By Derek DeBurger
In the Ancient Greek myth of Pandora’s box, Pandora opened a box containing all of the world’s sins but closed it before the final sin got loose—the worst sin of all. What was that sin? Hope.
I’m not so sure it didn’t get out, because the Cards—fueled with hope—snapped their 22-game road losing streak when everyone knew it was impossible.
For the first time in 739 days— since Jan. 2, 2022—Louisville has won a road game, courtesy of the Miami Hurricanes.
Louisville began the game with some life. Mike James was a man-possessed, scoring 16 of Louisville’s first 18 points. Miami, down 18-10, then matched with a 10-2 run to tie the game. Now normally, this would’ve been the point of the game where the Cardinals take a proverbial shot to the face, hanging their heads for the rest of the contest. Instead, the Cards stuck around just long enough to gather some hope.
After getting down eight in the first half, Louisville started feeding the ball inside to Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, cutting into the lead with a mix of smart post shots and outside looks after drawing the defense into the paint.
Surprisingly, Louisville only trailed at the half 41-37.
In the second half, Louisville continued to attack the paint with Huntley-Hatfield, tying the game at 43-43. Miami once again went on a run taking a nine-point lead early in the second, but Louisville fought back to tie the game again at 61-61. The biggest instance of Louisville’s hope and fight manifesting into on-court success was when—off a layup from James to take the lead—Skyy Clark stole an inbound pass and hit a three to go up by five.
For the first time since the Empire Classic the Cards were legitimate threats to win a game against a quality opponent. The game was tied at 71-71 with just over two minutes left when Louisville started to do what they do best, get fouled. The Cards didn’t hit a field goal in the last five minutes of the game, but they drew foul after foul to push the lead further and further. Coupled with a panicked offense from Miami, the game was sealed.
Louisville wins, 80-71.
There’s no doubt that Miami’s terrible defense assisted greatly, but Louisville just hit shots when they were needed most. A great start from deep led to a concerted effort to score in the paint. This balanced offensive approach helped Louisville keep pace with— and even pass—Miami.
Another major factor was turnovers. Louisville started the game by turning over the ball six times in the first 10 minutes, but for the next 30 minutes, the Cards only committed six more.
The stars of the game, James and Huntley-Hatfield, led the way with 26 and 22 points respectively.
Louisville is now 6-9 on the year, 1-3 in the ACC and Kenny Payne has picked up his 10th win as a head coach.
Photo Courtesy // Louisville Athletics
