By John McCarthy —
The Florida State Seminoles defeated Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball 78-65 Jan. 4 at the KFC Yum! Center.
Louisville was favored to win the game, but the Seminoles were able to grind out the win.
With this takedown, the Seminoles handed the Cardinals their first home loss and first loss in ACC conference play.
The Cards have now lost two games in a row.
The first half was all Florida State, who held their own against the Cardinals. The Seminoles outscored Louisville by seven points in the first half.
Junior Jordan Nwora, however, did not go unnoticed, scoring 21 points in the first half on six of nine shooting. The rest of the Cardinal roster struggled in the first half, combining for only 10 points.
Junior M.J. Walker was the catalyst for Florida State in the first half, draining 15 points off the bench while shooting 75 percent. Without a Louisville basket in the final five minutes of the first half, the Seminoles took the lead going into half time.
The second half featured a resilient Louisville team who found their rhythm around the 15 minute mark.
Senior Ryan MacMahon dished a swift behind the back bounce pass from the left wing to junior Darius Perry for the corner three. That was the spark the Cardinals needed to fight their way back to a win.
Later, during the second half and in the midst of a Louisville run, Nwora had a timely putback that brought the Cardinals to within three.
Ultimately, the length and athleticism of the young Seminoles held off the Cardinals.
There are a few things to take away from this Cardinals home loss. The Seminoles shot the lights out, ending with a 55 percent shooting as a collective. The Seminoles also came away shooting 48 percent from the three point line and finished with eleven triples. Nwora ended with 32 points and 10 rebounds for a double double. Senior Steven Enoch had 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
Louisville will host Miami on Jan. 7 at the KFC Yum! Center.
