Francisco Garcia stepped all over Tennessee, and then he stepped out-of-bounds.

The Louisville forward scorched the Volunteers for 15 points in the second half of the Cardinals’ 65-62 win, but Garcia’s most lethal contribution didn’t occur until the final seconds of the game.

Tennessee was down two with three seconds left when Garcia caught the Cardinal’s inbound pass with Vol guard Stanley Asumnu defending.

The referees signaled a foul, and Vol coach Buzz Peterson cried foul. The replay showed Garcia’s foot stepping on the sideline before any contact.

“I agree with the fans when I saw it on the (replay),” Peterson said. “But you can’t fault one play like that. I don’t think our guy came close to touching him, but whether we hit the shot and win the ballgame, I don’t know.”

Asumnu agreed.

“He was out-of-bounds,” the sophomore guard said. “When he caught the ball he was out-of-bounds, but he was pushed afterwards.

“The referee wasn’t looking down – he was looking up, but the replay showed it and there was nothing we could do about it.”

After the play, Garcia went to the free-throw line and sealed the three-point win, leaving only 2.2 seconds in the game. Peterson was upset about the play, but not as upset as to how the Cardinals took the lead.

The Vols allowed Louisville 12 unanswered points midway through the second half, blowing a seven-point lead. Tennessee never got close to taking back the lead until Garcia’s step out-of-bounds.

“It’s very frustrating,” Asumnu said. “To be able to fight hard and get back into the game and be down three and have a chance to tie it or win it – that’s hard.”

Louisville coach Rick Pitino said blown calls are just part of the game.

“I didn’t see (the inbound pass), but I’ll tell you what I thought about the play when Francisco went to the basket and got hammered,” he said. “I’ll tell you what I thought about the call when Larry O’Bannon went for the loose ball and got hammered.

“I can come up right now with seven calls I don’t agree with. … One thing I try never to do is blame the whistle. If you didn’t think Francisco got hammered, that’s your opinion.”

That was Peterson’s opinion, but he was forgiving of the call.

“I’m not going to blame officiating at all,” the third-year coach said. “We should have never had ourselves in that situation.

“We just have to keep our heads up and stay positive. That’s all you can do with a young team.”