By John McCarthy —
The No. 5 Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball team fell 64-58 to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Feb. 12.
This loss in Atlanta marked the end of the Cardinals 10-game winning streak.
The Yellow Jackets played Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 22, only losing by four points in a game where Georgia Tech led for half of the game.
Louisville struggled in the first half, shooting a lackluster 34.8 percent. They only sank one of their seven three-pointers.
Both the Cardinals and Yellow Jackets turned the ball over nine times in the first half. The rebound and assist totals were close. The Yellow Jackets just had the hotter hand from the field, shooting 45 percent.
Junior Malik Williams led the way for the Cardinals in the first half off the bench, contributing nine points and four rebounds. Freshman Samuell Williamson had five points and three rebounds in the first half off the bench.
Yellow Jackets junior Jose Alvarado bottomed 11 points and grabbed a pair of rebounds. Senior James Banks III bucketed eight points and brought down two rebounds.
The Cardinals shot better in the second half and ended the game shooting 41 percent from the field. Although Louisville struggled from three in the first half, they swished five three-pointers in the second half that kept them within striking distance of the Yellow Jackets.
The Cardinals went cold from the free-throw line in the second half. They ended the game shooting 61 percent from the free-throw line. This score was close the entire way and the largest lead the Yellow Jackets had was eight points.
The main difference between the two teams was Georgia Tech’s plus-six margin on the defensive glass, which turned into extra offensive possessions. Georgia Tech ended the game with five players scoring double digits.
Senior Dwayne Sutton ended the game with nine points and ten rebounds. Freshman David Johnson came off the bench to score 16 points, dish two assists and hustle for five rebounds. Williams totaled 16 points and eight rebounds.
Inside the last minute of the game, the Cardinals came within one point of Georgia Tech three times, but could not overcome the deficit.
Louisville will look to start another winning streak when they visit Clemson Feb. 14. The Tigers are 9-5 this season at home and are on a one-game winning streak.
Photo by Anna Claire Will // The Louisville Cardinal
