By Dalton Ray–
In the ACC-Big 10 Challenge, No. 13 Louisville defeated No. 15 Purdue by a score of 71-64. Fans played their part as the KFC Yum! Center was filled from tip-off. The win pushes U of L to 6-1 and notches their first win over a ranked opponent. U of L has now won 50 of their last 51 non-conference games at home.
Defense and scoring by committee was the key to Louisville’s victory. Ray Spalding and Mangok Mathiang led U of L in scoring with 11 points a piece. Four other Cardinals scored eight or more points. Shooting only 4-of-13 from three, the Cardinals out-scored Purdue in the paint 32-18.
At the beginning of the game, Mathiang struggled finishing inside when near the rim, starting 1-for-4. Spalding and Quentin Snider knocked down open jump shots as Louisville held a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout.
From early on, the Boilermakers looked to use their size in the post. Isaac Haas, 7-foot-2 and 290 lbs., and Caleb Swanigan, 6-foot-9 and 250lbs., got early touches, forcing U of L to bring help in the paint. As a result, Purdue made passes to the 3-point line for good looks. The visitors had open shots from three, but started 2-for-6.
Spalding fired up the crowd with a huge dunk on the feed from Donovan Mitchell. The thrown down extended Louisville’s lead to 17-9. After back-to-back blocks from Mitchell and Mahmoud, the Cards owned a 10 point lead at the 6:58 mark.
Of Purdue’s first 18 shots, nine came from behind the 3-point line. The Boilermakers only knocked down four of their first 20 shots from the field.
Louisville’s defense kept their lead safe as U of L missed multiple easy shots around the basket. At the final media break of the half, U of L held a 21-14 lead.
Mathiang made back-to-back baskets, giving him seven points and six rebounds with just over a minute left. After exchanging 3-pointers, U of L held a 28-19 lead with under a minute left. Snider found David Levitch for the buzzer beater to cap off the 8-0 run, giving Louisville the 33-19 halftime lead.
At the break, U of L’s five leading scorers on the season only combined for 13 points. Spalding scored nine points and pulled in six rebounds. The Cardinals shots 47 percent from the field on 15-for-32 shooting. Purdue’s Haas and Swangian went 0-for-10 from the field. Louisville forced four steals and three blocks in the first 20 minutes of action.
Louisville got their then-biggest lead of the night when McMahon knocked down the 3-pointer off the in-bounds play. With 15:38 left, U of L lead by 13.
Mahmoud finessed around Haas to get to the rim and Deng knocked down a three on the next possession, giving the Cards a 15 point lead.
The Cards brought help defense on Swanigan whenever he touched the ball in post, forcing the former five-star to make pressured decisions. Three Louisville defenders faced Swanigan on every post touch, not allowing him to get comfortable.
By the 12-minute media timeout, the Cards pushed their lead to 49-33. Over the next two minutes, Purdue outscored U of L 8-2 forcing Pitino to call a timeout. Swanigan’s three cut the Cardinal lead to 51-41 with 9:40 remaining.
Mahmoud took an elbow to the eye, forcing him to exit with nine points. After Haas and Swanigan knocked down free throws, they cut the lead to 10 points.
Swanigan’s dunk on the next possession capped a 6-0 run for Purdue, forcing another Pitino timeout. Louisville went 1-for-7 during the stretch, including missing four straight shots. With 4:10 remaining, Louisville’s lead had been cut to 56-48.
Deng Adel grabbed the missed Spalding free throw and threw it off a Purdue player, giving U of L the possession. McMahon knocked down his second 3-pointer, bumping the Louisville lead by to 11. After a jump-ball, Louisville gained the possession again with 3:35 to play.
Purdue wouldn’t go away as they cut the lead back to nine with two minutes remaining. A blocking call on McMahon put Purdue on the line, bringing the game to 61-54 in Louisville’s favor.
The Cardinals couldn’t get out of their own way as they committed fouls on three straight possessions. Adel’s turnover on the in-bounds after the Purdue free throw led to a Boilermaker three, cutting the lead to 62-58.
Mitchell broke the press and laid the ball in to give the Cards some breathing room, but U of L committed another foul. Holding a 64-61 lead, Mitchell knocked down a clutch jumper on the left side of the court.
Swanigan hit his second 3-pointer with 14.4 seconds remaining, making the Louisville lead 68-64. The Boilermakers couldn’t make a final push, as the Cardinals sealed the game at the free throw line.
Photo by Karen Nguyen / The Louisville Cardinal
