By Sam Draut–
Cardinal fans bid farewell to Damion Lee, Trey Lewis and Dillon Avare in pre-game senior night festivities and then watched as Louisville held off a rugged Georgia Tech team looking for its fifth-straight win. Chinanu Onuaku notched his 11th double-double of the season and Louisville won 56-53.
Louisville (23-7 overall, 12-5 in the ACC) led by as many as 11 with under 10 minutes left in the second half, but could never pull away down the stretch against a hard-fighting Georgia Tech (17-13 overall, 7-10 in the ACC). Lee made two free-throws with 10.7 seconds left to give the Cardinals a game-sealing three-point lead.
Though the night was to honor Louisville’s two seniors, Lee and Lewis both struggled to find their shots. Lee scored 14 points, but shot 5 of 16 while Lewis was 1 of 8 from the field and scored three points. As its two leading scorers struggled, Louisville failed to develop any offensive consistency and shot 36.2-percent from the field. Georgia Tech wasn’t much better at 36.7-percent and also had 17 turnovers.
The Cardinals only consistent contributor offensively was Onuaku in the low-post. The 6-foot-10 center had 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks. Onuaku was 7 of 10 from the field.
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- Damion Lee accepts his ring.
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- Rick Pitino speaks to the crowd.
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- Damion Lee and Rick Pitino together after the win.
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- Trey Lewis and Rick Pitino speak with the crowd.
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- Ray Spalding had five points.
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- Trey Lewis had three points and five rebounds.
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- Damion Lee scored 14 points.
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- Donovan Mitchell pulled down four rebounds.
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- Matz Stockman defends the rim.
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- Damion Lee drives to the basket.
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- Quentin Snider scored 11 points.
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- Chinanu Onuaku scored 17 points.
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- Damion Lee plays his final game at the KFC YUM! Center.
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- Damion Lee speaks with Donovan Mitchell before the game.
Photos by Wade Morgen / The Louisville Cardinal
