Louisville Falls Short vs. Lipscomb to Snap Brief Win Streak

The Cardinals were riding a two-game win streak, and blew numerous opportunities against the Bison to make it three.

This story will be updated.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Capping off their three-game home stand with a matchup against Lipscomb, the Louisville men's basketball program was unable to build on their two-game win streak heading into the showdown, falling 75-67 Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals, who won against Western Kentucky and Florida A&M last week to establish their first winning streak of the Kenny Payne era, fall to 2-10 on the year. The Bison move to 8-5.

Despite shooting 33.3 percent on three-point attempts and 17-of-21 at the free throw line, Louisville still shot 39.3 percent from the field overall. On the other end of the floor, the Cardinals struggled all night long to contain Lipscomb back cuts in the paint, allowing them to shot 49.2 percent from the field despite shooting 29.6 percent on threes.

As you can imagine, while Louisville limited their turnovers - committing only 10 while logging 10 assists - they were dominated down low. Lipscomb out-rebounded them 40-26, out-scored them 40-30 in the paint, and was 20-25 on dunks and layups.

El Ellis paced the Louisville offense with a game-best 24 points on 6-of-14 shooting, 4-of-9 on three-pointers and 8-of-10 at the free throw line. Sydney Curry continued his resurgence, finishing with 12 points and seven boards. Three Lipscomb players finished in double figures, led by Derrin Boyd's 23 points. 

Both team struggled to establish a rhythm right out of the gates, but it was Lipscomb who found it first. Louisville led 9-8 in the first seven-plus minutes of the game, but thanks to a 10-0 run by the Bison that also saw them make eight straight field goals, the Cardinals saw that turn into a nine-point deficit in just a minute and a half.

But thanks mainly to some key play by Lands and Curry, Lipscomb's first half advantage never cracked double figures despite a high shooting clip, and Louisville was able to keep the game within striking distance. The Cards finally fired off a run of their own down the stretch, scoring six unanswered to trim their halftime deficit to just 33-32.

Louisville was able to keep the game within striking distance for almost the entire second half, but just could not get over the hump. While they were able to get to the free throw line more often than Lipscomb, they shot just 39.1 percent for the half to the Bisons' 51.7 percent.

Even with the shooting discrepancy, they still had a chance to mount a comeback. Trailing by 12 with just over six minutes to go, the Cardinals trimmed the deficit to just four with over three minutes to go. However, they were unable to finish the job, missing all three of their shot attempts during the final three minutes while committing a pair of turnovers.

Next up, Louisville has a short turnaround and will hit the road to face NC State. Tip-off against the Wolfpack is set for Thursday, Dec. 22 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Kamari Lands, A.J. McGinnis: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports)

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