Rob Phinisee is as stoic and reticent as they come. His voice is soft spoken, and he’s not one for the dramatic.
But in the final nine minutes of Saturday’s 68-67 win over Louisville in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Phinisee’s play was boisterous.
Midway through the second half, the Lafayette, Indiana native spotted up from the top of the key. With a flick of the wrist, Phinisee flushed home a three-pointer to a thunderous roar from the crowd.
IU had its first lead of the game with 8:36 remaining.
Minutes later, Phinisee set, planted and made another three from the wing to put IU ahead for good with 1:25 left to play.
The freshman guard had done it again. IU had done it again. And in victory, Phinisee was understated, again.
“The play really wasn't designed for that,” Phinisee said. “I saw my guy drop back in. I just took the open shot and made it.”
For the third time in a week, the Hoosiers outlasted a quality power-five opponent for a gritty, one-possession victory.
“There was a lot of winning plays again,” IU Coach Archie Miller said. “We've been in this situation it seems like for the last few weeks. I anticipate it being this way for the rest of the season. So to know a group can finish or find a way to finish with its offense or defense is good.”
Despite the win, Louisville dominated the Hoosiers during the first 22 minutes of action.
On IU’s first two possessions of the contest, both Phinisee and Juwan Morgan rimmed out simple layups. Louisville turned that into a quick 8-2 lead by the first media timeout.
In the second half, prior to Phinisee’s dramatics, sophomore forward Justin Smith provided the fireworks. Leaping airborne in the middle of the lane, Smith threw down a violent dunk over and through a Cardinals defender to cut the lead to 35-32.
True to form, Louisville junior center Steven Enoch put home a dunk of his own on the ensuing possession.
Over and over, back-and-forth the Hoosiers and Cardinals went. Each time IU came close to flipping the script, Louisville Coach Chris Mack’s squad provided a backbreaking response.
Then Phinisee got his shots to fall.
“Really I just tried to make the shot for my team so we can do whatever we can to win,” he said. “I just took the open shot.”
Entering 2018, Miller wasn’t sure how college-ready Phinisee would be. The minute guard put on significant weight in the offseason to bolster his playing chances. But with Devonte Green entrenched at the starting guard spot, Phinisee’s path to the court appeared destined for back-up duty.
But when Green went down with a quad injury after just two games, Phinisee became the starter by default. Like the Hoosiers on Saturday, he hasn’t relented.
“He's taking advantage of the opportunities he's been given,” Miller said. “He's played well. He's had a great work ethic about it.”
Outside of Phinisee, Smith turned in his most complete performance of the season, totaling nine points and nine rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting.
Freshman guard Romeo Langford notched 21 points on the day, good for his fifth 20-plus point game of the year.
IU’s next game is Saturday afternoon against Butler at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse as part of the Crossroads Classic.
