Donovan Mitchell surveyed the tense scene inside Freedom Hall through his designer sunglasses, then turned to those standing behind him along the baseline with a nervous smile on his face.

"My heart's beating," he said while placing his hand over it as if to keep it from bursting out of his chest.

The five-time NBA All-Star was one of 3,812 trying to get their pulse in check leaving the Fairgrounds after a group of his fellow former Louisville standouts survived another round of The Basketball Tournament on Monday night.

The ex-Cardinals defeated Sideline Cancer, 71-69, thanks to some timely defense and walk-off free throws from Montrezl Harrell to advance to the tournament's round of 16 — and four wins from its $1 million grand prize.

Mitchell's homecoming was nearly spoiled.

The Ville held a 63-59 advantage at the first dead ball with less than four minutes to play in the fourth quarter; at which point an Elam Ending target score of 71 was set. Then, Sideline Cancer rattled off a 10-2 run to move one basket from sending the regional host and its rowdy fans home unhappy.

"You don't want to be in that position," said David Johnson, who led all scorers with 18 points in 35 minutes, "but that's what big-time players are made for."

Johnson scored half of The Ville's eight points after the Elam Ending went into effect to get it across the finish line first and came up with a steal on what proved to be Sideline Cancer's final possession. Former Fresno State guard Cullen Russo fouled Harrell while he was going up for a basket, and both his free throws touched nothing but net.

That almost — and probably shouldn't have — happened. Sideline Cancer guard Jermaine Marrow, who as a senior at Hampton during the 2019-20 season was the third-best scorer in Division I, had a wide-open look from beyond the arc, but his shot didn't fall.

"Nine times out of 10, against another team, he'd make that," said Chris Jones, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds across 31 minutes, "but we wore those little guards down so much; he had no legs."

Jones credited head coach Reece Gaines for making a tough decision during crunch time: benching Russ Smith, who led a second-quarter charge to put The Ville in front 39-37 at halftime, in favor of former Bellarmine standout Chris Dowe for defensive purposes.

It worked; Sideline Cancer went 0 for 3 from the field with the game on the line.

"It took balls to do what he did down the stretch," Jones added. "I don't think anyone on planet Earth would have done that."

For Harrell, the game-winning free throws made up for what he described on X, formerly Twitter, as a "stinky performance." The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, who's a career 66% shooter at the line in the pros, finished with eight points on 3-for-10 shooting and as many rebounds in 36 minutes.

Did anyone say anything to him as he was headed to the charity stripe?

"No," Jones said. "What are you going to say to a guy like that?"

Added Gaines, "I tried to say as little as possible. I stayed out of his way and let him do his thing."

After missing Saturday's comeback win over a Bellarmine alumni team while on the recruiting trail, new Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey was in attendance Monday night with his son, Johnny. He posed for pictures with Mitchell and another Cards legend, Darrell Griffith, while soaking up an atmosphere he hopes to see replicated inside the KFC Yum! Center during the 2024-25 season.

The bulk of his inaugural roster came back for more after having a front-row seat for Saturday's victory. Some are still getting the hang of the “C-A-R-D-S” chant.

"I'm going to go home and practice," senior guard Reyne Smith said.

The city's passion for hoops, however, already has a hold on them.

"We're loving this," added fellow senior guard Kobe Rodgers, one of three players, including Smith, who followed Kelsey from Charleston. "This is crazy."

There will be more where that came from Wednesday night, when The Ville will try to do what it couldn't last summer, win a regional championship, at 7 p.m. against No. 8 Team DRC, which is sponsored by former NFL All-Pro cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

Team DRC features one player whose name should be familiar to U of L fans: former Memphis point guard Darius Washington. He missed two free throws that would have pushed the Tigers past the Cards with no time remaining in the 2005 Conference USA Tournament championship game.

Jones and Johnson hoped the new Louisville players were paying attention to how they locked down defensively and played as a unit with their backs against the wall — and how the rabid fans rewarded their efforts.

"This is, really, for them," Jones said.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: TBT Louisville score: The Ville advances in The Basketball Tournament