Louisville basketball showed a lot of that old familiar fight in revenge game on the road vs North Carolina, but poor decisions doomed the Cards down the stretch.
In what started as an old-fashioned slugfest, Louisville basketball looked to be up for the challenge early on.
The Cards battling for a 27-23 lead late in the first half. The Tar Heels would punch back behind Armando Bacot’s efforts, pushing ahead 34-31 with 3 minutes to go. But the Cards didn’t back down, evening the score at halftime at 36.
Louisville outshot UNC in the first half, hitting 45.5% of their shots, despite the continuous poor shooting from behind the arc.
The Cards also put in work on the glass in the opening half, knotting with the Heels there as well, 19-19.
Much like the first matchup, Louisville’s bench drubbed UNC’s in the first 20 minutes, 15-2. The pace of the opening half was, at times, frenetic.
The second half did not disappoint either.
The two teams traded baskets well into the second half. Huge consecutive drives to the basket by Jae’Lyn Withers, Mason Faulkner, and Sam Williamson kept the Cards within striking distance.
However, down the stretch the Cards faltered, beginning with 2 missed free throws by El Ellis.
The Tar Heels outscored Louisville 8-3 in the final two-and-a-half minutes. Which, by mentioning, is saying something about how close the game really was.
Bacot notched another double-double on the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds, despite being held to just one basket in the second half; A basket that ended up being crucial to the Heels’ momentum.
Brady Manek dished off to Bacot for a one-handed dunk around a lunging Malik Williams to tally one of his two assists late in the game.
Louisville was led by three scorers in double figures- Withers 10, Williams 10, and Dre Davis 10.
The Heels finished the game shooting 49.1% from the field, eclipsing the Cards’ percentage. UNC outrebounded UofL 32-30.
Take aways
- The main takeaway is that should we meet again, it’s awful hard to beat a team three times in one year. Eh?
- Ultimately it was Louisville’s play down the stretch that doomed the Cards. UNC finished on a 6-0 run, and Louisville was scoreless for the final 2:58.
- Louisville played 11 guys but the Cards did not see any action from Matthew Cross.
- Damn, it was a loss, but it’s nice to actually be mad about a game again instead of indifferent or apathetic.
