Thursday, March 13, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Up until the end, and even after, this was Larry Finch's basketball team.
He didn't seem emotional from having just coached his final game for the Memphis Tigers Wednesday night, a 66-62 loss to UNLV in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.
And he didn't criticize the university's administration for informing him during the season he would not be welcomed back, placing strain on the entire program.
Instead, Finch's main concern following the loss was typical of any coach: the officiating.
"Right now, I'm pretty bitter," said Finch, 45, Memphis' all-time winningest coach. "We should have had more free-throw opportunities."
The Rebels went to the free-throw line 20 times in the second half. The Tigers went six. For the game, the Rebels held a 32-11 foul-shot advantage.
"They know what they did," Finch said of the officiating crew, which came from the Big Sky Conference. "They did nothing."
In one second-half span of more than 11 minutes, beginning with UNLV down 55-44 with 12:56 left, the Rebels made just two field goals. But they still were able to erase the deficit and, by the 1:43 mark, led the Tigers, 64-61.
During that stretch, UNLV was 14 of 16 from the line. Memphis was 0 of 2.
"It really got discouraging for Sunday Adebayo," Finch said of his senior forward. "Poor Sunday, they banged and popped him. He'd go down low and pow. We'd hear it all the way over on our bench. Then down at the other end, they were calling nickel-and-dime stuff on us."
But Finch wouldn't blame the loss entirely on the officiating.
"We had our chances and p----- it down the tube," he said.
When asked about coaching his last game, Finch preferred not to wax eloquently on his Tiger tenure, which began in 1970 as an All-American guard. He became an assistant at his alma mater in 1979 and the head coach in 1986.
In his 11 seasons as head coach, Finch went 220-130. He guided the Tigers to nine postseason appearances and had only one losing campaign. Just a year ago, his team was ranked as high as No. 3 in the country.
His career record at Memphis, as player and coach, is 441-208.
"The Larry Finch era at Memphis has been a long one, but it's time to go somewhere else," he said. "Whether it's college or high school, I don't know, but I gotta feed my family."
Larry Finch Jr. is a sophomore guard for the Tigers and saw firsthand the turmoil his father experienced.
"It's a relief," Larry Jr. said. "It's hard for him to go through this. He's been here so long. He helped establish the program.
"Pop's been with Memphis my whole life. That's all I know."
In his parting words, Finch told his players what they meant to him.
"I told them I loved them," he said. "They had to fight hard all year. They dealt with the pressure all year. It was a tough strain to play under."
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