Louisville's Defense Falters, Falls at Syracuse

The Cardinals allowed the Orange to shoot 60.8 percent from the field.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Traveling to upstate New York for a road matchup with Syracuse, the Louisville men's basketball program was unable get a winning streak going, falling 94-92 on Wednesday night at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Cardinals (7-16, 2-10 ACC) entered the matchup having previous taken down Florida State last Saturday to snap a six-game losing streak. With the loss to the Orange (15-8, 6-6 ACC), Louisville has now dropped 13 of their last 16 matchups since starting the season at 4-3.

Like their last time out against FSU, Louisville struggled immensely on the defensive end. They allowed Syracuse to shoot a whopping 60.8 percent from the field, as well as 10-of-22 on three-point attempts.

It negated a fantastic showing by the Cardinals on the offensive end and on the backboards. Louisville shot 53.8 percent from the field and 11-of-25 on threes, and pummeled the Orange around the rim with a 40-21 rebounding advantage.

'Cuse also took advantage of the free throw line and Louisville's propensity to turn the ball over. SU shot 22-of-33 from the charity stripe to UofL's 11-of-15, and had 23 points on 17 forced turnovers.

The matchup also featured a controversial ending. Trailing by just three in the final few seconds of the game, Skyy Clark hit a game-tying three-pointer with five seconds to go. Louisville got lost on the ensuing inbounds pass, and Syracuse's Quadir Copeland had an open lane on the fast break.

Copeland was blocked from behind by UofL's Kaleb Glenn, but officials called goaltending, and even upheld the ruling after review despite replays showing a clean block. Clark was able to get an open look on the final possession for what would have been a game-winner three at the buzzer, but failed to connect.

Clark finished as Louisville's leading scorer with 23 points. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has 19-point and 13-rebound double-double, Tre White also had one with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Mike James had 12 points. Syracuse's Chris Bell led all scorers with a career-high 30 points.

Over the first 12 minutes of the game, the two teams took turns trading runs. Louisville opened with a 9-2 run, to which Syracuse countered with a 14-2 stretch. The Cardinals responded with a quick 8-0 burst, to which Orange then fired off an 11-3 segment. In the final eight minutes of the period, the track meet of a first half continued with Louisville and Syracuse fervently trading baskets.

By the time halftime arrived, there had been eight lead changes and six ties, with the host squad holding a 49-46 advantage and the two teams combining to shoot for 59.7 percent. While the Cardinals had 10 turnovers that led to 13 Orange points off them, that was countered with a plus-nine rebounding margin that gave them 12 second chance points.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued into the second half, but thanks in part to Louisville's dominance on the boards, they were the one who held the slight advantage during most of the period, even leading by as much as six points with under six minutes to go.

But a critical juncture came in the closing minutes. After not seeing a run of more than five points all half long, Syracuse used a 14-2 stretch to not only retake the lead, but take control of the game.

Next up, Louisville will return home for a matchup with Georgia Tech at the KFC Yum! Center. Tip-off against the Yellow Jackets is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Skyy Clark: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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