By Conner Farrell–
Coming on the heels of the team’s rout of Clemson, the men’s basketball team came out sluggish against the Florida State Seminoles, ultimately losing 73-68.
Within the first three minutes of the game, the Cards trailed 14-0. After a 12-5 run, Louisville cut the lead to down to two with 8:24 left in the first half.
The last 10 minutes of the first half were marred with fouls as both teams combined for 25. The Cards only hit 8-of-15 from the line. Mangok Mathiang and Tony Hicks led the Cards in scoring at halftime with 17 points total.
Starters Anas Mahmoud and Donovan Mitchell failed to score and each had two fouls going into the break, when U of L trailed 41-35.
Back-and-forth play in the second half let U of L stay close, but they never took the lead.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Cards cut the FSU lead to one point. The Noles pulled away in the final minutes.
Off-the-bench scoring helped Louisville, with Louisville’s bench outscoring the Seminoles’ bench 40-11. Hicks scored a game-high 16 and Mathiang had his second career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Foul trouble and poor shooting plagued Mitchell. U of L’s leading scorer scored six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
U of L shot 37 percent from the field, 25-of-65, and shot 67 percent from the free throw, 16-of-24. The team didn’t have success from the three, going 2-for-13.
The Cards move to 16-4 and 4-3 in ACC play. The team is back in action on Jan. 24, when they take on Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.
