris Beard wrapped his left arm around him and gently moved Owens toward the locker room.
Brandone Francis, a reserve senior guard, leaned against a teammate as he headed down the concourse, the faint sound of Virginia’s on-court celebration behind him.
“Damn,” he said, his eyes reddened from tears. “I wanted to win so bad.”
Matt Mooney, the senior point guard, trudged in the procession of players with his head bowed, as if it were simply too heavy to lift under the circumstances. While Virginia celebrated its first basketball championship in school history, Texas Tech had squandered a chance to do the same.
In overtime it all fell apart, with Virginia outscoring Texas Tech 10-3 in the final minute. Then the players fell apart, emotionally, as the trail of tears ensued.
When the locker room opened to the media, Owens was sprawled on his back in front of his locker. Eventually he sat on a chair and spoke. “This is a deep pain,” he said. “This one hurts.”
He was still feeling pain in his right ankle, too. After hurting it in the victory over Michigan State in the national semifinal, Owens had spent much of the next 48 hours icing the ankle in an attempt to be ready for the championship game.
How did it feel?
“It was strong enough for me to get out there and try to help my teammates,” replied Owens, who looked far less effective than usual while managing just three points and five rebounds. “There was no way I was missing this game.”
Sitting on a chair in front of the adjacent locker was Mooney, his head still bowed and voice barely audible. His college career was over after stops at Air Force and South Dakota and a final season at Texas Tech, where he was entrusted with the job of starting point guard.
“They believed in me, and that’s the greatest gift you can receive,” said Mooney, who helped propel Texas Tech’s late comeback Monday with a 3-pointer.
Across the way, Francis’ eyes were still red. He said he had been playing not only for his teammates, but for Nipsey Hussle, the rapper and friend of Francis’ family who was shot to death in Los Angeles on March 31.
“I wanted to dedicate (to) him this championship,” said Francis, who led Texas Tech with 17 points, 11 points above his season average, on 7-for-12 shooting from the field. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that. But he’s watching me wherever he’s at. He’s in heaven, obviously. I want him to know I gave everything I got for my teammates, the whole city of Lubbock (site of Texas Tech’s campus), and I wanted to win for him.”
Before long, sitting side-by-side, Owens and Mooney clasped hands and cried together. Francis walked over and sat down in front of the floor.
The three players clasped hands and a few more tears fell.
Lightening the mood, Francis said he might wait until he got back to the team hotel before taking off his uniform for the last time of his college career. “That was a helluva ride,” he said. Chimed in Owens, “I wouldn’t trade it for nothing. Priceless.”