Louisville Holds Off UTEP to Snap Losing Streak

The Cardinals had lost their past three in a row.

Dec 11, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; UTEP Miners guard Corey Camper Jr. (4) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Capping off of a three-game home stand with a matchup back in non-conference play against UTEP, the Louisville men's basketball program was able to get back in the win column, emerging with a 77-74 win on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum! Center.

With the victory, the Cardinals (6-4, 0-1 ACC) snap a three-game losing streak on the season, and avoid dropping to .500 for the year. Subsequently, they also break the Miners' (6-3, 0-0 C-USA) three-game winning streak.

Entering as 14.5-point favorites, Louisville certainly had struggles closing the game out. Holding an eight point lead with under eight minutes to go, UTEP was able to get within a point of the Cardinals with just eight seconds left.

Reyne Smith was able to ice a pair of free throws to put their lead back out to three, while the Miners' buzzer-beating three-point attempt fell short.

Louisville shot just 39.7 percent from the field and were a paltry 6-of-34 on three-point attempts, but made up for in on the backboards and at the free throw line. They out-rebounded UTEP 40-to-29, including 16-to-7 on offensive boards to get 16 second chance points. The Cardinals also went 25-34 at the charity stripe while the Miners were just 7-of-11.

It helped make up for the fact that UTEP shot 50.9 percent for the game and 9-of-20 from deep. However, Louisville also forced 15 turnovers for 17 points off them, compared to 11 forced turnovers for 14 UTEP points.

The Cardinals were led by a game-high 22 points from Terrence Edwards Jr., as well as double-doubles from J'Vonne Hadley (13 points, 12 rebounds) and James Scott (11 points and rebounds. Chucky Hepburn also broke double figures scoring with 12.

Louisville got off to a disjointed start on both ends of the court against UTEP. On the defensive end the the court, the Cardinals allowed the Miners to go 15-of-32 from the floor and 5-of-12 in the first half, which included 20 points in the paint and eight points off eight UofL turnovers.

The Cardinals didn't fare much better on the offensive side right out of the gates, either. In the first half, they shoot just 10-of-27 from the field, including missing their final eight attempts of the period. Throw in a 3-16 mark from deep and a 9-of-14 outing at the charity stripe, and they went into halftime down 36-32.

Louisville hit just one of their first six attempts after halftime, allowing UTEP's lead to balloon to as much as seven points in the early goings of the second half. But thanks in part to 10 forced turnovers in the period and a stretch where they shot 9-of-14, it allowed them just in front by eight and seem to be in full control.

However, the Cardinals didn't make it easy on themselves. Hitting just three of their final 11 shots, while also letting the Miners to go 14-for-25 in the period overall set up for the uncomfortable finish.

Next up, Louisville heads east up I-64 for their annual Battle for the Bluegrass rivalry showdown with Kentucky. Tip-off against the Wildcats is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14 at 5:15 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Corey Camper Jr., J'Vonne Hadley: Jamie Rhodes - Imagn Images)

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