CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Louisville was right there in the closing minutes on Saturday but missed his shot at a share of an Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.
The Cardinals resisted a 14-point deficit in the second half but let it slip late as host Virginia won 57-54 against Louisville (24-7, 15-5 ACC), which could have been win a share of the crown league with a win. The Cardinals will be seeded No. 3 at next week’s ACC tournament and will begin the post-season game at 9:00 p.m. Thursday.
Louisville had a chance but could not score in the game. The Cardinals at one point trailed 43-29 in the second half but pushed back to tie the game at 51-51. Louisville was held scoreless for 5:11 to close the game, and Samuell Williamson 3 points in the last second was not enough to bring the Cardinals back.
Louisville coach Chris Mack was proud of how his players fought to resume the game, he said afterwards. But being short in a high-stakes showdown in Virginia (23-7, 15-5) was a hard pill to swallow.
“I am obviously disappointed that we were unable to reach the agreement, but there are two teams competing and Virginia did a great defensive job and we didn’t quite do what we needed to do defensively” , did he declare.
Kihei Clark led the way for the Cavaliers with 18 points, including a 3-point pointer with 28 seconds remaining to push Virginia’s lead to 4 points. Mamadi Diakite added 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Jordan Nwora led Louisville with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Steven Enoch scored 11 points, all in the first half, and Ryan McMahon had 9 points in the loss.
“I think we played very well to get back to it,” said McMahon afterwards. “We have shown heart, we have shown combat. That does not mean that we have not made mistakes. Nor does it mean that they have not made mistakes. They just pulled it out at the end. “
Louisville got off to a good start and led 20-13 after an Enoch lane with 6:58 at halftime. Then the tide turned.
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Virginia scored on the next two possessions and 7-0 to tie after Louisville coach Chris Mack suffered a technical foul after protesting his team’s line violation with 5:51 at halftime. The Cavaliers tied it at 20-20 on free throws and completed half time in an 18-4 race to lead 31-24 at halftime.
Louisville did not lose due to the officials’ bad calls, said Mack when asked about the technical fault. It may have happened early in the game, he said, but those possessions count.
“It’s an empty call, perhaps from a fan’s point of view, an empty part of the game. But for us, the Armageddon of every possession,” said Mack. “I just thought it was a bad call, and maybe it was the right call. But did I deserve a technique? I don’t think so. It’s not about the officials. They don’t didn’t cost us the game. “
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The Cardinals returned to the second period but failed to score in the game.
Too many possessions ended in mistakes on the part of Louisville guards, David Johnson and Fresh Kimble. McMahon said against Virginia’s vigorous defense, the responsibility often lies with one player to create shots, and when that doesn’t work, it seems that one player is responsible for the difficulties of the entire team.
Mack criticized Johnson and Kimble but did not put the loss on them.
“(Kimble) must make good decisions and not block his shot, but he’s trying. I can’t blame him,” said the coach. “He helped us get back into the game. His defense was good.
“We brought in David, a bigger guy, but David didn’t play very well throughout the game. He’s a freshman, it’s a tough environment and the stakes are high. Often you make mistakes and you learn from them, and tough times like today drive improvement. “
Junior center Malik Williams came off the bench in the first half but appeared limited as he continues to recover from an ankle injury suffered at the end of last month at Florida State. He didn’t score in 7 minutes of action, but McMahon said he brought good energy in and out of the field. He is an essential for the Cardinals as they head into the playoffs.
Saturday’s game marks the end of Louisville’s 2019-2020 regular season. The Cardinals kick off the ACC tournament on Thursday evening in Greensboro, North Carolina.
It will be the last race for McMahon and five other Louisville players who leave this off-season. Saturday was a big blow, he said, but the Cardinals still have a lot to play for.
“It’s victory or coming home now, so you have to play every game like it’s the last,” said McMahon.
Lucas Aulbach can be contacted at [email protected], 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. Support strong local journalism and subscribe: www.courier-journal.com/lucasa.
