By Andrew Hornback
The University of Louisville men’s basketball team lost its second consecutive game, on Saturday, Dec. 12 at Freedom Hall, as the Western Carolina University Catamounts defeated the Cardinals, 91-83.
The return of senior guard Jerry Smith, junior guard Preston Knowles and freshman guard Peyton Siva, who all missed the Cardinals’ last game against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, was not enough to overcome the Catamounts, who shot 51 percent from the floor and made 10 3-point field goals.
“We’re a good offensive team,” said senior guard Edgar Sosa. “We just have to find a way to play better defense.”
After trailing 34-29 at halftime, the Cardinals took a 35-34 lead early in the second half, after consecutive 3-pointers by Knowles and senior guard Reginald Delk. The Catamounts regained the lead, 49-48, at the 11:46 mark, and never trailed again.
“We played hard tonight, but we’re just not playing good basketball right now,” said head coach Rick Pitino. “Defensively, that has been our problem. We are letting teams shoot way too high of a percentage. It is really hurting us, because we are not able to get stops.”
Free throw shooting proved to be an issue for the Cardinals in the second half, as they shot 11-of-19 from the line.
“We have to make our free throws to have a chance of winning,” said Pitino. “We let it go the other way, because we didn’t make our free throws. We didn’t even come close on our foul shots. So it is very disappointing.”
Offensively, the Cardinals had five players who scored double-digit points, led by Sosa, with 16. Sophomore forward Jared Swopshire led the team in rebounds, with 7.
Next up for the Cardinals will be Oral Roberts University on Wednesday, Dec. 16, at Freedom Hall. The Cardinals are 1-1 against the Golden Eagles in the past, winning the last meeting between the two teams, 122-76, in 1993.
