Shorthanded Louisville Falters in Second Half at Boston College

The Cardinals had just seven scholarship players available against the Eagles.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Heading up north to take on Boston College in an attempt to create a winning streak, the Louisville men's basketball program was unable to build on their previous win against Georgia Tech this past Saturday, falling 89-77 on Tuesday night at the Conte Forum.

The Cardinals (8-17, 3-11 ACC) had been playing much better basketball as of late, winning two of their last three games entering the matchup following a stretch where they dropped 12 of 14, but were significantly shorthanded against the Eagles (14-10, 5-8 ACC). With Skyy Clark (broken rib) and Danilo Jovanovich (shin splints) both having to miss the contest, Louisville had just seven scholarship players at their disposal against Boston College.

The lack of depth, coupled with a defense that has severely lacking in recent weeks, led to a complete collapse in the second half. Leading by eight just a couple minutes after halftime, Louisville then allowed Boston College to fire off a 23-3 run to take complete control of the game and never relinquish the lead.

The Eagles shot a blazing 60.0 percent from the field in the second half - and 56.7 percent for the game - while the Cardinals could only muster 40.7 percent after halftime despite shooting 46.9 percent for the game. Because of this, Louisville wound up getting out-scored 50-30 in the second half.

Louisville won the rebounding battle at 35-28, but Boston College was the one who truly controlled the post. They took advantage of poor the Cardinals' poor defensive effort to finish with more points in the paint at 38-to-34, shoot 23-of-37 inside the arc, and tally 21 assists to just nine turnovers. It also didn't help that the Eagles were 11-of-23 from beyond the arc. Conversely, Louisville shot just 5-of-15 from long range and had 14 assists to 13 turnovers.

The Cardinals had four players finish in double figures scoring, with both Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Tre White pouring in 21 points. Mike James also had 14 points, while Ty-Laur Johnson had 12. Five Boston College players broke double figures, led by a 20-point outing from Claudell Harris Jr.

Louisville's season-long defensive issues were present from the jump, allowing Boston College to shoot 53.5 percent in the first half, but they did have a good offensive showing and dominant rebounding right out of the gates. In the first half, the Cardinals shot the ball 51.4 percent from the floor, and out-rebounded the Eagles 20-12 including 8-2 on the offensive glass.

Even with the early defensive struggles by UofL, they were still was able to force six first half BC turnovers for 10 points, helping them end the half on an 11-5 run and take a 47-39 advantage into halftime.

Next up, Louisville will stay on the road and head to the Steel City for a rematch with Pitt. Tip-off against the Panthers is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Mike James: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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